Chapter 6 - THE DAUGHTER THEY CREATED
Thomas was arrested.
Conrad disappeared before federal agents reached his estate.
Adrian remained free while prosecutors built the financial case.
The mansion was seized by Northstar.
His accounts were frozen.
His board removed him.
Yet he continued speaking publicly as though he were the victim.
He posted photographs from our wedding.
He described himself as a grieving husband.
He claimed Julian and Vanessa had conspired to turn me against him.
Thousands of strangers believed him.
Abusers often sounded most convincing when they performed pain.
From my secure hospital room, I began reviewing the Helix files.
One document contained a list of twelve children born from the original experimental program.
Eleven were identified by code numbers.
The twelfth had a name.
Vanessa Pierce.
I stared at it until the letters blurred.
Vanessa was not merely Conrad’s daughter.
She was the first surviving child produced through Helix selection.
Her entire life had been designed.
Her height.
Her eye color.
Her predicted intelligence.
Her resistance to certain diseases.
Conrad raised her as proof of his success.
When I showed her, she did not cry.
She became silent.
“My mother died when I was born,” she said.
“That’s what Conrad told you?”
“Yes.”
The files revealed her mother had survived.
Her name was Dr. Naomi Grant, a genetic counselor who discovered Conrad was using unauthorized embryos.
She tried to expose him.
Then she disappeared.
A death certificate claimed she died from postpartum complications.
No hospital record supported it.
Vanessa looked at me.
“You think she’s alive?”
“I think your father lies when death is convenient.”
We discovered Naomi had entered witness protection under another name after providing limited evidence to federal regulators.
The investigation collapsed when Thomas and Conrad bribed officials.
Naomi remained hidden because Conrad threatened to kill Vanessa.
For thirty-five years, Vanessa believed her mother abandoned her.
In reality, Naomi disappeared to keep her alive.
The revelation changed something between us.
Vanessa had helped Adrian humiliate me.
She had participated in financial fraud.
She had mocked me while I lay injured.
Her pain did not erase her choices.
But I no longer saw her as a simple villain.
She was a woman raised to believe human value came from genetic perfection and male approval.
“I’m still testifying against you,” I told her.
“I know.”
“You could go to prison.”
“I know.”
“Helping now doesn’t cancel what you did.”
“I know.”
She looked at my stomach.
“But I won’t let them do to those babies what they did to me.”
That afternoon, my contractions worsened.
Dr. Morgan administered medication to delay labor.
The twins needed more time.
So did I.
Celeste brought Adrian’s divorce filing.
He demanded half of Northstar, ownership of the embryos, and sole custody after birth.
“He has no biological claim,” I said.
“He argues that marital consent makes him the legal father.”
“He tried to have me killed.”
“His attorneys call that an unproven allegation.”
I signed my response.
Then I signed another document.
Northstar would create a victim compensation fund using profits derived from Helix Meridian’s sale.
I could not change where the money came from.
I could change what it did next.
Before Celeste left, Julian entered with a sealed envelope found inside our mother’s private vault.
It was addressed to me.
My dearest Mara,
If you are reading this, then Thomas has returned.
I told you he died because I feared the truth would make you search for him.
I was wrong to hide what happened.
I chose our family’s security over justice for other families.
That choice will follow you unless you do what I lacked the courage to do.
Open everything.
Release every name.
Return every dollar you can.
And never allow a man to convince you that protecting your children requires silence.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
My mother had failed.
She also left me a path beyond her failure.
That night, Northstar released the Helix archive to federal authorities.
By morning, three major pharmaceutical companies were under investigation.
And Conrad Pierce sent me a message.
May you like
YOU HAVE FORTY-EIGHT HOURS TO RETURN THE FILES.
OR ONE OF YOUR CHILDREN WILL NOT LEAVE THE HOSPITAL.
