Chapter 7: The Missing File
“They found me.””
The voicemail ended.
Mark stood perfectly still, phone against his ear.
Then he hit redial.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Nothing.
He looked at Marissa.
“Who was that?””
“Dr. Cole's assistant.””
“You know that?””
“He called me ten minutes ago.””
“And you didn't tell me?””
“I was trying to get here first.””
“What happened at the clinic?””
“I don't know.””
“You said someone was inside the lab.””
“I said that's what he told me.””
Mark grabbed his coat.
“We're going.””
Marissa caught his arm.
“No.””
He turned.
“My wife is eight months pregnant, and someone is tampering with her medical records. I'm not waiting in this house.””
“Neither am I.””
“Then why are you stopping me?””
“Because the person who entered that lab may be looking for you.””
Mark's expression darkened.
“Good.””
“Mark.””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“I'm done being scared.””
I stood carefully.
“I'll go with you.””
“You don't have to.””
“Yes, I do.””
My voice shook.
“But I'm not going into that clinic alone.””
Mark came closer.
“You stay beside me.””
I nodded.
Chloe rose from her chair.
“I’m coming.””
Evelyn grabbed her wrist.
“No.””
Chloe pulled away.
“You lied to me.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You stole from me.””
“I was trying to give you a child.””
“You stole from Lauren.””
Evelyn's face crumpled.
Chloe stared at her for a long moment.
Then she said quietly, “I don't know who you are anymore.””
Evelyn sat down.
She looked smaller than she had an hour earlier.
Mark opened the front door.
The rain had become heavier.
Marissa stepped outside first.
I followed with Mark's hand around my elbow.
Chloe came behind us.
Then Evelyn's voice stopped us.
“Wait.””
We turned.
She was holding the old photograph of Daniel.
“Take this.””
Mark didn't move.
“Why?””
“Because you're going to need to show it to someone.””
“Who?””
Evelyn looked at Marissa.
“Her.””
Marissa frowned.
“What?””
Evelyn pointed at the photograph.
“You remember the night Daniel died.””
Marissa's face changed.
“Yes.””
“You remember who was there.””
Marissa swallowed.
“You mean the nurse?””
“No.””
Evelyn shook her head.
“I'm talking about the man who came after.””
Mark stepped back inside.
“What man?””
Evelyn looked at him.
“Your father didn't die when we told you.””
Silence.
Mark's face went blank.
“What?””
“He died two days later.””
My stomach tightened.
“Then whose funeral did we attend?””
Evelyn's lips trembled.
“The hospital made a mistake.””
“A mistake?””
“No.””
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“We needed everyone to believe Daniel was already dead.””
Mark stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because he was trying to expose me.””
Marissa whispered, “What did he know?””
Evelyn looked at her.
“He knew about Ethan.””
Marissa went pale.
Mark's voice dropped.
“What about Ethan?””
“Daniel discovered the records had been altered.””
Marissa stepped forward.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't he tell anyone?””
Evelyn looked toward the window.
“Because he was afraid of who else was involved.””
Mark's phone buzzed again.
A text message.
Unknown number.
*STOP LOOKING FOR THE FILE.*
A second message appeared.
*YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO SIGNED IT.*
Mark showed us the screen.
Chloe whispered, “They know we're going.””
Marissa nodded.
“Then we shouldn't use your car.””
Mark frowned.
“Why?””
“Because they'll know where it is.””
I looked at her.
“How?””
She hesitated.
“Your car was registered at the clinic six months ago.””
Mark stared at her.
“So someone has access to everything.””
“Yes.””
He looked at me.
“Stay here.””
“No.””
“Lauren—”
“No.””
I placed his hand against my stomach.
The baby kicked beneath his palm.
“We go together.””
Mark looked at our joined hands.
Then he nodded.
“All right.””
We took Marissa's car.
The clinic was fifteen minutes away.
Nobody spoke.
Rain streaked the windshield in silver lines.
Halfway there, Chloe broke the silence.
“I need to ask something.””
Marissa glanced at her through the rearview mirror.
“What?””
“Was the embryo ever mine?””
Marissa's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“The original embryo was assigned to you and David.””
“That isn't what I asked.””
“You asked if it was genetically yours.””
“Yes.””
“No.””
Chloe closed her eyes.
A tear ran down her cheek.
“Then all these years…”
“You were told something false.””
“Who knew?””
Marissa looked at her.
“Your mother.””
Chloe laughed through her tears.
“Of course.””
She looked out the window.
“Did David know?””
Marissa didn't answer immediately.
Finally she said, “He knew part of it.””
Chloe's head snapped around.
“What part?””
“That his first wife had a child.””
“That isn't what I'm asking.””
Marissa's voice softened.
“David knew there had been an embryo transfer connected to Rachel.””
Chloe's face went pale.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“And he still married me?””
“I don't know why.””
Chloe looked down at her hands.
“I do.””
Nobody spoke.
She whispered, “He wanted the money.””
Mark looked at her.
“What money?””
“The Mercer inheritance.””
Marissa nodded.
“Rachel's family had a trust.””
Chloe shook her head.
“David told me it didn't exist.””
“It did.””
“How much?””
“Enough.””
She looked toward the window again.
“Then Ethan…”
Marissa nodded.
“Was the heir.””
Chloe swallowed hard.
“So my husband married me because he thought the child was gone.””
“Yes.””
“And your father knew.””
Mark stared straight ahead.
“My father tried to protect Ethan.””
“Yes.””
“From David?””
“From everyone.””
The clinic appeared ahead.
The building was dark except for a few lights on the third floor.
No security guard stood at the entrance.
Mark frowned.
“It's closed.””
Marissa nodded.
“It shouldn't be.””
She pulled into the parking lot.
“Dr. Cole's office light is on.””
Mark looked up.
A single office window glowed on the third floor.
We entered through a side door Marissa unlocked with her badge.
The hallway smelled like bleach.
Too clean.
Too quiet.
My footsteps sounded unnaturally loud.
Chloe stayed close to me.
Then we heard a door slam somewhere above.
Mark whispered, “Stay here.””
I grabbed his sleeve.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“You're pregnant.””
“Exactly.””
He gave me a look that almost made me smile.
Then he took my hand.
We climbed the stairs.
At the second floor, the lights flickered.
At the third, they went out.
Marissa cursed under her breath.
“The backup generator hasn't activated.””
Mark used his phone flashlight.
We moved down the hall.
Dr. Cole's office door was open.
The room was empty.
A chair was overturned.
Papers covered the floor.
There was blood on the desk.
I stopped breathing.
“Mark.””
He moved in front of me.
“Don't look.””
But I had already seen it.
A streak of red beside the keyboard.
Marissa rushed to the desk.
“No.””
She opened a drawer.
Empty.
Another.
Empty.
Then she stared at the wall.
“What?””
Mark asked.
She pointed toward a panel.
“The server access room.””
The door was ajar.
They had broken the electronic lock.
Inside, rows of blinking servers filled the darkness.
One monitor remained active.
Marissa hurried toward it.
“I can access the backup.””
Mark followed.
“Do it.””
Her fingers flew over the keyboard.
A list of patient records appeared.
Then the screen flashed.
*ACCESS DENIED.*
Marissa tried again.
“Someone locked me out.””
Mark looked over her shoulder.
“Can you bypass it?””
“Yes.””
She typed.
A warning appeared.
*ARCHIVE PURGE IN PROGRESS.*
Marissa's face went white.
“How long?””
“Three minutes.””
Mark stared at her.
“What happens after three minutes?””
“The deleted files become unrecoverable.””
“Then stop it.””
“I need the administrator password.””
“Who has it?””
Marissa looked at him.
“Evelyn.””
Silence.
Mark pulled out his phone.
He called his mother.
She answered on the first ring.
“Mark?””
“What's the password?””
“What?””
“To the clinic archive.””
“I don't know.””
“Yes, you do.””
“I swear—”
“Mom.””
His voice became dangerously calm.
“If you don't give it to me, your entire plan goes into the police report.””
Evelyn breathed shakily.
“You don't understand what you're opening.””
“Give me the password.””
She hesitated.
Then whispered,
“Daniel's birthday.””
Marissa typed.
The archive unlocked.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Patient records.
Embryology logs.
Consent forms.
Transfer reports.
Marissa searched.
“There.””
She opened the file labeled with my name.
The record was divided into original and amended versions.
Mark leaned closer.
“What does it say?””
Marissa scrolled.
“The original pregnancy record…”
She stopped.
Her eyes widened.
“What?””
She whispered, “Lauren…”
I stepped closer.
The original genetic report loaded.
Two names appeared.
*Mother: Lauren Hayes.*
*Father: Mark Hayes.*
I exhaled.
Our baby.
Our son.
The genetic record was intact.
Then Marissa opened the embryo transfer history.
The first entry was six months old.
*Embryo ID H-417.*
The genetic parents were listed as Mark and Lauren.
Mark frowned.
“That makes no sense.””
Marissa stared at the screen.
“Wait.””
She opened the storage history.
H-417 had never been frozen.
It had never been transferred.
It had never entered the clinic under our names.
Mark's expression changed.
“Then why is it in my wife's file?””
“I don't know.””
Marissa opened another record.
The actual embryo currently assigned to Lauren's pregnancy had a different identifier.
*M-602.*
She clicked it.
The system stalled.
Then the screen filled with an error message.
*GENETIC PROFILE SEALED BY COURT ORDER.*
My blood went cold.
“A court order?””
Mark stared at the screen.
“Who sealed it?””
Marissa clicked again.
A PDF opened.
At the top was a county court seal.
Below it was a child's name.
My heart stopped.
*ETHAN MERCER.*
The court order stated that Ethan's genetic records were sealed because of a disputed parentage case.
Mark looked at me.
“That boy…”
I nodded.
“The one from the hospital.””
Marissa scrolled to the next page.
There was a DNA comparison.
Ethan Mercer.
Mark Hayes.
Probability of biological relationship: *99.98%.*
Mark stared.
His face drained of color.
“No.””
Marissa whispered, “Ethan is your biological half-brother.””
I could barely breathe.
Daniel's secret child.
Evelyn's hidden grandson.
Chloe's husband's first wife's son.
And now somehow connected to my pregnancy.
Then another line appeared beneath the test.
*Additional match: Lauren Hayes — 50%.*
My stomach dropped.
I looked at Marissa.
“What does that mean?””
She didn't answer.
Mark did.
His voice was barely a whisper.
“It means Ethan is your biological nephew.””
I stared at the screen.
Impossible.
Then the archive suddenly began deleting itself.
Red text flashed across the monitor.
*PURGE: 00:30*
Marissa shouted, “Someone just took remote control!””
Thirty seconds.
Twenty-nine.
Mark grabbed the keyboard.
“Can you save the file?””
“I'm trying!””
Twenty seconds.
A printer suddenly came alive behind us.
One page slid out.
Then another.
I grabbed the first sheet.
It was a DNA report.
I looked at the names.
Then screamed.
Because beneath *Lauren Hayes and Mark Hayes* was a third name.
The biological mother listed for my unborn son.
*Rachel Mercer.*
May you like
And the report had one handwritten note across the bottom:
*THE BABY WAS NEVER MARK'S.*
