Chapter 6 - The Truth Hidden In The Blood
Adrian’s phone kept ringing.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The name on the screen seemed impossible.
Dr. Victor Hale.
The man who had signed my son’s death certificate.
The man who had disappeared after the hospital investigation began.
The man who had been connected to every unanswered question surrounding my family.
Adrian stared at the phone.
For the first time in my life, I saw my brother afraid.
Not nervous.
Not uncomfortable.
Afraid.
“Answer it.”
My voice was quiet.
But everyone heard me.
Adrian looked at me.
“No.”
That single word told me everything.
I stepped closer.
“Answer the phone.”
“It’s not what you think.”
I almost laughed.
Because that was what everyone said when they were caught.
“It’s never what I think, Adrian.”
I pointed at the screen.
“Every time I ask a question, another secret appears.”
The phone continued ringing.
Detective Harris watched him carefully.
“Mr. Bennett, I suggest you do exactly what your brother doesn’t want you to do.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
The detective didn’t blink.
“Answer.”
Adrian slowly picked up the phone.
He pressed the speaker button.
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a voice came through.
“Adrian.”
My entire body froze.
Dr. Hale.
His voice was calm.
Almost casual.
Like he wasn’t the center of a nightmare that had destroyed my family.
“You should have left the mansion before the police arrived.”
Adrian’s face changed.
“I didn’t know they would be here.”
A cold feeling moved through me.
They were talking like partners.
Like people who had done this before.
The doctor continued.
“You made a mistake.”
Adrian looked around the room.
“What mistake?”
“You underestimated Ethan.”
Nobody spoke.
My fists tightened.
The doctor knew my name.
He knew exactly what was happening.
Detective Harris reached toward his phone, silently recording.
The doctor continued.
“The plan was simple.”
Plan.
That word again.
My stomach turned.
“Three days,” Dr. Hale said.
“Three days were all we needed.”
Claire covered her mouth.
I looked at her.
She was shaking.
The doctor continued.
“After the funeral, Adrian would become the legal successor.”
My eyes moved to the inheritance documents.
The papers I almost signed.
The papers that would have handed everything over.
“But you failed.”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“Don’t blame me.”
The room went silent.
Even Adrian’s betrayal sounded different now.
Because he wasn’t denying anything.
He was angry.
“You told me the baby was handled.”
The words hit me.
The baby.
Not my son.
Not Lucas.
The baby.
Dr. Hale paused.
Then said:
“I told you one child would disappear.”
Everyone froze.
Claire stepped backward.
“One child?”
Her voice cracked.
The doctor heard her.
There was silence.
Then he whispered:
“Claire.”
My blood went cold.
He knew she was there.
He knew everything.
“How are you alive?”
Claire stepped toward the phone.
Her hands were trembling.
“You tried to take my son.”
The doctor laughed softly.
“No, Claire.”
The sound made me sick.
“I tried to protect my research.”
Research.
The word felt wrong.
“What research?”
Nobody answered.
Then Dr. Hale said something that changed the room.
“The babies were never random.”
I looked at Lucas.
Then at Claire.
“What does that mean?”
The doctor continued.
“You and Ethan were chosen.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
Claire looked confused.
“Chosen for what?”
The doctor didn’t answer.
Instead, he said:
“You really thought the delivery complications were an accident?”
Claire’s face went pale.
I felt like someone had punched me.
“What are you saying?”
The doctor sighed.
“Your pregnancy was monitored from the beginning.”
I looked at Claire.
She looked destroyed.
“You knew?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“I didn’t.”
Dr. Hale continued.
“Your family had a rare opportunity.”
Family.
Not just Adrian.
Someone else.
Someone connected.
“Who paid you?”
I shouted.
The doctor didn’t respond.
That silence was enough.
I looked at Adrian.
“You weren’t alone.”
My brother looked away.
That was confirmation.
The call suddenly became chaotic.
A loud noise came from Dr. Hale’s side.
Like someone had entered the room.
Then another voice appeared.
A woman.
“You need to end the call.”
Everyone froze.
The doctor became quiet.
“Not now.”
The woman sounded angry.
“He knows too much.”
My heart raced.
“Who is that?”
No answer.
The detective moved closer to the phone.
“Who else is involved?”
The call disconnected.
Silence.
Then Adrian suddenly moved.
Fast.
He grabbed the folder from the table.
The one containing the medical records.
I reacted immediately.
“Stop!”
He ran toward the hallway.
Security moved.
But Adrian wasn’t trying to escape.
He threw the folder toward Claire.
She caught it.
A single paper fell out.
A DNA report.
The same report that had terrified everyone.
Claire looked down.
Then she started crying.
“What?”
I walked toward her.
“What does it say?”
She didn’t answer.
She handed me the paper.
My eyes moved across the page.
The world slowed.
The test was not about Lucas.
It was about the baby girl.
The missing child.
The child they erased.
And the result showed:
Maternal match.
Claire Bennett.
I looked up.
“Claire…”
She was crying.
“I didn’t know.”
I couldn’t speak.
Because the impossible truth was sitting in front of me.
The baby girl wasn’t just another child.
She was Claire’s.
Our daughter.
The child nobody told us existed.
The child someone had stolen before we even knew her name.
Detective Harris looked at the report.
“This changes everything.”
I stared at Claire.
“How?”
She wiped her tears.
“I remembered something after I woke up.”
“What?”
“The night they took the babies.”
The room went silent.
Claire looked at Lucas.
Then at the photograph of the two newborns.
“There was a woman there.”
My heart sank.
“Who?”
Claire closed her eyes.
“I don’t know her name.”
“Then how do you remember her?”
Her voice became smaller.
“Because she was wearing my hospital bracelet.”
Nobody moved.
“What?”
Claire looked at me.
“She was pretending to be me.”
The room went cold.
Someone had not only stolen our children.
Someone had tried to become Claire.
Detective Harris immediately reached for his radio.
“We need protection here now.”
But before he could finish, the mansion lights suddenly went out.
Complete darkness.
A scream came from the hallway.
Then glass shattered.
Someone was inside.
I grabbed Lucas and pulled Claire close.
Michael whispered:
“Ethan…”
I looked toward the library entrance.
A shadow moved behind the door.
May you like
The handle slowly turned.
And someone outside whispered Claire’s name.
