Chapter 39 - THE SAMPLE WAS DATED THE DAY CHARLES DIED—THEN DANIEL FOUND A RECORDING THAT CHANGED THE MEANING OF HIS FATHER'S LAST WORDS
Daniel Hawthorne had spent twelve years believing he understood the final day of Charles Hawthorne's life.
His father had collapsed in his private office. Doctors had been summoned. The official cause of death was cardiac arrest. Daniel remembered the ambulance, the white hospital corridor, and the strange silence afterward.
Now a genetic sample associated with a secret reproductive program carried that same date.
He sat across from Sofia in the villa's study.
"I don't understand."
Sofia looked at the laboratory report.
"Neither do I."
Daniel rubbed his forehead.
"Do you think he was involved?"
"I think someone wanted us to connect the sample to him."
"That isn't an answer."
"It's the only one I trust."
David entered with an old leather briefcase.
"I found something."
Daniel looked up.
"Where?"
"Among the records Evelyn kept about Charles."
Inside the case was a small recorder and a sealed envelope.
The envelope bore Charles's handwriting.
FOR DANIEL, IF THE PAST RETURNS.
Daniel stared at it.
Sofia remained silent.
For once, she did not urge him to open anything.
He made the choice himself.
The letter was dated two weeks before Charles's death.
Daniel read aloud.
"My son, there are things I failed to stop. There are people I helped and others I harmed by remaining silent. I have tried to leave enough evidence for you to correct what I could not."
Daniel's voice weakened.
He continued.
"If someone ever tells you that the future of our family depends on a child who has not yet been born, do not believe them."
Sofia leaned forward.
Daniel read the final sentence.
"No child should be created to repair the sins of adults."
He lowered the paper.
For several moments, nobody spoke.
Then David pointed toward the recorder.
"There's more."
Daniel pressed play.
Charles's voice filled the room.
Older.
Tired.
"I discovered Genesis too late."
Sofia's stomach tightened.
Charles continued.
"Arthur believes genetic inheritance can create an obedient successor. Evelyn believes children can be conditioned to carry out her work. They are both wrong."
The recording hissed.
"I have ordered the remaining samples destroyed."
Daniel leaned closer.
"But I cannot confirm the destruction was completed."
Another pause.
"If anyone uses my name to authorize a future procedure, understand that I did not consent."
Sofia closed her eyes.
The room seemed to breathe again.
Charles had left a warning, not an instruction.
But the relief lasted only seconds.
The recording continued.
"There is one sample I could not locate."
David stiffened.
Charles spoke more quietly.
"Subject G-0."
Sofia looked at Daniel.
"Generation Zero."
Charles continued.
"The source was not a donor. It was a child."
Daniel's face drained.
David sat down.
The twins stared at one another.
Charles's final words were almost inaudible.
"Forgive me for not finding him."
The recorder clicked off.
Sofia whispered, "Him?"
Daniel looked at David.
"Another child?"
David shook his head.
"I don't know."
Marcus arrived with the laboratory's updated findings.
The recovered donor profile did not match Daniel.
It did not match David.
But it shared a substantial amount of genetic material with both.
Daniel looked up sharply.
"A relative?"
"Possibly," Marcus answered. "The laboratory needs further testing to determine the relationship."
Sofia stared at the report.
"Could it be the original child Charles mentioned?"
Marcus nodded.
"That's one possibility."
Then his phone rang.
The caller was the federal investigator assigned to Arthur Bell's case.
Marcus listened.
His expression became grim.
"Arthur wants to speak."
Daniel stood.
"About what?"
Marcus looked at Sofia.
"He says the second child is alive."
Sofia's pulse quickened.
"Where?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Arthur won't say."
"Why?"
"Because he wants Sofia to come to the prison."
Daniel's face hardened.
"No."
Sofia stared at Marcus.
"What else did he say?"
Marcus swallowed.
"He said the baby's father isn't a man who's missing."
Sofia waited.
Marcus's voice dropped.
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"He said the baby's father is a man who has never been allowed to know his own name."
TO BE CONTINUED…
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