Chapter 44 - CHARLES KEPT A DEAD WOMAN'S GENETIC SAMPLE—BUT THE LETTER SHE LEFT BEHIND EXPOSED WHY THE BABY WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE BORNThe newborn slept peacefully inside the hospital nursery.
She knew nothing about Meridian.
Nothing about Genesis.
Nothing about Charles Hawthorne.
Nothing about the adults who had spent decades arguing over genetic material as though human life could be reduced to ownership.
Sofia stood behind the observation window.
Daniel approached quietly.
"She's healthy."
Sofia nodded.
"The doctors confirmed?"
"Yes. She's receiving routine neonatal care."
Sofia looked toward the small crib.
"Good."
Daniel waited.
Then he asked, "How's Isabella?"
"Cooperating with investigators."
"Are you angry?"
"Yes."
"At her?"
Sofia watched the baby.
"At the decision she made. At the people who frightened her into making it. At the fact that everyone keeps believing secrecy is the same thing as protection."
Daniel nodded.
"That sounds familiar."
Sofia almost smiled.
"Unfortunately."
Later that afternoon, Naomi Cross arrived with her attorney.
She had been questioned extensively about the black star, the medical case, and her relationship with Rebecca.
Now she sat opposite Sofia in a hospital conference room.
"Rebecca was my sister."
Sofia nodded.
"Isabella told me."
Naomi's eyes filled.
"We were twins. But we were never treated like sisters."
"What do you mean?"
"Meridian separated us when we were children."
Sofia leaned forward.
"Why?"
"Because they wanted to study how identical genetic backgrounds responded to different environments."
Daniel's expression hardened.
"Without consent."
Naomi nodded.
"Yes."
Sofia looked down.
"Did Rebecca survive the program?"
"For a while."
"What happened?"
"She developed complications from experimental treatment. She died when she was twenty-three."
Naomi wiped her eyes.
"I spent years trying to recover her records."
Sofia looked at her.
"And Charles kept her genetic samples."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Naomi hesitated.
"Because Rebecca asked him to preserve evidence of what Meridian had done."
Sofia frowned.
"Evidence?"
"Her biological samples could help establish what treatments she had received. She wanted them preserved for an independent investigation, not used for reproduction."
Daniel leaned forward.
"Then someone misused the archive."
Naomi nodded.
"That's what I believe."
Sofia studied her.
"Who had access?"
"Several people over the years."
"Names?"
Naomi opened a folder.
"Arthur Bell. Evelyn Mercer. Dr. Helen Ward. Paul Mercer."
She paused.
"And one more."
Sofia waited.
"Dr. Samuel Kane."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Of course."
Naomi continued.
"But there is a document you need to see."
She removed a sealed letter.
Rebecca had written it shortly before her death.
The handwriting was uneven.
The message was brief.
She did not want her biological material used to create children.
She wanted the records preserved so future victims could learn what had happened.
And she wanted Naomi to have the freedom neither sister had been given.
Sofia read the letter twice.
Then placed it gently on the table.
"She made her wishes clear."
Naomi nodded through tears.
"Yes."
"Then whoever used her sample violated them."
"Yes."
Daniel looked toward the hospital corridor.
"And now a child exists who had no part in that decision."
Sofia folded the letter.
"Then we protect the child without pretending the violation never happened."
The meeting continued for another hour.
The legal questions were complicated.
The medical questions were even more difficult.
But one thing became clear.
The newborn was not evidence to be locked away.
She was a person.
And the adults responsible for the unauthorized procedure would have to answer for their actions.
That evening, Marcus called.
Investigators had recovered the original Genesis access logs.
One name appeared repeatedly during the final embryo transfer.
Dr. Helen Ward.
Sofia stood.
"Did they find her?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"At a private airfield."
"Was she trying to leave?"
"Apparently."
"Did she say anything?"
Marcus hesitated.
"She asked whether the second baby had been found."
Sofia frowned.
"Why?"
"Because she claims there were three."
The room went silent.
Sofia stared at Daniel.
"Three?"
Marcus's voice became grim.
"According to Ward, the third embryo was transferred years ago."
Sofia felt the blood drain from her face.
"How many years?"
"Sixteen."
Daniel looked toward the door.
"Lily."
Sofia whispered, "No."
Marcus continued.
May you like
"And Ward says the third child has been living inside the Hawthorne family ever since."
TO BE CONTINUED…
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