Chapter 8: The Baby They Were Hiding
“The baby was never Mark’s.””
I read the sentence again.
Then again.
My hands had gone so cold that the paper trembled between my fingers.
Mark stood beside me, staring at the same report.
“No,” he said.
Marissa reached for the page.
“Give me that.””
I didn't move.
“Lauren.””
I looked at her.
“What does this mean?””
She took the report carefully.
“It means someone wants you to believe the fetus you're carrying is not genetically related to Mark.””
“But the original record said it was.””
“Yes.””
“So which one is real?””
Marissa stared at the two reports.
“I don't know yet.””
Mark turned toward her.
“Then find out.””
A sharp alarm began beeping from the server terminal.
The purge clock flashed red.
*00:08*
Marissa swore.
“Eight seconds.””
She grabbed a USB drive from her bag.
“Back up everything.””
Mark reached for the keyboard.
“Which files?””
“All of them.””
“That's impossible.””
“Then save the records with the genetic data.””
*00:05*
The screen flickered.
Marissa dragged three folders into the backup window.
*00:04*
One completed.
The second stalled.
*00:03*
Mark hit the keyboard.
“Come on.””
*00:02*
The third file turned green.
*BACKUP COMPLETE.*
The screen went black.
The room fell silent.
For a moment, none of us moved.
Then the emergency lights came on.
Marissa exhaled.
“We have something.””
“How much?”” Mark asked.
“Enough to prove the files were altered.””
“Do we have enough to prove who's responsible?””
She hesitated.
“Maybe.””
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Mark immediately stepped in front of me.
Marissa shut the server-room door.
Chloe whispered, “Someone's coming.””
The footsteps stopped outside.
Nobody breathed.
Then someone rattled the handle.
Once.
Twice.
Mark looked around the room.
There was nowhere to hide.
The handle turned.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside wearing dark hospital scrubs.
He froze when he saw us.
Mark moved first.
“Who are you?””
The man took a step back.
“I'm security.””
Marissa frowned.
“What's your name?””
“Victor.””
“You don't work third shift.””
He looked at her.
“Yes, I do.””
“No.””
Marissa pointed toward his badge.
“That's not a clinic badge.””
The man's eyes flicked toward the exit.
Mark noticed.
“Don't move.””
The man turned.
Mark caught his shoulder.
They struggled for a second.
The man shoved Mark into the wall.
I screamed.
Chloe grabbed a metal chair and swung it toward him.
He ducked.
Marissa reached for the emergency alarm.
The man ran.
Mark chased him into the hallway.
“Mark!””
He disappeared around the corner.
I wanted to follow.
My body refused.
A crushing pressure tightened around my abdomen.
I grabbed the edge of the server cabinet.
“Lauren?”” Chloe asked.
“I—”
Another wave came.
Harder.
I gasped.
“Something's wrong.””
Chloe's face went white.
Marissa rushed toward me.
“Are you having contractions?””
“I don't know.””
“How far apart?””
“I don't know!””
Mark came running back.
He looked at me and stopped dead.
“What happened?””
“She may be in labor,” Marissa said.
“We're going to the hospital.””
Mark took my hand.
The pain began fading.
I breathed through it.
Then Marissa looked down.
“There’s blood.””
Mark's face changed.
“How much?””
“Not much.””
“Hospital. Now.””
We hurried down the stairwell.
Halfway down, Marissa's phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face went blank.
“Who?””
“Evelyn.””
Mark took the phone.
“Mom?””
Evelyn's voice was frantic.
“Mark, listen to me.””
“Where are you?””
“I left the house.””
“Where?””
“I can't tell you.””
“Why?””
“Because they're watching me.””
“Who?””
She was crying.
“The people who helped me.””
Mark stopped walking.
“What people?””
“You have to get Lauren out of the city.””
My stomach tightened.
“What are you talking about?”” he demanded.
“They know the baby is yours.””
Mark looked at me.
“What baby?””
“The one she's carrying.””
His face hardened.
“Then why did you tell us it wasn't mine?””
“I didn't.””
Mark's jaw tightened.
“We saw the report.””
“I didn't make that report.””
Marissa stepped closer.
“Evelyn, who altered the genetic record?””
There was silence.
Then Evelyn whispered,
“David.””
Mark's eyes widened.
“David Mercer?””
“No.””
She swallowed.
“Your father.””
The call went dead.
Mark stared at the phone.
“No.””
Marissa looked at him.
“Daniel?””
He nodded.
“But he's dead.””
Marissa's expression was grim.
“So we thought.””
We reached the parking lot.
The rain had stopped.
The air smelled like wet asphalt.
Mark helped me into the back seat.
Chloe sat beside me.
Marissa started the engine.
Mark climbed in front.
“Hospital.””
We drove.
Nobody spoke for several minutes.
Then Chloe looked at me.
“I need to tell you something.””
I turned.
“What?””
She was crying again.
“I knew your mother.””
My chest tightened.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Before I married David.””
I stared at her.
“What did you know?””
“She came to the clinic.””
“Why?””
Chloe lowered her voice.
“She was looking for someone.””
“Who?””
“Ethan.””
My breath caught.
“You knew Ethan?””
“No.””
She shook her head quickly.
“I knew about him.””
“How?””
“David told me.””
Mark turned around from the front seat.
“What exactly did he tell you?””
Chloe wiped her face.
“He said his first wife had a child, but the child wasn't biologically hers.””
Marissa glanced at her in the mirror.
“That isn't true.””
“I know that now.””
“What else?””
Chloe looked at me.
“He said your mother helped hide him.””
My heart pounded.
“My mother knew Ethan.””
“She did more than know him.””
“What do you mean?””
Chloe reached into her purse.
She pulled out a small photograph.
My hands began shaking before I even saw it.
The picture showed my mother standing beside a little boy.
Ethan.
He was about four years old.
Behind them was a house I recognized.
My childhood home.
I stared at the porch.
At the blue shutters.
At the crooked stone birdbath beside the steps.
My throat closed.
“He lived with my mother?””
“For a while,” Chloe said.
“Why didn't she tell me?””
“I don't know.””
Mark leaned over the seat.
“Where did you get that?””
“David gave it to me.””
“When?””
“Three weeks before he disappeared.””
Mark went still.
“Disappeared?””
Chloe nodded.
“He didn't die when everyone said.””
Marissa whispered, “We know.””
Chloe shook her head.
“No.””
She looked at Mark.
“You don't know.””
The car became silent.
“What don't I know?”” Mark asked.
Chloe's fingers tightened around the photograph.
“David was afraid of your father.””
Mark frowned.
“Why?””
“Because Daniel knew about the embryo mix-up.””
Marissa nodded slowly.
“That fits.””
Chloe continued.
“David wanted the baby.””
Mark stared.
“Which baby?””
“The Mercer embryo.””
“The one connected to Rachel?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he believed that child would inherit Rachel's family's money.””
Mark shook his head.
“So Ethan.””
“Yes.””
Chloe's voice cracked.
“David went looking for him.””
“And?””
“He found him.””
My stomach tightened.
“Where?””
Chloe looked at me.
“At your mother's house.””
I felt like I couldn't breathe.
“What happened?””
“He took Ethan.””
Marissa slammed on the brakes.
The car stopped at a red light.
“David kidnapped him?”” Mark asked.
“No.””
Chloe shook her head.
“Your father took Ethan back.””
Mark stared.
“Daniel?””
“Yes.””
“He was supposed to be dying.””
“He wasn't.””
“Then where did he go?””
Chloe whispered,
“He disappeared with Ethan.””
I looked at Marissa.
“What does that have to do with my baby?””
She didn't answer.
Mark did.
“Because Dad's genetic information is connected to the embryo.””
Marissa nodded.
“But that's not all.””
She reached into the glove box.
She pulled out the USB drive.
“There's one more file.””
“What file?”” Mark asked.
“A prenatal screening record.””
“Mine?””
“Yes.””
She opened the file on her phone.
The report loaded.
The baby's DNA matched mine.
It also matched someone else.
Mark leaned forward.
“Who?””
Marissa's voice was almost inaudible.
“Daniel Hayes.””
My heart stopped.
“That can't be.””
She nodded.
“It says the fetus shares fifty percent of its DNA with Daniel.””
Mark stared.
“So he's…”
“His biological grandson,” Marissa said.
Mark looked at me.
“Then the child is mine.””
“Yes.””
The relief lasted only a second.
Marissa kept scrolling.
A second comparison appeared.
*Fetal DNA / Ethan Mercer: 25% shared.*
Mark's face went pale.
“The baby's related to Ethan.””
Marissa nodded.
“They're half-brothers.””
Chloe whispered, “That means…”
Nobody finished the sentence.
Then I understood.
Ethan was Daniel's son.
Mark was Daniel's son.
My baby was Mark's.
Which meant Ethan and my unborn son shared the same grandfather.
They were not brothers.
They were cousins.
But there was another problem.
The date.
The test had been performed three weeks ago.
I looked at Marissa.
“I never had this test.””
“I know.””
“Then who did?””
She didn't answer.
Mark's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice came through.
“Mr. Hayes.””
Mark's expression changed.
“Who is this?””
“You've been asking the wrong questions.””
“Where is my wife?””
“She's with you.””
“Then what do you want?””
“I want you to stop digging.””
“Not happening.””
The voice became colder.
“Your father made the same mistake.””
Mark froze.
“What did you do to him?””
A pause.
Then:
“Nothing.””
Mark's hand tightened around the phone.
“He did it to himself.””
“Where is he?””
The caller laughed softly.
“You're closer than you think.””
The line went dead.
Marissa whispered, “We need to keep driving.””
Mark stared at the phone.
Then he looked through the rear window.
A black SUV had appeared three cars behind us.
It turned when we turned.
It followed us through the next intersection.
Then another black SUV joined it.
Chloe looked over her shoulder.
“There are two.””
Mark's voice became calm.
“Marissa.””
“Yes?””
“Don't go to the hospital.””
She stared at him.
“Then where?””
He looked at me.
“My father's old house.””
My stomach dropped.
“The house that was sold?””
Mark shook his head.
“It was never sold.””
He looked back at the two SUVs.
“Dad left it to someone before he died.””
“Who?””
Mark's face had gone completely white.
He whispered,
“My mother.””
May you like
The SUVs sped up.
And in the distance, beneath the rain-heavy sky, the gates of Daniel Hayes's supposedly abandoned estate began to open.
