Chapter 12 - THE BABY WHO DISAPPEARED
Arthur reached the federal detention center in forty minutes.
Norah came with him.
He did not argue.
Growth.
Richard sat behind reinforced glass.
His shoulder was bandaged.
He smiled when he saw Norah.
“You look healthier.”
Arthur’s hand tightened around the phone.
Norah took the seat beside him.
“What happened the night Henry was born?”
Richard leaned back.
“Catherine was carrying twins.”
Arthur stopped breathing.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“You knew there were two embryos early in the pregnancy.”
Arthur remembered.
At eight weeks.
Two heartbeats.
Then at twelve weeks, Vale told them one had been reabsorbed.
Vanishing twin.
Common enough.
They mourned quietly.
Moved on.
Richard smiled.
“Vale falsified the ultrasound.”
Norah felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because the second fetus had markers relevant to Orfeo’s genetic studies.”
Arthur’s face became terrifying.
“What did you do?”
Richard’s smile faded slightly.
“The second child was born alive.”
Arthur stood so violently the guard reached for his weapon.
Norah pulled Arthur back.
“Where?”
Richard watched him.
“A girl.”
Arthur’s eyes filled before he could stop them.
A daughter.
Catherine had given birth to a daughter.
And someone had taken her.
“What happened to her?”
“Transferred.”
“To who?”
“Vale handled it.”
“Vale is dead.”
“So find his records.”
Arthur’s voice broke.
“You stole my daughter.”
Richard shrugged.
“We needed subjects.”
Norah closed her eyes.
Arthur nearly crossed the glass.
Then Richard added:
“The girl did not remain in the program.”
Arthur stared.
“Why?”
“Someone took her.”
“Who?”
Richard smiled.
“Elise Hayes.”
Norah went completely still.
“My mother?”
Richard laughed softly.
“She discovered the infant ward transfer. She removed the baby before Vale could move her to a research site.”
Norah’s mind raced.
Elise had come home one night with blood on her blouse.
Norah remembered.
She was fourteen.
Her mother claimed she had helped a woman after a car accident.
Had that been the night?
“What did she do with the baby?” Norah whispered.
Richard looked at her.
“You already know.”
Norah stopped breathing.
No.
Impossible.
Maya was nineteen.
Henry was five.
The dates did not match.
Then Norah understood.
Not Maya.
Someone else.
A foster child their mother had cared for briefly.
A baby named Emily.
Norah remembered her for six months.
Then Elise said the child had been reunited with relatives.
Arthur’s hands shook.
“Where is Emily?”
Norah looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
They left the detention center with Vale’s encrypted archive location.
Vincent found the records that evening.
An infant.
Female.
Born Catherine Cole.
Listed as deceased.
Then re-registered under a confidential foster placement.
Name:
EMILY ROSE HAYES.
Arthur stared at the screen.
Elise had given his daughter her own surname.
And according to the final placement record, Emily had been adopted at age one.
By a family living in Boston.
May you like
She was alive.
His daughter was alive.
