Chapter 12: The Mistress Who Wasn't What She Seemed
Madison arrived at Boston Logan International Airport at 9:40 the following morning.
She wasn't alone.
A young boy walked beside her, carrying a small blue backpack.
Nicholas.
He looked twelve.
He wore a gray hoodie, dark jeans, and expensive sneakers.
His eyes moved across the terminal as though he expected someone to be waiting for him.
Madison held his hand.
She looked exhausted.
Her face was pale, and her pregnancy had clearly taken a toll.
Daniel stood beside me.
"Are you ready?""
I watched the boy.
"No.""
Then I stepped forward.
Madison saw me.
Her expression changed immediately.
"Claire.""
Nicholas looked between us.
"Who is she?""
Madison tightened her grip on his hand.
"Someone we need to talk to.""
I stopped a few feet away.
"Hello, Nicholas.""
He frowned.
"Do I know you?""
I swallowed.
"Not yet.""
Madison looked at Daniel.
"Why is he here?""
Daniel answered calmly.
"Because the authorities need to establish the circumstances surrounding Nicholas's travel and guardianship.""
Madison shook her head.
"Edward arranged everything.""
"Edward is dead," I said.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know.""
I looked at Nicholas.
"Would you like something to eat?""
He glanced at Madison.
She nodded.
"Go ahead, sweetheart.""
Nicholas walked toward a nearby café with Daniel.
Madison remained where she was.
I looked at her.
"Why did you bring him here?""
She wiped her cheeks.
"Because Evelyn told me to.""
My stomach tightened.
"Is Evelyn directing you?""
Madison shook her head.
"Not anymore.""
"Then why?""
She looked down at her hands.
"Because she threatened my babies.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
Madison took a breath.
"After I became pregnant, Evelyn told me the embryos had been created using donor material. She said the children would be valuable to the family. I thought she meant financially.""
She looked toward Nicholas.
"Then she showed me the original records.""
I felt cold.
"She told you who the genetic parents were?""
Madison nodded.
"She told me the twins were yours and Grant's. She said I was only carrying them.""
I stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because she threatened to have me arrested. She said I had signed the consent forms.""
"Did you?""
Madison shook her head.
"Not the original ones. I signed documents believing they were standard fertility treatment paperwork. I didn't know the embryos had been stolen.""
I studied her face.
She looked frightened.
Not smug.
Not triumphant.
For the first time, I wondered whether Madison had been another person Evelyn had manipulated.
"Why did you wear my ring?""
Her eyes filled.
"Grant gave it to me.""
"I know.""
"She told me to wear it.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"Evelyn said it would make the divorce easier. She wanted you to believe Grant had already chosen me.""
I looked away.
The image of Madison standing beside my fireplace, wearing my diamond ring, returned to my mind.
Evelyn had staged the entire humiliation.
She had wanted me angry.
She had wanted me to sign quickly.
And she had used Madison as part of the performance.
"Did you know about the fifty million?""
Madison nodded.
"Evelyn told me it would be transferred once you signed. She said the money was a small price for securing the trust.""
I looked at her.
"And the babies?""
Madison began crying.
"I didn't know they would become sick.""
I took a slow breath.
"Are they stable?""
"One twin is improving. The other still needs additional treatment.""
I nodded.
"I want to help them if the doctors say I can.""
Madison looked surprised.
"After everything?""
"They're children.""
She covered her mouth.
Then she whispered, "I'm sorry.""
I didn't forgive her.
Not yet.
But I believed she was telling me the truth.
Nicholas sat at a café table with Daniel.
When I approached, he looked up.
"Are you my real mother?""
The question nearly broke me.
I sat across from him.
"Yes.""
He studied my face.
"Then why didn't you raise me?""
I took a breath.
"Because someone made decisions about your life without telling me. I didn't know you existed until recently.""
"Edward told me my mother died.""
I looked at Madison.
She lowered her eyes.
I returned my attention to Nicholas.
"Edward lied.""
The boy stared at his backpack.
"Was he a bad person?""
I thought carefully.
"He did some very bad things. But I don't want you to feel that you have to hate him.""
Nicholas looked up.
"Am I supposed to live with you now?""
I felt tears gathering.
"I hope we can get to know each other. But you don't have to decide anything today.""
He considered that.
Then he asked, "Do you have pictures of me when I was a baby?""
I shook my head.
"No.""
His shoulders dropped.
"I do," Madison said quietly.
She reached into her bag and removed a small album.
"I kept copies of the photographs Edward sent to the clinic.""
She placed it on the table.
The first photograph showed Nicholas as a newborn.
The second showed him at six months.
The third showed him taking his first steps.
I touched the page.
I had missed all of it.
Nicholas watched me.
"Would you like to see my school pictures?""
I smiled through my tears.
"Very much.""
He pulled a photograph from his backpack.
It showed him standing in front of a classroom holding a science project.
He had built a small model of the solar system.
"That's amazing," I said.
He shrugged.
"I like science.""
I looked at him.
"Your grandfather did, too.""
"Which one?""
I hesitated.
"Robert Hayes. My father.""
Nicholas looked confused.
"How many grandfathers do I have?""
I smiled sadly.
"That's a long story.""
For the first time, he smiled back.
An hour later, Daniel received an update from the investigators.
Evelyn's financial accounts had been frozen.
Victor Hale had been located and was cooperating with authorities.
The original embryo records had been secured.
And the court had granted an emergency review of the children's legal status.
But there was another development.
The investigators had found evidence that Madison's pregnancy wasn't the only reason Evelyn had arranged the transfers.
They had discovered a payment of twelve million dollars to a private research laboratory.
The payment had been made three days before my divorce agreement was signed.
The recipient was a company called Whitmore Genetic Solutions.
Daniel opened the report.
"Claire, look at this.""
I read the payment description.
*Project ECHO — Phase Three.*
"What is Project Echo?""
Daniel looked at Madison.
She immediately began shaking her head.
"I don't know.""
But Nicholas spoke before anyone else.
"I've heard that name.""
We turned toward him.
"Where?""
"At the school.""
I crouched beside his chair.
"What did you hear?""
Nicholas pulled a folded paper from his backpack.
It was a letter from Edward.
He handed it to me.
The letter contained several paragraphs about his education and future responsibilities.
Near the bottom was a sentence written in a different hand.
*When the three Hayes children are reunited, Project Echo will begin.*
I looked at Daniel.
He read the sentence twice.
Then he called my father.
Robert answered immediately.
"Claire?""
"Father, what is Project Echo?""
Silence.
Then I heard him take a sharp breath.
"Where did you find that name?""
"Edward's letter.""
My father was quiet for several seconds.
Then he said, "I hoped he hadn't gone that far.""
"What is it?""
"Project Echo was the original name of the genetic research program your mother and I developed. It was designed to help children with rare inherited blood disorders.""
"Then why is Evelyn funding it?""
"Because Edward discovered a way to turn it into something else.""
"What?""
My father's voice dropped.
"A program capable of identifying and reproducing certain hereditary genetic traits.""
I looked at the three children's photographs.
Alexander.
Sophia.
Nicholas.
"Why would he need my children?""
"Because their genetic profiles carry a combination that exists nowhere else in the current database.""
My stomach tightened.
"Are you saying they were created for research?""
"Yes.""
I closed my eyes.
Then my father said something that made my blood run cold.
"Claire, there's another part of Project Echo.""
"What?""
"Your genetic profile was never supposed to be included.""
I stared at the phone.
"What do you mean?""
"Edward secretly added your DNA to the project after your first IVF treatment.""
I felt dizzy.
"Why?""
My father hesitated.
Then he answered.
"Because your mother was pregnant with you when the original research began.""
I looked at the children.
"That doesn't make sense.""
"It means your DNA carries something unusual. Something Edward believed could be used to create a treatment for his own illness.""
"What illness?""
My father's voice broke.
"Edward was dying long before the heart attack.""
I looked at the report again.
Project ECHO.
Twelve million dollars.
Three children.
And my own genetic information.
Then Madison suddenly grabbed my arm.
"Claire.""
I turned.
She was staring at her phone.
A new message had appeared.
It contained a photograph of a hospital nursery.
Three empty incubators stood beneath fluorescent lights.
Below it was a message.
*You have found the children. Now bring them to the laboratory. All three.*
A second message appeared.
*Or the twins won't receive their next treatment.*
I looked at Madison.
Then at Nicholas.
And finally at Daniel.
"Where is the laboratory?""
Daniel's expression hardened.
"An old Whitmore research facility outside Boston.""
My phone rang.
My father's name appeared.
I answered.
"Claire, listen to me carefully. Do not go there.""
"Why?""
His voice trembled.
"Because Project Echo isn't a research facility anymore.""
"What is it?""
He paused.
Then whispered:
"It's where your mother was supposed to die.""
The call abruptly disconnected.
I stared at the screen.
And for the first time, I understood that Evelyn's arrest might have been exactly what someone wanted.
Because the person behind Project Echo was still free.
May you like
And they had just given me a choice no mother should ever have to make.
*Save my children—or uncover the truth about what they had been created to become.*
