Chapter 46 - THE STRANGER WAS ALREADY INSIDE THE MANSION—BUT THE NAME HE WHISPERED MADE SOFIA DROP EVERYTHING
The door closed somewhere on the second floor.
It was a small sound, almost insignificant beneath the enormous crystal chandelier hanging above the marble staircase. But inside Hawthorne Villa, where secrets had survived behind locked doors for decades, even the quietest sound could make an entire room stop breathing.
Sofia Ramirez turned toward the stairs.
Daniel Hawthorne was already reaching for his phone.
"Marcus. Lock down the property. Nobody enters or leaves until we know who is upstairs."
David stood beside the library entrance, staring at the photograph that had arrived only minutes earlier. His fingers trembled against the glossy paper.
The photograph showed a hooded figure holding a silver baseball bat.
And the coat.
That dark wool coat with its distinctive brown leather collar.
David had seen it before.
Years ago.
On Noah.
The young man Evelyn Mercer had once tried desperately to protect.
"Noah is dead," David whispered.
Sofia turned toward him.
"You told us he disappeared."
David swallowed.
"Because that was easier than explaining what happened."
Daniel looked at him sharply.
"David, this is not the time for another half-truth."
"I know."
"Then tell us."
David stared at the photograph.
"Evelyn found Noah when he was fourteen. He had escaped from a Meridian-affiliated facility in Pennsylvania. He was malnourished, terrified, and convinced that anyone who learned his name would kill him."
Sofia felt her stomach tighten.
"What happened to him?"
"She took him in. Gave him food. Helped him get medical care. For almost two years, he lived with us."
"And then?"
David's eyes filled with tears.
"Then someone came looking for him."
Before Sofia could ask another question, a scream echoed from upstairs.
Lily.
Sofia ran.
Daniel followed immediately, while Marcus and two security officers moved toward the upper hallway.
The mansion's second floor stretched beneath warm recessed lighting. Antique portraits lined the walls, their painted eyes seeming to follow the people rushing past.
Sofia reached Lily's bedroom first.
The door was open.
The window stood slightly ajar.
Lily was backed against her desk, pale and shaking.
But she was not alone.
A tall young man stood near the window.
He appeared to be in his early twenties, with dark hair, a narrow face, and a faint scar cutting through his left eyebrow. He wore a dark wool coat with a brown leather collar.
His hands were empty.
The silver baseball bat rested against the wall.
Daniel stepped between the stranger and Lily.
"Don't move."
The young man immediately raised his hands.
"I'm not here to hurt her."
Sofia reached Lily and pulled her close.
"Are you okay?"
Lily nodded, though tears filled her eyes.
"He didn't touch me."
Sofia looked at the stranger.
"Then why were you in her bedroom?"
The young man swallowed.
"Because I thought she might recognize me."
David appeared in the doorway.
He stopped so abruptly that Marcus nearly collided with him.
The young man's expression changed.
"David."
David gripped the doorframe.
"Noah?"
The stranger's eyes filled.
"Hello."
For a moment, David looked as though his knees might give way.
Then his face hardened.
"Where have you been?"
Noah looked down.
"Trying to stay alive."
Daniel kept his distance.
"How did you get past security?"
"I used the old maintenance passage."
Marcus frowned.
"That passage was sealed."
"No," Noah answered. "Charles Hawthorne built another entrance behind the greenhouse."
Sofia closed her eyes.
Another hidden passage.
Another secret.
Another person who apparently knew more about her home than the people living inside it.
"Why come now?" she asked.
Noah looked toward Lily.
"Because Helen Ward escaped."
The room became silent.
Daniel stepped forward.
"What do you know about Ward?"
Noah reached slowly into his coat.
Marcus immediately moved.
"Hands where I can see them."
Noah stopped.
"It's a photograph."
"Let me get it," Marcus said.
He removed a folded picture from Noah's pocket and handed it to Sofia.
The photograph showed a hospital nursery.
Three infant bassinets stood beneath fluorescent lights.
Two contained newborn girls.
The third contained a baby boy.
Sofia stared.
"Genesis?"
Noah nodded.
"Before they called it Genesis."
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Genesis wasn't the beginning. It was the name they gave the program after Meridian's original records became public."
Sofia looked at the photograph again.
"Who are these children?"
Noah's expression darkened.
"I don't know all their names."
"Then what do you know?"
He pointed toward the third bassinet.
"That boy was taken out of the facility before anyone registered his birth."
Lily stepped closer to Sofia.
"The child in the photograph."
Noah nodded.
"Yes."
David whispered, "Noah."
The young man looked at him.
David's voice shook.
"Is that you?"
Noah did not answer.
And his silence was enough to make Sofia's heart begin pounding.
Daniel studied the photograph.
"How old were you when Evelyn found you?"
"Fourteen."
"And how old are you now?"
"Twenty-three."
Sofia frowned.
"Then you cannot be the child photographed sixteen years ago."
"No."
Noah looked toward the nursery picture.
"But I know who he is."
Everyone froze.
Sofia took one step closer.
"Tell me."
Noah looked at David.
Then Daniel.
Finally, Lily.
"The boy wasn't raised in a laboratory."
"Where was he raised?" Daniel asked.
Noah swallowed.
"Inside a family that believed he was their biological son."
Sofia felt the familiar pressure behind her ribs.
"Which family?"
Noah's eyes moved toward the large family portrait hanging across the hallway.
Charles Hawthorne stood in the center.
Beside him was the real Eleanor.
And in front of them stood a young Daniel.
Noah pointed.
"That family."
Daniel stared at him.
"What are you saying?"
Noah shook his head.
"Not you, Daniel."
He looked at Sofia.
"The other child."
Sofia's voice became quiet.
"What other child?"
Noah reached inside his coat again, this time waiting for Marcus's permission.
He removed a yellowed hospital bracelet.
The name printed on it had almost faded.
But Sofia could still read the surname.
RAMIREZ.
Her breathing stopped.
Noah looked directly at her.
"The child Charles hid wasn't a stranger, Sofia."
He paused.
"He was someone your father raised."
Sofia felt the world tilt.
"Mateo?"
Noah closed his eyes.
And whispered the answer she had been terrified to hear.
"Yes."
Downstairs, the front gate alarm suddenly sounded.
Marcus answered his radio.
His expression changed.
"Mr. Hawthorne, we have a problem."
Daniel turned.
"What?"
Marcus looked toward Sofia.
"Mateo just arrived."
Sofia exhaled shakily.
"Then let him in."
Marcus did not move.
"Ma'am..."
His voice became strained.
"He's not alone."
Sofia stared.
"Who is with him?"
Marcus swallowed.
May you like
"Dr. Helen Ward."
TO BE CONTINUED...
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