The Girl Who Knew My Daughter

Daniel couldn't hear the alarms anymore.

He could see Collins speaking into her radio. He could see Richard watching Eleanor with an expression that suggested he'd heard something he had prayed never to hear again.

But all Daniel could hear was his wife's voice.

Lily may not be your only daughter.

He turned toward Eleanor.

“Explain.””

She wrapped her arms around herself, shivering despite the warmth of the corridor.

“When I discovered the embryo transfer had been altered, I went back to the clinic. I wanted to know what had happened to the original embryo that was supposed to be transferred.””

“And?””

“They told me there had been a complication. They said the second embryo had been deemed nonviable and discarded.””

“Did you believe them?””

“I did at first. Then I found a laboratory report with two patient codes instead of one. The second code had been crossed out. Someone had written transfer suspended beside it.””

Daniel struggled to process the words.

“Why didn't you tell me?””

“Because I didn't know if it was real. Because I was frightened. Because every time I got close to the truth, someone reminded me that Lily could be taken away from us.””

“You could have trusted me.””

“I was trying to keep you alive.””

He recoiled as if she'd struck him.

Eleanor reached for his hand, but he pulled away.

“I loved you,” she said.

“I still love you. But William had people inside the clinic, inside the hospital, inside your company. He could make a phone call and erase an entire life. I thought if I disappeared, he would stop looking.””

“He didn't.””

“No.””

The word hung between them.

Collins interrupted gently.

“We need to establish what we know and what we don't. Eleanor, do you have any evidence that the second embryo survived?””

Eleanor looked at Richard.

Richard's face had gone rigid.

“You know something,” Daniel said.

Richard swallowed.

“Three years ago, I found a sealed file in William's private office. It contained an infant photograph and a birth certificate under a false name. The child was listed as deceased, but the photograph was dated six months after the supposed death.””

“Where is the file?””

“William took it when he disappeared. I never saw it again.””

“Did you recognize the child?””

“No. But there was a note attached.””

Richard hesitated.

“Tell me.””

“It said, ‘Lark Two: independent development confirmed. Guardian placement successful.’”

Eleanor covered her mouth.

Daniel felt suddenly cold.

“Guardian placement?””

“I think William placed the child with someone outside the program,” Richard said.

“Someone who didn't know the child's origin.””

“Or someone who did,” Collins added.

A loud crash came from the stairwell.

Everyone turned.

Two guards stumbled into the corridor, followed by a third figure wearing a gray medical coat. He held a pistol in one hand and a small black case in the other.

Adrian Cross.

“Step away from the archive door,” he ordered.

Collins raised her weapon.

“Put it down, Cross.””

He laughed nervously.

“You still think this is about a kidnapping? William has spent twenty-nine years building a system that can identify and treat a disease before the first symptom appears. Do you understand what that could mean?””

“It means nothing if you build it by stealing children,” Daniel said.

Cross's eyes snapped toward him.

“You have no idea what was sacrificed to get us here.””

“People who never consented.””

“People who would have died anyway.””

Eleanor stepped forward.

“You told me my daughter was healthy. You told me the transfer was routine.””

“I told you what you needed to hear.””

“You falsified my medical records.””

“I prevented panic.””

“You stole years of my life.””

Cross's expression hardened.

“I gave you a child.””

“You gave me a lie.””

For a moment, something like guilt crossed his face. Then he lifted the case.

“William wants the biological sample from Lily. I have the equipment to confirm her markers. Give me the child, and this can end.””

Daniel lunged.

Collins shouted, “Daniel, no!””

Cross fired.

The shot struck the wall inches from Daniel's head. Richard slammed into Cross, driving him sideways into a metal cabinet. The case skidded across the floor.

Collins fired once into the ceiling.

“Everyone down!””

Cross wrestled free and ran toward the laboratory doors. Richard followed him. Daniel started after them, but Eleanor caught his sleeve.

“Don't let him get away with the sample,” she pleaded.

“What sample?””

“Cross took blood from Lily when she was born. He said it was for routine screening. If William has kept it, he could have been tracking her for years.””

Daniel stared at her.

The thought made him sick.

Before he could respond, his radio crackled.

Thomas's voice came through, breathless.

“Daniel, I need you to listen carefully. Maya found something in the farmhouse. There's a package addressed to Eleanor, hidden under a loose floorboard. It contains a second birth certificate and a letter from someone named Grace.””

“Put Maya on.””

A moment later, Maya's small voice filled the radio.

“Mr. Whitmore?””

“I'm here. Are you safe?””

“Yes. Thomas is with us. But I think I know why my mom helped Eleanor.””

Daniel's heart thudded.

“Tell me.””

“Mom found Eleanor after the snowstorm, but Eleanor wasn't alone when she got hurt. There was another woman with her. She was carrying a baby.””

Eleanor made a strangled sound.

Maya continued.

“Mom said the woman was badly injured. Before she died, she made my mom promise to keep the baby away from the people who were looking for Eleanor.””

Daniel could barely speak.

“What happened to the baby?””

“My mom took her home. She raised her as her own.””

Eleanor grabbed the radio.

“Grace has a daughter?””

“Yes,” Maya said.

“Her name is Sophie.””

The name meant nothing to Daniel.

But Eleanor began to cry.

“That's her,” she whispered.

“That's the name I wrote on the second file.””

Daniel looked at her.

“You knew?””

“I didn't know where she was. I thought she'd been lost. I thought William had taken her.””

The radio crackled again.

Maya's voice became small.

“There's something else. The letter says Sophie's biological father is—”

A sharp sound interrupted her.

Then silence.

“Maya?”” Daniel shouted.

“Maya!””

No response.

Thomas's voice returned, distorted and urgent.

“We've got a vehicle outside the farmhouse. Two men. They cut the power.””

Daniel's blood turned to ice.

“Get Maya and Lily out of there!””

“I'm trying. They're at the back door—”

A crash.

Then a man's voice, distant but unmistakable.

“Give us the girl.””

The radio went dead.

Daniel spun toward the exit.

Collins seized his arm.

“We need a coordinated response. If you rush in alone, they'll take you too.””

“They have my daughter.””

“And we have a location. I'm calling the state police.””

Daniel tore free.

“Call whoever you need. I'm going.””

Richard appeared from the laboratory corridor, blood running down his temple.

“Cross is gone,” he said.

“He took the sample.””

Daniel barely heard him.

“William has Lily.””

Richard's expression changed.

“No. William wouldn't risk moving her himself.””

“Then who did?””

Richard stared at the silent radio.

“Someone who knows where the second child is.””

A phone rang in Daniel's pocket.

Unknown number.

He answered.

William's voice came through, calm as a man making dinner reservations.

“Your daughter is safe for the moment, Daniel.””

“Touch her, and I swear—”

“Listen carefully. The girl named Sophie is the only reason Lily was allowed to be born. One child was designed to carry the treatment. The other was designed to survive it.””

Daniel stopped breathing.

“What treatment?””

“The one that could save millions. Bring me both girls, and I will give you the truth about your biological parents.””

“And if I refuse?””

William's voice softened.

“Then you'll discover how quickly a father can lose everything he believes is his.””

The call ended.

Daniel looked at Eleanor.

She was staring at the radio as though she could summon her daughter through it.

“We have to save them,” she said.

Daniel nodded.

But when Collins reached for her phone, a new message appeared on Daniel's screen.