Chapter 7 - The Person Behind The Transfers
The door opened.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Because the person standing outside wasn't a stranger.
It wasn't Dr. Cole.
It wasn't the man who had threatened us in the hallway.
It was someone I knew.
Someone I had trusted.
Someone who had held my hand when I cried.
My mother.
I stared at her.
For a few seconds, my brain refused to understand what I was seeing.
"Mom?"
The word came out like a question.
She stood there silently.
Her face was pale.
Her eyes were full of tears.
But she wasn't surprised to see me.
That was the part that hurt the most.
She knew.
She had known I was here.
She had known about everything.
Daniel stepped backward.
"How..."
My mother looked at him.
Then at Dr. Cole.
Then at the files scattered across the room.
"I was hoping you would never find this place."
My chest tightened.
Never find this place.
Not:
"I don't know what happened."
Not:
"What's going on?"
She knew.
She knew exactly what Room 814 was.
Sarah whispered:
"Emma..."
But I couldn't look away from my mother.
"How long?"
Her lips trembled.
"Emma..."
"How long did you know my baby was alive?"
The silence was unbearable.
My mother closed her eyes.
And that was when my world collapsed.
Because silence was an answer.
A horrible answer.
Dr. Cole stepped forward.
"This is getting emotional."
I turned toward him.
"You knew my mother?"
He didn't respond.
My mother looked at him.
"Adrian, stop."
The way she said his name made everyone freeze.
Adrian.
Not doctor.
Not stranger.
A name she knew.
A person she trusted.
Daniel looked between them.
"You were involved."
My mother shook her head.
"Not the way you think."
I almost laughed.
Everyone said that.
Every person who hid the truth always had an explanation.
"I don't know what way I'm supposed to think anymore."
My voice broke.
"My baby was taken."
My mother stepped toward me.
"I was trying to protect you."
I moved away.
"No."
The word came out instantly.
"No more protecting me."
My eyes filled with tears.
"No more decisions made for me."
She stopped.
Because she knew I was right.
For months, everyone had decided what I could handle.
What I should know.
What I should believe.
And while they were protecting me from the truth...
They were stealing my life.
Dr. Hart picked up the transfer documents.
"Tell her."
My mother looked at her.
"I can't."
Dr. Hart's expression hardened.
"You have to."
The room became silent.
Then my mother looked at me.
"When you were pregnant, someone found out your baby had a rare genetic marker."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
She looked at the files.
"It means your child was valuable to them."
My stomach turned.
"Valuable?"
Daniel stepped closer.
"They weren't treating him like a baby."
He looked at the transfer list.
"They were treating him like a product."
My mother looked away.
And that confirmed everything.
I felt sick.
"Who are they?"
Nobody answered.
Then my mother finally whispered:
"The organization doesn't have one name."
She looked at the black symbol on the document.
"They change names constantly."
Dr. Hart nodded.
"But the people behind it don't change."
I looked at her.
"Who?"
Dr. Hart looked at my mother.
My mother looked down.
Then she said:
"The board."
A cold silence followed.
"The hospital board?"
My mother shook her head.
"No."
She looked at me.
"The people who own the hospital."
My breathing slowed.
The hospital.
The place I came to for help.
The place I trusted.
It was built around secrets.
Daniel looked angry.
"How did you know?"
My mother didn't answer immediately.
Then she reached into her purse.
She pulled out a photograph.
She handed it to me.
I looked at it.
A baby.
A hospital blanket.
A tiny bracelet.
The same bracelet from Room 814.
My fingers started shaking.
"This was taken after birth."
My mother nodded.
"When?"
She looked at me.
"The night you were told your baby died."
My eyes filled with tears.
"No."
"I was there."
The words came quietly.
"What?"
My mother looked broken.
"I was at the hospital that night."
My heart stopped.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Her tears finally fell.
"Because they threatened you."
I stared at her.
"They said if I spoke, they would make sure you never saw your baby again."
The room went silent.
I looked at Daniel.
Then Sarah.
Then Dr. Hart.
Everyone had lost something.
Everyone had been trapped.
But my baby was still missing.
"Where is he?"
My mother looked at the floor.
"I don't know."
The answer destroyed me.
"You were there."
"I know."
"You saw him."
"I did."
"Then where is my son?"
My mother couldn't answer.
A sound interrupted us.
A phone ringing.
Everyone froze.
Not because of the sound.
Because everyone recognized it.
Dr. Cole looked toward my mother.
"No."
My mother reached into her coat.
She pulled out a phone.
An old one.
One I had never seen before.
The screen showed one message.
No number.
No name.
Only words.
THE TRANSFER HAS BEEN ACTIVATED.
Dr. Hart's face changed.
"That's impossible."
Daniel looked at the phone.
"What does that mean?"
My mother didn't answer.
She looked at me.
And I saw something I had never seen before.
Pure fear.
"Emma..."
Her voice shook.
"They know where he is."
The room went silent.
Then another message appeared.
A picture.
Everyone moved closer.
I looked at the screen.
And my entire body froze.
It was my baby.
Alive.
Sleeping.
Wrapped in the same white blanket from the photograph.
Under the picture was a location.
A place.
A name.
My mother whispered it.
And then the archive lights suddenly went out.
The message disappeared.
A single sound came from the hallway.
A baby's cry.
May you like
And my mother said the one thing that made my blood run cold...
"They brought him back."
