Chapter 9: The Son I Raised
“That isn't your son.””
The words seemed to split the room in two.
Daniel stared at Eli.
Then at Noah.
His little boy was crying now, tears running down his cheeks beneath the edge of his blue hat.
“Daddy?””
Daniel dropped to his knees.
Noah reached for him.
Daniel pulled him into his arms so tightly the boy gasped.
“Don’t listen to him.””
Eli looked frightened.
“I’m sorry.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No. You don't get to tell me who my son is.””
A police officer approached the doorway.
“Sir, step away from the child.””
Daniel stood immediately.
“No.””
The officer kept his weapon lowered.
“We need everyone separated.””
“You don't understand.””
“We've secured the building.””
“I don't care about the building.””
Daniel pointed toward the screen.
“That says my son is dead.””
The officer glanced at the monitor.
“Who is Noah Cross?””
Daniel looked at his child.
“My son.””
The officer looked toward Mara.
“Ma’am?””
Mara was trembling.
“He's Daniel's son.””
The officer frowned.
“Biologically?””
Mara didn't answer.
Daniel felt his chest tighten.
“Don't.””
She closed her eyes.
The officer repeated himself.
“Is the child biologically related to Mr. Cross?””
Mara whispered,
“I don't know.””
Daniel stared at her.
“You don't know?””
“I was never given the original test results.””
“You signed the papers.””
“I signed what they put in front of me.””
“You raised him.””
“Yes.””
“You held him.””
“Yes.””
“You watched him take his first steps.””
“Yes.””
“You told him you loved him.””
Mara looked at him.
“Every day.””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“Then I don't care what that screen says.””
Noah looked up.
“I’m your son, Daddy.””
Daniel pressed his forehead against the boy's.
“You are.””
Noah wrapped his arms around his neck.
“I love you.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I love you too.””
A paramedic rushed toward Ethan.
“Sir, don't move.””
Ethan ignored him long enough to look at Daniel.
“There's one thing you need to know.””
Daniel turned.
“What?””
Ethan's face was pale.
“The file isn't complete.””
The officer looked at the monitor.
“What does that mean?””
Ethan pointed.
“There’s a second page.””
The screen flickered.
A hidden document opened.
Daniel saw a photograph.
A newborn baby.
Then another.
Two infants wrapped in identical white blankets.
Under the first:
*NOAH CROSS — BIRTH RECORDED*
Under the second:
*NOAH CROSS — REPLACEMENT SUBJECT*
Daniel's breathing stopped.
The officer whispered, “Jesus.””
Mara moved closer.
“That’s him.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Which one?””
She pointed to the second photograph.
“I don't know.””
He stared.
The babies looked identical.
“Why would you have two records?””
Mara shook her head.
“I told you. They told me I was having twins.””
“But you weren't.””
“No.””
“Then who was the second baby?””
She looked toward Eli.
“He was.””
Daniel's head snapped around.
Eli lowered his eyes.
Mara continued.
“They transferred him before you ever saw him.””
Daniel stared at her.
“So the baby I brought home…”
No one answered.
The silence was enough.
Daniel looked at Noah.
His entire world shifted again.
He remembered the hospital.
The blue blanket.
The tiny fingers gripping his.
The first time the baby looked into his eyes.
He remembered feeling certain.
But certainty was not proof.
A police detective entered the room.
“I'm Detective Harris.””
He showed his badge.
“I need everyone to stay calm.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“I'm afraid that ship sailed a long time ago.””
Harris crouched beside Noah.
“Is this your son?””
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.””
Harris looked at the screen.
“Do you know what ‘original deceased’ means?””
“No.””
“Neither do I.””
Ethan coughed.
“It means Hale's records claim the original child died.””
Daniel turned toward him.
“And you said the file isn't complete.””
“Because the database was altered.””
“By who?””
“Hale.””
“Can we prove it?””
Ethan nodded weakly.
“There’s an offline archive.””
“Where?””
“Under his estate.””
Daniel stood.
“No.””
Harris looked at him.
“Mr. Cross?””
“We don't need another building.””
“We need the archive.””
Daniel looked at Mara.
She had gone strangely still.
“What?””
She whispered,
“I know where it is.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“Of course you do.””
Mara accepted the accusation without defending herself.
“I lived there.””
The room fell silent.
“You lived at Hale's estate?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“After Charlotte disappeared.””
Daniel stared.
“You went to live with him?””
“I went there to get her back.””
“And stayed?””
“He wouldn't let me leave.””
Charlotte suddenly stepped forward.
“That isn't the whole truth.””
Mara looked at her.
Charlotte’s voice was shaking.
“Mom stayed because she was waiting for another baby.””
Daniel froze.
“What?””
Mara's eyes closed.
Charlotte looked at Daniel.
“Your wife was pregnant when she disappeared.””
Daniel slowly turned toward Mara.
“No.””
Mara whispered,
“Yes.””
“How far along?””
“Almost six months.””
Daniel felt the room tilt.
“You were pregnant?””
“Yes.””
“With Noah?””
“No.””
His blood went cold.
“Then who?””
Mara began to cry.
“With a child Hale wanted.””
Daniel couldn't speak.
Charlotte stepped closer.
“He wasn't born.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What happened?””
Mara shook her head.
“I lost him.””
“When?””
“Three months before Noah was born.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“Then why did Hale keep you?””
Mara looked at the screen.
“Because he believed the pregnancy had changed my genetics.””
Daniel stared.
“That doesn't make sense.””
“He believed I could carry something Charlotte couldn't.””
Charlotte interrupted.
“And that's why they kept testing me.””
Ethan nodded.
“Genetic expression.””
Daniel looked toward him.
“What does that mean?””
“Some traits aren't active until later.””
Daniel looked at Noah.
“Later?””
Ethan nodded.
“Hale was trying to trigger a specific biological response.””
“For what?””
Ethan hesitated.
“Regeneration.””
Daniel stared.
“That's impossible.””
Ethan shook his head.
“Not exactly.””
“What were they trying to regenerate?””
He looked at Charlotte.
“Human tissue.””
Daniel's face hardened.
“You used my daughter for experiments.””
“We didn't.””
“Then who did?””
“Hale.””
Daniel stepped toward him.
“You worked for him.””
“I did.””
“Why?””
Ethan's eyes lowered.
“Because my father threatened my sister.””
Charlotte asked softly,
“Where is she?””
Ethan looked at her.
“Dead.””
The room went silent.
“My father killed her when she tried to expose the program.””
Daniel stared.
“How many?””
Ethan swallowed.
“I don't know.””
“You said twelve facilities.””
“Yes.””
“And twenty-three children.””
“That was only this program.””
Daniel felt sick.
Detective Harris stepped forward.
“We're going to need every file.””
Ethan nodded.
“Then go to Hale's estate.””
Harris frowned.
“Why?””
“Because that's where the original birth records are.””
Daniel looked at Mara.
“You know how to get inside.””
Mara nodded.
“There’s a tunnel.””
Harris stared.
“A tunnel?””
“It connects the estate to an old chapel.””
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
“The chapel?””
Mara nodded.
“Hale used it for private ceremonies.””
“What kind?””
She looked at him.
“Adoptions.””
Daniel felt a chill.
“Legal adoptions?””
“Not always.””
Charlotte suddenly looked toward the screen.
“Wait.””
She pointed.
A file had opened in the lower corner.
*CROSS FAMILY — FINAL TRANSFER*
Daniel moved closer.
There were three names.
*CHARLOTTE CROSS*
*NOAH CROSS*
*UNKNOWN FEMALE INFANT*
Mara gasped.
Daniel turned.
“Female infant?””
Mara shook her head.
“I don't know that child.””
Charlotte stared at the document.
“She was there.””
Daniel frowned.
“Where?””
“In the nursery.””
“When?””
“The night I disappeared.””
Daniel's heart hammered.
“You remember?””
“Pieces.””
“What pieces?””
Charlotte closed her eyes.
“A woman carrying a baby.””
“What woman?””
“I couldn't see her face.””
“What did she say?””
Charlotte swallowed.
“She said, ‘This isn't the one.’”
Daniel looked at Mara.
Mara had gone pale.
“What?””
Daniel stepped toward her.
“Mara.””
She didn't move.
“What does that mean?””
Mara whispered,
“It means…”
She stopped.
Daniel waited.
“It means I wasn't the woman holding that baby.””
Daniel's stomach dropped.
“Who was?””
“I don't know.””
Charlotte suddenly shook her head.
“Yes, you do.””
Mara looked at her.
Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.
“You saw her.””
“When?””
“The night I was taken.””
Mara said nothing.
Charlotte stepped closer.
“You told me later that you never knew who carried the baby.””
Daniel stared at Mara.
“You lied.””
Mara whispered,
“Yes.””
“Who was she?””
Mara looked toward Noah.
Then Eli.
Then Charlotte.
Finally, she said,
“Your mother.””
Daniel stopped breathing.
“My mother died twenty years ago.””
“I know.””
“That’s impossible.””
Mara shook her head.
“Your mother was reported dead.””
Daniel stared.
“What are you saying?””
“She worked for Hale.””
“No.””
“She helped create the original program.””
“My mother was a nurse.””
“She was more than that.””
Daniel's knees weakened.
For the first time, everything connected.
His family.
Mara.
Charlotte.
Noah.
Eli.
Hale.
The hidden rooms.
The altered records.
The dead doctor.
The stolen years.
It had all begun long before he knew any of them.
Daniel whispered,
“My mother knew?””
Mara nodded.
“She knew what Charlotte was.””
“What?””
“She knew Charlotte carried a genetic marker Hale needed.””
Daniel turned toward his daughter.
Charlotte looked terrified.
Mara continued.
“And your mother believed you carried the same marker.””
Daniel stared at his son.
“Noah.””
Mara nodded.
“That's why Hale chose you.””
Daniel’s voice was almost silent.
“But I wasn't supposed to be part of the program.””
“No.””
“Then why me?””
Mara looked at him.
“Because your father wasn't who you thought he was either.””
Daniel's face went blank.
“My father?””
“He wasn't your biological father.””
The room seemed to disappear.
Detective Harris stared.
Ethan lowered his head.
Charlotte whispered,
“Dad…”
Daniel looked at Mara.
“Then who was?””
Mara's eyes filled with tears.
“Hale.””
Daniel stepped backward.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“That's impossible.””
“I’m sorry.””
“No.””
Daniel shook his head violently.
“You're lying.””
“I wish I were.””
Victor Hale entered the doorway.
Somehow, despite the police surrounding him, he looked calm.
He had been listening.
He smiled.
“Now you understand.””
Daniel turned.
“You're my father?””
Victor's expression softened.
“For the first time tonight, you're asking the right question.””
Daniel stared at him.
Victor continued,
“And that is why your son was never really yours.””
He looked toward Noah.
“Because the boy you raised…”
May you like
Victor paused.
“…was made from my blood.””
