Chapter 6: The Daughter They Were Hunting
The voice from the stairwell wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
Everyone heard it.
Everyone understood it.
And everyone reacted the same way.
Fear.
The hospital hallway went completely still.
Even the alarms seemed distant now.
I looked at Bear.
His hand was still wrapped around mine.
A strange thing.
Because twenty minutes ago, I would have pulled away.
I would have reminded myself that this man abandoned me.
That he was a stranger wearing my father’s face.
But now, with danger standing only a few feet away, I felt something I hated admitting.
I felt safe with him.
Bear slowly released my hand.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he needed his hands free.
He stepped in front of me.
Again.
Always in front of me.
Always taking the hit.
I hated that I noticed.
“Raven,” he said quietly.
She immediately moved beside Eli’s bed.
“Already on it.””
The other bikers spread out.
Not like criminals.
Like protectors.
Like people who had done this before.
Daniel watched them prepare.
He almost looked disappointed.
“You really haven’t changed.””
Bear stared at him.
“Neither have you.””
Daniel smiled.
“That’s where you’re wrong.””
He glanced at me.
“I got better.””
My stomach tightened.
I looked at the stairwell door.
“Who are they?””
Nobody answered.
I turned toward Bear.
“Who is coming?””
His eyes stayed on the door.
“The same people who took everything from us.””
The way he said us made my chest hurt.
Not me.
Not him.
Us.
Like we were connected.
Like twenty-seven years hadn’t erased that.
The stairwell handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then the door opened.
A man stepped out.
Older.
Gray suit.
Calm expression.
No weapon visible.
That somehow made him more terrifying.
Because people who were dangerous rarely needed to show it.
Daniel looked at him.
“You’re late.””
The man ignored him.
His eyes went straight to me.
“Nia.””
My skin crawled.
I hated hearing strangers say my name.
Especially strangers who shouldn’t know it.
Bear moved slightly.
Blocking his view.
The man smiled.
“Still pretending you can protect everyone, Marcus?””
Bear’s voice was cold.
“You don’t get near her.””
The man sighed.
“You always were emotional.””
Then he looked at me again.
“You don’t know who you are.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.””
The man tilted his head.
“Because it’s true.””
I stepped around Bear before he could stop me.
“No.””
His eyes moved to me.
“I know exactly who I am.””
I pointed toward Bear.
“I’m the daughter of a man who disappeared.””
Then toward Daniel.
“I’m the person everyone has been lying to.””
Then I looked at him.
“And I’m the woman who is tired of being treated like a child.””
For the first time, his expression changed.
Not fear.
Interest.
Like he hadn’t expected me to fight back.
Good.
I was tired of being afraid.
The man smiled slightly.
“Your father taught you well.””
“Don’t talk about him.””
A strange silence followed.
Because even I noticed what I had said.
Not Marcus.
Not Bear.
Him.
My father.
The man noticed too.
His smile faded.
“Interesting.””
Bear looked at me.
I ignored him.
“What do you want?””
The man adjusted his jacket.
“You.””
“Why?””
“Because you are the last piece.””
My stomach dropped.
“Piece of what?””
Nobody answered.
Again.
The endless secrets.
I was done.
I walked closer.
“Say it.””
Bear grabbed my arm.
“Nia.””
I looked at him.
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“I need to know.””
The man in the suit watched.
“Your father thought hiding you would protect you.””
He looked at Bear.
“But he misunderstood.””
Bear’s expression hardened.
“Don’t.””
The man continued.
“She was never the target because of you.””
My eyebrows pulled together.
“Then why?””
He looked at me.
“Because of what you inherited.””
The hallway went silent.
I looked at Bear.
“What did I inherit?””
He didn’t answer.
That was the answer.
I stepped back.
“No.””
Bear finally spoke.
“Nia…”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You knew.””
His face fell.
“I was trying to protect you.””
“Stop saying that.””
My voice echoed.
“Everyone keeps using that word.””
I looked at all of them.
“Protect. Protect. Protect.””
Tears burned my eyes.
“But nobody protected me from growing up believing my own father didn’t love me.””
Bear looked destroyed.
Good.
I wanted him to understand.
Then something unexpected happened.
Eli spoke.
“He did love you.””
Everyone turned.
The boy was crying.
But he continued.
“He loved you more than anything.””
Bear looked away.
Because hearing it from a child hurt him.
Eli looked at me.
“He kept your birthday cards.””
I froze.
“What?””
“He kept all of them.””
My breath caught.
“I never sent him birthday cards.””
The boy looked confused.
“Yes, you did.””
I stared.
“I didn’t.””
Eli looked at Bear.
Bear went pale.
Then slowly reached into his jacket.
From an inside pocket, he pulled out a small plastic bag.
Inside were dozens of folded papers.
Old.
Worn.
Carefully preserved.
My hands shook.
“What are those?””
Bear looked at them.
Then at me.
“The cards you left at your old house.””
I felt sick.
“I never…”
Then I remembered.
When I was younger, I used to write letters to him.
I would leave them in a small box near the front porch.
My mother always told me he would never read them.
I stopped after a few years.
I thought nobody cared.
But he had them.
All of them.
Bear’s voice was quiet.
“I read every single one.””
The anger inside me cracked.
Just a little.
Then the man in the suit interrupted.
“Beautiful.””
Everyone looked at him.
He seemed almost amused.
“But irrelevant.””
Bear’s eyes turned dangerous.
“You’re leaving.””
The man smiled.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“She deserves the truth.””
He took a small device from his pocket.
A recording.
He pressed play.
A woman’s voice filled the hallway.
My mother’s voice.
My entire body froze.
“Nia, if you are hearing this…”
I covered my mouth.
Because it was impossible.
My mother had been dead for three years.
The recording continued.
“I’m sorry.””
Tears immediately filled my eyes.
The man watched my reaction.
“My mother.””
Bear looked down.
He had heard it before.
That hurt more than anything.
My mother’s voice continued.
“I lied to you because I was afraid.””
A pause.
Then:
“I thought hiding the truth would keep you alive.””
I looked at Bear.
He looked back.
The recording continued.
“But I was wrong.””
My hands trembled.
“Nia, your father didn’t abandon you.””
A tear rolled down my face.
“He sacrificed everything to keep you away from them.””
The man in the suit looked at Bear.
“Your mother finally understood.””
The recording continued.
“There is something you need to know about your birth.””
I stopped breathing.
My birth?
The voice became softer.
“You were never supposed to survive.””
The hallway went silent.
Eli covered his ears.
Bear looked furious.
“Turn it off.””
The man ignored him.
“You were part of an experiment.””
My heart stopped.
No.
No.
That couldn’t be real.
My mother’s voice continued.
“And your brother was the first one.””
I looked at Eli.
The boy’s face went pale.
Bear closed his eyes.
The truth finally reached the surface.
The man pressed stop.
Nobody spoke.
Then I whispered:
“Experiment?””
The man smiled.
“Now you understand.””
I looked at Bear.
My voice broke.
“What did they do to us?””
He didn’t answer.
Not immediately.
Then he said:
“They changed us.””
The words felt unreal.
“They were studying families. Genetics. Memory. Survival.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Nia…”
“No.””
I backed away.
“I’m not some experiment.””
Bear’s eyes filled with pain.
“You’re my daughter.””
The simplicity of it almost broke me.
Not a subject.
Not a secret.
His daughter.
Then the man in the suit stepped forward.
“And that is exactly why we need you.””
Bear moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
He shoved the nearest hospital cart into the man’s path.
“Run!””
Everything exploded into motion.
Raven grabbed Eli.
The bikers moved.
People screamed.
The hospital became chaos.
I ran with them.
But as we reached the emergency exit, I looked back.
The man in the suit was standing there.
Watching me.
Not angry.
Not defeated.
Confident.
Because he knew something I didn’t.
Something even my father didn’t know.
And as the door slammed shut behind us, my phone buzzed.
A new message.
From an unknown number.
This time, it wasn’t a threat.
It was a photograph.
A photograph taken that morning.
Of me.
Standing outside my apartment.
And behind me…
Was my father.
Watching over me.
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The caption underneath said:
*HE HAS BEEN LYING ABOUT WHEN HE FOUND YOU.*
