Chapter 36 - THE WOMAN AT THE GATE KNEW WHO SWITCHED THE BABY—BUT HER FIRST REQUEST MADE SOFIA CALL THE POLICE
The woman outside Hawthorne Villa did not move when the security lights illuminated her face.
She stood beside the black sedan, holding a white medical case against her chest. Her dark hair was pulled into a severe bun, and a thin scar ran from the corner of her left eyebrow toward her temple. On her wrist, the black star looked almost ordinary until Sofia remembered the same symbol appearing in the Meridian records.
Behind Sofia, Daniel Hawthorne spoke quietly into his phone. Marcus had already ordered the security team to secure the property. Lily remained near the terrace, clutching the photograph of the newborn girl whose DNA had supposedly matched neither of the expected genetic parents.
Sofia stopped several feet from the gate.
"What's your name?"
The stranger looked at her for a long moment.
"Dr. Naomi Cross."
"Who sent you?"
"Nobody."
Sofia almost smiled.
"People keep arriving at this house with mysterious packages, hidden relatives, and impossible explanations. Forgive me if I don't find that reassuring."
Naomi lowered her medical case onto the pavement.
"I was the physician assigned to the final Meridian reproductive archive."
Marcus stiffened.
"That program was shut down."
"The organization was shut down," Naomi replied. "The medical records weren't all destroyed."
Sofia looked toward the black star.
"And that tattoo?"
Naomi's expression changed.
"It wasn't a symbol of loyalty. It was a mark placed on subjects who were never supposed to leave."
For the first time, Sofia noticed that the woman's right hand was trembling.
Daniel approached.
"If you have information concerning a newborn child, you can give it to the authorities."
"I intend to."
"Then why come here?"
Naomi looked directly at Lily.
"Because the baby was transferred before the authorities received the correct medical records."
The garden fell silent.
Lily stepped forward.
"Where is she?"
Naomi hesitated.
"Safe, as far as I know."
"That's not what I asked."
Sofia recognized the expression on Lily's face. It was the same fierce determination that had carried Sofia through years of revelations.
Naomi swallowed.
"The newborn is at St. Catherine's Medical Center, under a court-appointed guardian. But the child in the photograph isn't the embryo that was originally registered."
Marcus spoke sharply.
"We already know that."
"No," Naomi said. "You know what the laboratory report claims. You don't know why."
She opened her medical case.
Inside were sealed documents, a hospital identification bracelet, and a small digital recorder.
Sofia immediately raised her hand.
"Don't touch anything else."
Naomi stopped.
"Why?"
"Because we've spent years watching people produce evidence nobody can authenticate. If these documents matter, investigators will collect them properly."
Naomi studied her.
Then, unexpectedly, she smiled.
"You're different from Charles Hawthorne."
Sofia's expression hardened.
"You knew Charles?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Naomi looked toward the villa.
"He paid for my education."
Daniel stepped forward.
"My father died twelve years ago."
"I know."
Naomi's voice softened.
"He also paid to keep me alive."
Before anyone could question her, Lily approached the gate.
"Was the baby hurt?"
Naomi's expression became painfully gentle.
"No."
"Was she experimented on?"
"I don't have evidence that she was."
"Then why did someone switch her?"
Naomi closed her eyes.
"Because someone believed the original embryo was too dangerous to be born."
Marcus's face changed.
"Dangerous?"
Naomi nodded.
"Not dangerous because of anything the child had done. Dangerous because of what the genetic records could expose."
Sofia felt the familiar coldness settle in her chest.
"Expose about whom?"
Naomi looked at Daniel.
"Your family."
Daniel did not move.
"My family has already survived more genetic revelations than anyone should."
"This one isn't about your biological parents."
"Then what?"
Naomi pointed toward the villa.
"It's about Charles Hawthorne's last experiment."
Sofia's voice sharpened.
"Charles rescued children. He documented abuses."
"Yes," Naomi answered. "And he also made a decision he spent the rest of his life regretting."
The security gates remained locked.
Sofia took out her phone.
"I'm calling the federal investigator."
Naomi nodded.
"Good."
That answer surprised her.
Most people who arrived carrying secrets tried to avoid law enforcement. Naomi seemed relieved.
Then the woman said something that made Sofia's hand stop above the screen.
"Tell them to bring someone who can protect a witness."
"Why?"
"Because the doctor who switched the embryo is still working at St. Catherine's."
Lily gasped.
Marcus immediately called the hospital.
Naomi continued.
"And that doctor knows I came here."
Sofia stared.
"How?"
Naomi slowly turned her medical case around.
A tiny red light blinked beneath its handle.
"A tracker."
Daniel looked toward the road.
At that exact moment, headlights appeared beyond the trees.
One vehicle.
Then another.
Then three more.
Marcus's radio erupted.
"Sir, unidentified vehicles approaching the south entrance!"
Naomi grabbed the gate.
"Don't let them take the case!"
Sofia stepped backward.
"Who are they?"
Naomi's voice broke.
"The people who believe the baby belongs to them."
A gunshot shattered the security camera above the gate.
Daniel pulled Sofia behind the stone pillar.
Marcus shouted for everyone to get inside.
But before Sofia could move, Naomi screamed one final warning.
"THE CHILD IN THAT HOSPITAL ISN'T THE ONE THEY'RE COMING FOR!"
Sofia froze.
Naomi looked directly at Lily.
May you like
"They're coming for the other baby."
TO BE CONTINUED…
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