CHAPTER 8: THE WOMAN WHO GAVE BIRTH TO LILY
“Found you.”
The voice echoed through the tunnel.
Ethan's entire body went rigid.
A red laser dot rested directly on Claire's chest.
“Everybody down!”
Daniel shoved Ethan toward the wall.
Emma pulled Claire behind her.
Maria dropped with Lily.
A gunshot cracked through the darkness.
The bullet struck the metal pipe above them.
Steam exploded into the tunnel.
“Run!” Daniel shouted.
They sprinted deeper into the passage.
Ethan grabbed Lily's hand.
“Stay with me!”
“Daddy, I'm scared!”
“I know.”
Behind them, footsteps thundered.
The tunnel was narrow.
Old.
Barely lit.
Every few seconds, another gunshot echoed through the darkness.
Daniel suddenly kicked open a metal door.
“Inside!”
Everyone rushed through.
Daniel slammed it shut.
He locked the mechanism.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Claire whispered:
“Are they gone?”
Daniel listened.
Nothing.
“Not yet.”
Ethan looked at Emma.
“You said Vanessa is Lily's mother.”
Emma nodded.
“Tell me the truth.”
“I will.”
“Now.”
Emma looked at Lily.
Then at Claire.
Then at Ethan.
“Vanessa gave birth to Lily.”
Ethan's jaw tightened.
“But Vanessa wasn't pregnant.”
“She was.”
“When?”
“Three years before she entered your life.”
Ethan stared at her.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if you know what Halcyon was doing.”
Emma took a breath.
“Vanessa was part of a program.”
“What program?”
“Selective births.”
Ethan frowned.
“They were choosing which babies were worth keeping.”
Daniel added:
“And which families were allowed to raise them.”
Ethan looked sick.
“Why?”
“Genetics.”
Emma lowered her voice.
“Certain bloodlines carried rare markers.”
“And Lily?”
“She carries one.”
“Claire too?”
“No.”
Emma looked at Claire.
“Claire carries something else.”
“What?”
“A marker that can expose the entire system.”
Ethan looked between the girls.
“So they wanted Lily because of her genetics.”
“Yes.”
“And Claire because she could expose them.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did Vanessa take Lily?”
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
“Because she was Lily's biological mother.”
Ethan looked at Lily.
“Does she know?”
“She knows Vanessa is important.”
“Does she know she's her mother?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because Vanessa wanted her to hate her.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
“If Lily knew Vanessa was her mother, Vanessa couldn't stay close enough to protect her.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It does when you're being hunted.”
Emma looked down.
“Vanessa became the villain so Lily would never trust her.”
Ethan shook his head.
“She attacked Lily.”
“She staged the attack.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“The moment you walked in.”
Emma continued.
“She knew you were coming.”
“So she deliberately made me think she was hurting Lily?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make you protect Lily.”
Ethan's mind raced.
He remembered Vanessa's expression.
The toy.
The argument.
The way she had looked terrified when the shooter arrived.
It suddenly made sense.
“Then why did she take the rabbit?”
“Because the recording was inside.”
“And the key?”
“Because she needed you to find Room 317.”
Ethan stared.
“She wanted me to discover everything.”
Emma nodded.
“She couldn't tell you directly.”
“Why?”
“Because someone was listening.”
Ethan looked around the tunnel.
“Who?”
Emma pointed upward.
“Halcyon installed microphones everywhere.”
Daniel checked the walls.
“She’s right.”
He found a tiny device hidden inside the metal panel.
He crushed it beneath his boot.
“We're safe now.”
“No,” Emma said.
Daniel looked at her.
“What?”
Emma shook her head.
“They don't need microphones anymore.”
A voice came from the darkness.
“Correct.”
Everyone froze.
Vanessa stepped into the room.
Her hair was disheveled.
Blood covered one sleeve.
She looked exhausted.
But she was holding no weapon.
Ethan stepped between her and Lily.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
Vanessa stopped.
“I came to protect her.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
She looked at Emma.
“Tell him.”
Emma nodded.
“She is telling the truth.”
Ethan stared at both women.
“You're both insane.”
Vanessa looked at Lily.
“I'm sorry.”
Lily hid behind Ethan.
Vanessa's face crumpled.
“I know you're afraid of me.”
“You hurt me,” Lily whispered.
“I know.”
“You took my toy.”
“I had to.”
“You scared me.”
“I know.”
Lily's voice broke.
“Why?”
Vanessa began crying.
“Because I needed your father to finally see the truth.”
Ethan looked at her.
“What truth?”
Vanessa took a slow breath.
“Lily is my daughter.”
The words hung in the air.
Lily looked confused.
Ethan felt like the floor had disappeared.
Vanessa continued.
“I gave birth to her.”
Ethan looked at Emma.
Emma nodded.
“She did.”
Vanessa looked at Lily.
“I wanted to raise you.”
Her voice broke.
“But they wouldn't let me.”
“Who?”
“Richard.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“My father.”
Vanessa nodded.
“He took Lily from me the day she was born.”
“Why?”
“Because he needed her.”
“For what?”
Vanessa looked at Claire.
“To create another child.”
Ethan's eyes widened.
“What?”
Vanessa whispered:
“Claire.”
Emma stepped forward.
“Don't.”
But Vanessa continued.
“Claire wasn't supposed to exist.”
Ethan looked at the little girl.
“What are you saying?”
“Claire was created from the genetic material they stole from Lily.”
Silence.
Ethan shook his head.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
Daniel looked disturbed.
“Vanessa…”
She turned toward him.
“You know it's true.”
Daniel said nothing.
Ethan stared at Claire.
“You're saying she was…”
“A genetic copy.”
Emma immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Vanessa looked at her.
“You know the records.”
“Records can be manipulated.”
“Not the original samples.”
Ethan's voice trembled.
“Why would anyone create Claire?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“Because Richard wanted a child he could control.”
Ethan stared at his father in his mind.
His father's obsession with bloodlines.
His secret foundation.
The hidden facility.
The stolen records.
Everything suddenly became horrifyingly connected.
Then Claire spoke.
“Mommy…”
Emma turned.
“Yes?”
“Why does Grandpa call me Subject Seven?”
Everyone froze.
Ethan slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“Subject Seven?”
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“No.”
Claire continued.
“He said I'm the seventh one.”
Daniel whispered:
“Seven…”
Ethan looked at him.
“What?”
Daniel's face had gone pale.
“The first six died.”
Ethan stared.
“Six what?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Six attempts.”
“To create Claire?”
Daniel nodded.
Ethan looked at the little girl.
“No.”
Claire looked terrified.
“What am I?”
Vanessa stepped toward her.
“You're a child.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“Grandpa said I'm not.”
Ethan crouched beside her.
“Don't listen to him.”
Claire looked at him.
“Then why does everyone keep lying?”
Ethan couldn't answer.
Suddenly, a siren sounded deep inside the tunnel.
Daniel looked toward the exit.
“We need to move.”
“Where?”
“The facility.”
Ethan frowned.
“I thought we were already underneath it.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed toward a steel door.
“That door leads to the actual laboratory.”
Emma's face went pale.
“We can't go there.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard isn't waiting for us there.”
Ethan stared.
“Then who is?”
Emma whispered:
“Your mother.”
Ethan froze.
“My mother is dead.”
Vanessa looked at him.
“No.”
A voice came from behind the steel door.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Calm.
Familiar.
“Ethan.”
He stopped breathing.
The voice spoke again.
“Open the door.”
Ethan's hand trembled.
It was his mother's voice.
The woman he had watched die ten years ago.
The woman he had buried beside his father.
The woman everyone said had died first.
Then the voice whispered:
“I've been waiting for you.”
And from behind the door came three slow knocks.
Knock.
May you like
Knock.
Knock.
