Chapter 4 - The Second Baby
“You were not the only baby Victoria gave birth to that night.”
Daniel stared at Samuel as if the words had been spoken underwater.
“What did you say?”
Claire screamed before Samuel could answer.
The contraction tore through her with such force that her entire body curled forward.
Evelyn moved immediately.
“Claire, look at me.”
Claire couldn’t.
The fetal monitor screamed beside her.
“Heart rate is falling,” the paramedic said.
Daniel released Samuel and rushed back to his wife.
“Claire.”
She grabbed his hand.
“The baby.”
“I’m here.”
“Something’s wrong.”
Evelyn looked down.
“The baby is coming now.”
Outside, someone pulled harder on the ambulance doors.
The gap widened.
Samuel slammed his shoulder against them.
“Lock them!”
“The override disabled it,” the paramedic shouted.
A gloved hand reached through.
Daniel spun.
“Get away from us!”
The woman outside spoke calmly.
“Mr. Harrow, your wife requires immediate medical intervention.”
“She has paramedics.”
“She requires specialized care.”
Claire heard the words through the pain.
Specialized care.
The same phrase Victoria had used throughout her pregnancy.
Specialized screening.
Specialized vitamins.
Specialized imaging.
Now Claire understood what it had really meant.
Control.
“Daniel,” she gasped.
He turned.
“Don’t let them take the baby.”
His expression hardened.
“No one is taking either of you.”
Samuel shouted toward the driver.
“Ram the SUV.”
“What?”
“Push it.”
“This is an ambulance.”
“And that woman is about to deliver.”
The driver didn’t hesitate again.
The engine roared.
The ambulance surged backward.
The SUV behind them jolted.
Metal screamed.
Claire cried out as the stretcher shook.
Daniel braced himself over her.
Again.
The ambulance struck the SUV.
The doors slammed shut from the impact.
The paramedic immediately jammed a steel equipment bar through the handles.
“Go!”
The driver accelerated.
The ambulance pushed the SUV several feet, turned sharply onto the grass and dropped down the vineyard slope.
Everyone grabbed something.
Claire felt another crushing pressure.
Evelyn checked her.
“Claire, I need you to listen.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“I need the hospital.”
“We may not have time.”
Claire stared at her.
Evelyn’s voice softened.
“Your baby may be born in this ambulance.”
Fear flooded Claire’s face.
Daniel leaned close.
“Then we do it here.”
Claire shook her head.
“They want her.”
Daniel froze.
“Her?”
Claire looked at him through tears.
“Our daughter.”
He pressed his forehead against hers.
“They’re not getting her.”
The ambulance bounced onto a narrow service road between rows of grapevines.
The black SUVs disappeared behind them.
For the moment.
Samuel picked up the old ultrasound.
Daniel saw him.
His expression changed again.
“You.”
Samuel stopped.
“You’re going to finish what you started.”
“Daniel—”
“Who was the second baby?”
Evelyn looked at Samuel.
“Tell him.”
Samuel lowered his eyes.
“Your twin was a girl.”
Daniel said nothing.
Claire stared at him.
“A sister?”
Samuel nodded.
Daniel’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“What was her name?”
“She wasn’t given one on the official record.”
“What was her name?”
“Daniel, this is not—”
“What was her name?”
Evelyn answered.
“Anna.”
Daniel turned toward her.
Evelyn’s eyes were wet.
“Her name was Anna.”
Daniel looked down at the ultrasound.
Two babies.
One pregnancy.
One hidden child.
“Where is she?”
Samuel looked toward the rear windows.
“We don’t know.”
Daniel laughed once.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I know she left St. Matthew’s alive.”
Daniel stopped.
“What?”
Evelyn stared at Samuel.
“You told me she died.”
“I told you what Victoria ordered us to tell everyone.”
Evelyn slapped him.
The sound cracked through the ambulance.
Samuel didn’t move.
“You let me believe a newborn died.”
“I was twenty-six years old.”
“You were a doctor.”
“I was terrified.”
“So was I.”
Daniel stepped between them.
“Why was Anna hidden?”
Samuel wiped blood from his lip.
“Because of the marker.”
Claire looked at her stomach again.
“She had it?”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
“No.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then why does our daughter have it?”
Samuel looked at him.
“That question terrified Victoria.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Genetics can skip generations.”
“Yes.”
“But?”
Samuel hesitated.
Evelyn understood first.
“You tested him again.”
Samuel nodded.
“When?”
“Six years ago. After the accident.”
Daniel stared.
“The accident.”
Samuel nodded.
“The test showed something impossible.”
“What?”
“Your childhood DNA record and your adult sample didn’t match.”
Silence.
Daniel’s face went blank.
“That’s impossible.”
Claire whispered, “Unless one of the samples wasn’t his.”
Samuel nodded.
“That was our assumption.”
“Which one?”
“The childhood record.”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“Why?”
“Because your adult sample matched Victoria.”
“So I’m her son.”
“Yes.”
“And Michael?”
Samuel answered.
“Matched as your biological father.”
Daniel looked down.
“So what was wrong with the childhood sample?”
Samuel’s expression changed.
“It belonged to Anna.”
Daniel stared at him.
Claire felt another contraction building but couldn’t pull her attention away.
“Why would Anna’s DNA be stored under Daniel’s name?”
Evelyn whispered, “To erase her.”
Samuel nodded.
“Victoria transferred every surviving medical record belonging to Anna into Daniel’s file.”
Daniel’s voice dropped.
“She made one child disappear by putting her records under the other child.”
“Yes.”
“And nobody noticed?”
“Almost nobody.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Who noticed?”
Samuel didn’t answer.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
“Michael?”
“No.”
Daniel froze.
Samuel closed his eyes.
Evelyn whispered, “Samuel.”
But it was too late.
Daniel stared at him.
“You just said Michael was my biological father.”
“He was.”
“Then who are you calling my father?”
Samuel’s silence became unbearable.
Claire screamed.
Evelyn turned instantly.
“Push.”
Claire shook her head.
“No.”
“Claire, your body is already doing it.”
Daniel rushed back.
She crushed his fingers.
“I’m scared.”
“I know.”
“What if something happens?”
“Nothing is happening to you.”
“You can’t promise that.”
Daniel looked directly into her eyes.
“Then I promise you won’t face it alone.”
Claire cried.
Not from fear this time.
From the way he said it.
Evelyn positioned herself.
“Claire, next contraction, push.”
The ambulance turned again.
A small stone building appeared ahead between the vineyard rows.
Samuel pointed.
“There.”
The maintenance facility.
The driver stopped beside it.
“We have maybe five minutes before those SUVs find us.”
Evelyn looked at Claire.
“We’re not moving her.”
The paramedic nodded.
“Agreed.”
Samuel went to the building.
Daniel grabbed him.
“Where are you going?”
“To open the medical room.”
“You’re staying where I can see you.”
“Then come.”
Daniel looked at Claire.
She nodded weakly.
“Go.”
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I need whatever is inside that room.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“She’s right.”
Daniel hesitated.
Then followed Samuel out.
The vineyard was eerily quiet.
Samuel reached the maintenance building.
A keypad sat beside the door.
He entered six numbers.
The lock clicked.
Daniel noticed.
“You still know the code.”
Samuel pushed inside.
“I told you this place belonged to the program.”
“You also told me it shut down.”
“It did.”
The lights came on automatically.
Daniel stopped.
The building was not abandoned.
Medical refrigerators hummed.
Monitors glowed.
Fresh boxes of surgical gloves sat on shelves.
Daniel turned slowly.
“This is active.”
Samuel stared.
“It shouldn’t be.”
Daniel saw a computer terminal.
The screen displayed:
PROJECT CONTINUITY — SESSION ACTIVE.
Daniel grabbed Samuel.
“You brought us here.”
“No.”
“You knew exactly where this was.”
“I knew what it used to be.”
Daniel shoved him toward the computer.
“Open it.”
Samuel typed.
ACCESS DENIED.
Again.
ACCESS DENIED.
Then Daniel noticed a scanner beside the keyboard.
A fingerprint scanner.
He pressed his thumb against it.
The screen unlocked instantly.
Samuel stepped backward.
“No.”
Daniel looked at him.
“What?”
The screen changed.
WELCOME, D. HARROW.
ACTIVE SUBJECT: CLAIRE HARROW.
FETAL STATUS: VIABLE.
Daniel felt sick.
“They’re monitoring her.”
Samuel leaned closer.
A second line appeared.
GENETIC MARKER CONFIRMED.
Daniel whispered, “They knew.”
Another menu opened automatically.
TRANSFER PROTOCOL: PENDING.
AUTHORIZED CUSTODIAN:
The name was hidden.
Daniel clicked.
PASSWORD REQUIRED.
He turned to Samuel.
“What password?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try Anna.”
Samuel did.
Denied.
“Michael.”
Denied.
“Victoria.”
Denied.
Daniel stared at the screen.
Then remembered the red sticker beneath Claire’s emergency phone battery.
CALL REBECCA FIRST.
“Rebecca.”
Samuel typed it.
The system unlocked.
Both men froze.
Daniel whispered, “Why would Rebecca’s name be the password?”
Samuel didn’t answer.
A folder appeared.
PROJECT CONTINUITY / SUBJECT A.
Daniel clicked.
A photograph filled the screen.
A young woman.
Blonde.
Twenty-something.
Daniel leaned closer.
The woman had Victoria’s eyes.
And Daniel’s face.
Samuel whispered, “Anna.”
Daniel stared.
“She’s alive.”
The photograph was dated eight months earlier.
He looked at Samuel.
“You said you didn’t know.”
“I didn’t.”
Daniel opened another document.
CURRENT IDENTITY.
The field was encrypted.
He clicked again.
ACCESS REQUIRES SECOND BIOMETRIC.
Daniel slammed his fist on the desk.
Behind them, the building door opened.
Daniel spun.
Rebecca stood there.
She was breathing hard.
She held a laptop under one arm.
“Move.”
Daniel stared.
“How did you get here?”
“I tracked Claire’s phone.”
Samuel looked at her.
“How do you know this facility?”
Rebecca ignored him.
She went directly to the terminal.
Daniel blocked her.
“Your name opened the system.”
Rebecca stopped.
“What?”
“Rebecca was the password.”
Her expression changed.
Only for a second.
Daniel saw it.
“You knew.”
“No.”
“You knew something.”
“I knew Victoria was monitoring Claire.”
“How much?”
“Not enough.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Who is Anna?”
Rebecca looked at the photograph.
Her face drained of color.
“Oh my God.”
Daniel studied her.
“You’ve seen her.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“No.”
“You recognized her.”
“I recognized the necklace.”
Daniel looked at the screen.
Anna wore a small silver pendant.
Rebecca reached under her blouse.
She pulled out an identical necklace.
Daniel froze.
“Where did you get that?”
“My mother gave it to me.”
Claire screamed from the ambulance.
Daniel turned.
He ran.
Rebecca followed.
Outside, Evelyn was shouting instructions.
“The baby is crowning.”
Daniel climbed inside.
Claire reached for him.
“Where were you?”
“I’m here.”
“Don’t leave again.”
“I won’t.”
He took her hand.
Evelyn looked up.
“Claire, push.”
Claire screamed and pushed.
Daniel held her.
Again.
“Push.”
Claire cried out.
Then suddenly—
A tiny sound.
A cry.
Daniel stopped breathing.
Claire’s eyes opened.
“Is she—”
Another cry filled the ambulance.
Evelyn smiled.
“She’s here.”
Claire sobbed.
Daniel covered his mouth.
Their daughter was lifted carefully onto Claire’s chest.
Tiny.
Pink.
Alive.
Claire wrapped both arms around her.
“My baby.”
Daniel bent over them.
He kissed Claire’s forehead.
For several seconds, nothing else existed.
Not Victoria.
Not Anna.
Not Project Continuity.
Only Claire.
Daniel.
Their daughter.
Then Evelyn’s expression changed.
She was examining the baby’s shoulder.
“What?”
Claire immediately panicked.
“What’s wrong?”
Evelyn said nothing.
“Evelyn.”
The doctor gently turned the baby.
On the newborn’s upper shoulder was a small, unusual birthmark.
Three curved lines.
Samuel saw it from the doorway.
His face collapsed.
“No.”
Daniel looked at him.
“What?”
Samuel entered slowly.
“That mark.”
Claire held her daughter tighter.
“What about it?”
Samuel stared at the newborn.
“Anna had the same one.”
Daniel’s stomach dropped.
Rebecca stepped into the ambulance.
Her hand moved unconsciously toward her own shoulder.
Daniel noticed.
“Rebecca.”
She froze.
“Take off your jacket.”
“What?”
“Your jacket.”
“Daniel, this is not the time.”
He stared at her.
“Show me your shoulder.”
Rebecca’s face went pale.
Claire looked at her sister.
“Rebecca?”
Slowly, Rebecca pulled the jacket away.
On her shoulder were three faint curved lines.
The same mark.
Claire stopped breathing.
“No.”
Rebecca stared at the baby.
“I didn’t know.”
Daniel looked from Rebecca to Samuel.
Samuel looked like he might collapse.
Evelyn whispered, “Anna.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“My name is Rebecca Bennett.”
Samuel stepped closer.
“What was your mother’s name?”
“Margaret Bennett.”
Samuel’s eyes widened.
“Margaret was a nurse at St. Matthew’s.”
Rebecca backed away.
“No.”
“She disappeared the night the twins were born.”
“No.”
Claire stared at her sister.
“You’re Anna?”
Rebecca shook her head harder.
“I’m older than Daniel.”
Samuel whispered, “Your records would say that.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“What?”
“If Margaret wanted Victoria never to find you, changing your birth year would have been the first thing she did.”
Rebecca’s phone rang.
Everyone jumped.
Unknown number.
She stared at it.
Daniel said, “Answer.”
Rebecca did.
“Hello?”
No response.
Then a woman spoke.
Rebecca’s face changed.
“Who is this?”
The voice said something only Rebecca could hear.
Her knees almost gave way.
Claire whispered, “Rebecca?”
Rebecca slowly lowered the phone.
“My mother is alive.”
Samuel stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Rebecca looked toward the vineyard.
“She said Victoria knows where we are.”
An engine sounded outside.
Then another.
Daniel moved to the rear doors.
Black vehicles appeared between the vines.
“They found us.”
Samuel looked toward the maintenance building.
“There’s a secure basement.”
Daniel turned.
“You knew about that too?”
“It was used for records.”
Claire held the newborn tightly.
“We need to move.”
Evelyn wrapped the baby.
The paramedics prepared Claire.
Rebecca looked at her phone again.
A text had arrived.
She read it.
Then read it again.
“What?” Daniel asked.
Rebecca showed him.
DO NOT USE THE BASEMENT.
Samuel stared at the message.
“Why?”
Another text arrived.
Rebecca opened it.
Her expression emptied.
Claire whispered, “What does it say?”
Rebecca looked toward the maintenance building.
The basement door opened by itself.
A man stepped into the light.
Daniel recognized his own face.
Older.
Scarred.
Alive.
May you like
And the man said one name.
“Anna.”
