Chapter 12: The Basement of Three Oaks
I called Mrs. Collins immediately.
She answered on the first ring.
"Mrs. Whitmore?""
"Where is Lily?""
There was a pause.
"What do you mean?""
"Is she with you?""
"She's upstairs, watching television.""
I closed my eyes.
Relief rushed through me so violently that my knees nearly buckled.
"Please put her on the phone.""
A moment later, Lily's little voice came through.
"Mommy?""
I covered my mouth.
"Sweetheart, are you okay?""
"Yes. Bunny is here.""
"Good girl. Stay with Mrs. Collins. Don't open the door for anyone.""
"Are you coming home?""
"Yes, baby. I promise.""
I ended the call and looked at the photograph again.
The picture of Lily in the car had been taken earlier.
Someone had been watching her.
Someone had access to the house.
Someone knew exactly where she was.
Arthur stood beside me.
"Adrian is trying to force us to Three Oaks.""
"Then we'll go.""
"No.""
I turned toward him.
"He has my daughter in his sights.""
"That's why we shouldn't walk into his trap.""
Emily stepped forward.
"He's using all of us.""
I looked at her.
She was holding the silver key.
"Then we stop letting him decide what happens.""
Vanessa shook her head.
"Emily, you're not going anywhere.""
Emily turned.
"You don't get to make decisions for me anymore.""
Vanessa flinched.
Margaret picked up her handbag.
"I'm coming.""
Arthur stared at her.
"Absolutely not.""
"Adrian knows me. He'll talk to me.""
"He'll use you.""
Margaret looked at me.
"Nia, there's something in that basement you need to see.""
I took the key from Emily.
"What?""
"The original birth register.""
"Why is it so important?""
"Because it contains the names of every child involved in the clinic's experiments.""
I stared at her.
"How many?""
Margaret's expression crumpled.
"Thirty-seven.""
The number made me feel sick.
Thirty-seven children.
Thirty-seven families who might have been lied to.
Thirty-seven lives altered by people who believed money and family reputation mattered more than the truth.
We left the Whitmore estate just after ten.
Arthur drove.
Vanessa sat beside him.
Emily and Margaret sat in the back with me.
Nobody spoke during the journey.
Three Oaks stood on the outskirts of a small Connecticut town.
The building looked abandoned.
Its windows were boarded up. Weeds covered the entrance. A faded sign hung crookedly above the main doors.
I stared at it.
This was where my first daughter had been taken.
Where my second daughter had been conceived without my knowledge.
Where someone had rewritten my life.
Arthur parked behind a row of trees.
"We go in quietly.""
Margaret pointed toward a narrow side entrance.
"That door leads to the basement.""
We approached.
The lock was old.
I inserted the silver key.
It turned immediately.
The door opened with a groan.
Inside, the air smelled of damp paper and disinfectant.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
Arthur switched on his flashlight.
We went down.
The basement contained old filing cabinets, broken medical equipment, and shelves filled with dusty boxes.
At the far end stood a metal door.
A small number seven had been painted across it.
I looked at the key.
"This is it.""
Margaret nodded.
I unlocked the door.
Inside was a small office.
A desk stood against one wall.
A computer sat beneath a thick layer of dust.
And on the desk was a leather-bound register.
I approached it slowly.
The first page contained a list of dates.
The second contained names.
Then I saw mine.
*NIA MILLER — PATIENT 014.*
Beside it was a medical note.
*FIRST EMBRYO TRANSFER: SUCCESSFUL. INFANT FEMALE. TRANSFERRED TO PRIVATE GUARDIAN.*
My hands began shaking.
I turned the page.
*SECOND EMBRYO TRANSFER: SUCCESSFUL. INFANT FEMALE. LEGAL PARENTAGE ALTERED.*
Beside it were two names.
Mine.
And Vanessa's.
I looked at my sister.
She covered her mouth.
"That's impossible.""
I turned another page.
There were photographs.
Thirty-seven newborn babies.
Each with a number.
Each with a different family name.
Then I found a photograph of three boys.
The triplets.
The names beneath them were different from the ones we had been told.
*BABY A — ADRIAN.*
*BABY B — DANIEL.*
*BABY C — ETHAN.*
The original birth order.
The truth.
Margaret began crying.
Arthur sat down heavily.
I continued reading.
A document had been attached to the final page.
It was a payment authorization.
The signature belonged to my mother.
But the recipient wasn't Margaret.
It was Vanessa.
I turned toward my sister.
"Why did my mother pay you?""
Vanessa looked horrified.
"I never saw this.""
I read the handwritten note beneath the payment.
*GUARDIAN COMPENSATION — SECOND CHILD TRANSFER.*
My throat tightened.
"Vanessa, you were paid to take Lily?""
She shook her head.
"No. Mother told me I was helping you.""
I looked at the amount.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
A second signature appeared beneath it.
Arthur Whitmore.
He stood abruptly.
"I never authorized that.""
Margaret looked at him.
"Arthur...""
He stared at her.
"You signed my name?""
She began crying.
"I had no choice.""
Before anyone could ask another question, the lights flickered.
A loud metallic sound came from the hallway.
The basement door slammed shut.
Arthur ran toward it.
He pulled the handle.
Locked.
Then a speaker crackled overhead.
A man's voice filled the room.
"Welcome back, Margaret.""
Margaret went rigid.
"Adrian.""
The voice laughed.
"You brought the whole family. How touching.""
I stepped toward the speaker.
"Where is Daniel?""
Silence.
Then Adrian answered.
"Your husband is very much alive, Nia.""
My heart pounded.
"Let me speak to him.""
"Not yet.""
"Where is he?""
"Somewhere he can finally understand what his family did to him.""
I looked at the register.
"What do you want?""
"The original documents. And the silver key.""
I raised my voice.
"You already have access to the building. Why do you need the key?""
"Because there is another room.""
Margaret began shaking.
I turned toward her.
"What room?""
She whispered, "The archive.""
Adrian laughed through the speaker.
"Very good, Mother. You're finally remembering.""
I looked at the key.
"What's in the archive?""
Margaret's eyes filled.
"Proof of who really gave birth to the triplets.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
She nodded.
"The clinic changed more than the children's identities.""
The speaker crackled again.
Adrian's voice became colder.
"Bring me the register, Nia. Or your husband will pay for your curiosity.""
A monitor on the wall suddenly switched on.
A video appeared.
Daniel was sitting in a small room.
His beard was longer.
His face thinner.
But he was alive.
I rushed toward the screen.
"Daniel!""
He lifted his head.
His eyes widened.
"Nia?""
I pressed my hand against the monitor.
"Daniel, I'm here!""
He looked directly into the camera.
Then his expression changed.
He began shaking his head.
"No. No, you shouldn't be here.""
I started crying.
"Daniel, I'm getting you out.""
He leaned closer to the camera.
"Nia, listen to me. Whatever Adrian tells you, don't believe him.""
A shadow appeared behind Daniel.
Someone stepped into view.
It was a woman.
She placed a hand on his shoulder.
Daniel closed his eyes.
I stared at the screen.
The woman looked directly into the camera.
Then she smiled.
I recognized her immediately.
It was my mother.
Alive.
Standing beside my supposedly dead husband.
And then she spoke.
"Hello, sweetheart.""
The monitor went black.
A second later, the metal door behind us unlocked.
May you like
And Adrian's voice returned.
"Now that everyone is finally together, let's discuss which one of you was never supposed to be born.""
