Chapter 7: The Boy Behind the Glass
Daniel could not move.
The boy behind the glass looked like Noah.
Not similar.
Not close.
The same face.
The same pale blue eyes.
The same small scar near his chin.
Even the navy jacket hanging from his shoulders was identical to the one Noah was wearing.
Daniel looked down at his son.
Noah looked back at him.
“Daddy?””
Daniel grabbed Noah's shoulders.
“Stay with me.””
Noah nodded.
“Is that me?””
“No.””
The answer came too quickly.
Noah stared through the glass.
“He looks like me.””
Daniel turned toward the enclosure.
“Who are you?””
The boy lifted his hand and pressed it against the glass.
“I’m Noah.””
The room went silent.
Daniel's blood seemed to stop moving.
“No.””
The boy blinked.
“My name is Noah.””
Daniel looked at his son again.
Noah's face had gone white.
“I’m Noah,” he whispered.
Mara stepped toward the glass.
“Oh God.””
Charlotte backed away.
“I knew it.””
Daniel turned.
“Knew what?””
Charlotte pointed at the boy.
“That’s the reason I kept coming back.””
Daniel stared at her.
“You knew there was another boy?””
“I didn't know who he was.””
The boy behind the glass spoke again.
“Dad?””
Daniel's knees nearly buckled.
The voice sounded exactly like Noah.
Not similar.
Exact.
Noah stepped closer to Daniel.
“Daddy, why does he sound like me?””
Daniel couldn't answer.
Ethan moved toward the control panel beside the enclosure.
“Don't touch anything.””
Daniel snapped his head toward him.
“What?””
“There could be an alarm.””
“I don't care.””
“There are cameras everywhere.””
“I said I don't care.””
Ethan blocked him.
“If you open that door without shutting the system down, everyone in this building will know we're here.””
Daniel stared at him.
“My son is trapped in there.””
“I understand.””
“No, you don't.””
Ethan's voice lowered.
“Actually, I do.””
Daniel looked at him.
Ethan swallowed.
“My father ran this facility.””
Daniel froze.
“You said your father died.””
“He was supposed to.””
Ethan stared at the boy.
“I found out six years ago that he was alive.””
“Where?””
“Here.””
Daniel's gaze moved across the room.
“You've been here before.””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me.””
“I didn't know you were connected to it.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying they didn't know.””
Mara stepped toward Ethan.
“How did you get inside this room?””
Ethan looked at her.
“My father let me.””
Daniel turned.
“What?””
“He wanted me to see what he had built.””
Ethan looked through the glass.
“He called the children prototypes.””
Charlotte whispered, “I hate that word.””
Daniel stared at Ethan.
“How many?””
Ethan hesitated.
“Twenty-three that I know of.””
Daniel's stomach twisted.
“Twenty-three what?””
“Children.””
Silence.
Mara covered her mouth.
Ethan continued.
“Most were born through surrogacy. Some were taken from unstable homes. Others were recruited through private medical programs.””
Daniel looked at the boy.
“And him?””
Ethan shook his head.
“He wasn't supposed to exist.””
The boy behind the glass suddenly struck the window.
“Dad!””
Noah jumped.
Daniel stepped forward.
“I'm here!””
The boy stared at him.
“Open it.””
Daniel reached for the control panel.
Ethan grabbed his wrist.
“Wait.””
“Let go.””
“Look.””
A green light appeared on the panel.
Then a digital display.
*MATCH DETECTED*
Below it:
*SUBJECT A — NOAH CROSS*
*SUBJECT B — NOAH CROSS*
Daniel stared at the screen.
Two identical names.
Two identical birthdays.
His heart pounded.
“No.””
Mara whispered, “Daniel…”
He turned toward her.
“What did you know?””
“Nothing.””
“Then why does the system have Noah's name?””
She looked at the screen.
“I don't know.””
Charlotte suddenly stepped forward.
“It isn't his name.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What?””
“The system assigns names based on the genetic record.””
She pointed at the display.
“That means they didn't call him Noah because of you.””
Daniel frowned.
“Then why?””
“Because he is Noah.””
Daniel shook his head.
“That doesn't make sense.””
Charlotte stared at the boy.
“It does if the boy you raised isn't the first Noah.””
Daniel's entire body went cold.
He looked down at his son.
Noah.
Six years old.
The child he'd carried into his bedroom after nightmares.
The little boy whose first word had been ball.
The child who held his hand when crossing the street.
His son.
Daniel crouched beside him.
“Noah.””
“Yes?””
“Do you remember the hospital when you were born?””
Noah shook his head.
“Do you remember Mom?””
“I remember pictures.””
Daniel's throat tightened.
“Do you remember anything before you were six months old?””
Noah frowned.
“No.””
Daniel looked at Mara.
Her eyes were full of fear.
“Daniel…”
“Don't.””
“I need to tell you something.””
“What?””
She took a breath.
“When Noah was born, you weren't allowed in the nursery.””
Daniel frowned.
“What?””
“They said there was a contamination problem.””
“I remember.””
“You were outside for four hours.””
“Yes.””
“You never saw him until that night.””
Daniel slowly stood.
“Then who handed him to me?””
Mara's lips trembled.
“Dr. Reed.””
Daniel's blood ran cold.
“Dr. Samuel Reed?””
“Yes.””
“The doctor who died?””
“Yes.””
Daniel looked at the boy behind the glass.
Then at his own son.
“No.””
Mara whispered, “Daniel…”
“You're saying the doctor who disappeared after Charlotte's case handed me Noah?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't know.””
“You knew enough.””
“I was terrified.””
Daniel turned away.
His mind was racing.
He remembered that night.
The hospital hallway.
The fluorescent lights.
The nurse who wouldn't make eye contact.
Mara unconscious after delivery.
The doctor entering with a baby wrapped in a blue blanket.
Daniel had cried.
He'd kissed the baby's forehead.
He'd never questioned anything.
Because why would he?
It was his son.
The only certainty left in his life.
Or so he thought.
A buzzing sound came from the ceiling.
Ethan looked up.
“We have to leave.””
Daniel barely heard him.
“What is that?””
“An evacuation alarm.””
Charlotte's eyes widened.
“They found us.””
A red light began flashing above the door.
The boy behind the glass started pounding on the enclosure.
“Dad!””
Daniel rushed toward him.
“I'm coming!””
Ethan grabbed him.
“No!””
“Let go!””
“That enclosure is pressurized!””
“I don't care!””
“If you break that seal, he could die.””
Daniel stopped.
He looked at the boy.
The child's hands were pressed against the glass.
His eyes were wet.
“Dad, please.””
Daniel whispered, “Hold on.””
The boy nodded.
Ethan rushed to the control panel.
“I can override it.””
Mara moved beside him.
“Can you open it?””
“Yes.””
“How long?””
“Thirty seconds.””
“We don't have thirty seconds.””
“Then make them count.””
Charlotte looked toward the door.
Footsteps sounded upstairs.
Many footsteps.
Daniel tightened his fist.
“Who's coming?””
Ethan didn't answer.
The door handle began to move.
Then someone knocked.
Three slow taps.
A man's voice came through.
“Daniel.””
Daniel recognized it.
Victor Hale.
“Open the door.””
Daniel stared at the boy behind the glass.
Victor continued.
“You're looking at something you were never meant to see.””
Daniel shouted back.
“You kidnapped my daughter!””
“No.””
“You lied to me!””
“Yes.””
“You stole my son!””
Victor was silent.
Then he said,
“Which one?””
Daniel froze.
Noah looked up.
Mara covered her mouth.
Charlotte's face collapsed.
Victor spoke again.
“You've spent six years raising one of them.””
Daniel's heart slammed against his ribs.
“And the other?””
Victor's answer came softly.
“The other belongs to us.””
Daniel stepped back from the glass.
“Both are mine.””
Victor laughed.
“That depends on what you mean by mine.””
Ethan finally entered a code.
The green light turned yellow.
“Twenty seconds.””
The door upstairs began to shake.
Someone was trying to force it open.
Charlotte moved toward Daniel.
“Dad.””
Daniel looked at her.
“I found something else.””
“What?””
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded medical report.
“I found this in the room where they kept me.””
Daniel took it.
The report contained two columns.
*NOAH A*
*NOAH B*
Under each were genetic markers.
At the bottom was one handwritten sentence.
Daniel read it once.
Then again.
*Neither child is entirely biological.*
His eyes lifted.
“What does that mean?””
Mara was staring at the report.
She whispered,
“It means they didn't just use Charlotte.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What did they do?””
She shook her head.
“I don't know.””
The enclosure unlocked.
The glass door released with a hiss.
Daniel rushed inside.
The boy stood trembling.
Up close, the resemblance was even more terrifying.
Daniel knelt.
“What is your name?””
The boy stared at him.
Then he whispered,
“Eli.””
Daniel frowned.
“Why did you say Noah?””
Eli's eyes filled with tears.
“Because that's what they told me to call myself.””
Daniel's heart broke.
“Who?””
The boy looked toward the door.
“Hale.””
The basement door exploded inward.
Men rushed inside.
Ethan raised his weapon.
“Down!””
Daniel grabbed Eli.
Noah grabbed Daniel.
Charlotte grabbed Mara.
For one heartbeat, all six of them stood together.
A family assembled from fourteen years of lies.
Then a gunshot cracked through the room.
Ethan fell.
Daniel shouted his name.
Victor Hale stepped through the broken doorway.
He looked at the two boys.
Then he smiled.
“Now you can finally see why Charlotte had to disappear.””
Daniel held both boys against him.
Victor pointed toward Eli.
“That one was created from Charlotte.””
Daniel stared.
“And Noah?””
Victor looked at him.
“That one was created from you.””
Daniel's mouth went dry.
Victor lowered his weapon.
“And neither of them is the child you think they are.””
Behind Victor, Mara suddenly whispered,
“Daniel…”
He turned.
She was staring at the medical report.
Her expression was one of absolute horror.
“Don't listen to him.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Then tell me who Noah is.””
Mara's lips trembled.
“I can't.””
“Tell me!””
She began to cry.
“Because the truth is…”
A loud siren erupted overhead.
The lights went black.
May you like
And in the darkness, Victor whispered one final sentence:
“Ask Mara why she signed the birth certificate before either baby was born.””
