Chapter 12 - THE FOURTH CHILD
Ethan couldn't speak.
Dr. Harris lay on the ground, struggling to breathe.
“Caroline was pregnant with quadruplets,” he continued.
Ethan stared at him.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
“You told me there were three.”
“Because the fourth child was born alive.”
The world seemed to disappear.
Mara stepped closer.
“Where is the baby?”
Dr. Harris closed his eyes.
“Taken.”
Ethan grabbed his coat.
“By whom?”
“Marcus.”
“Why?”
Dr. Harris looked at him.
“Because the fourth child had a genetic condition.”
Ethan's blood turned cold.
“What condition?”
Dr. Harris hesitated.
“The baby had a rare blood marker.”
Ethan stared.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It matched Caroline.”
Mara understood first.
“The baby was proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Dr. Harris looked at Ethan.
“Caroline wasn't carrying your children.”
Ethan went completely still.
Dr. Harris continued:
“The fourth child was genetically different.”
Mara whispered:
“Someone else's baby?”
Dr. Harris nodded.
Ethan's face went pale.
“No.”
“Caroline was part of an illegal fertility program.”
“What?”
“Your father funded it.”
Ethan stepped back.
“My father?”
Dr. Harris nodded.
“Your family had been secretly collecting genetic material from powerful families.”
Mara stared.
“Why?”
“To create heirs.”
Ethan looked toward the darkness.
His entire life felt like a lie.
“Who was the fourth child's father?”
Dr. Harris shook his head.
“I don't know.”
“Then why was Caroline involved?”
“Because she discovered the program.”
“Why would she participate?”
“She didn't.”
Dr. Harris closed his eyes.
“She was forced.”
Ethan's fists tightened.
“By whom?”
Dr. Harris looked toward the road.
“Your mother.”
Ethan's breath stopped.
His mother stood several yards away.
She had heard everything.
Ethan turned toward her.
“Is it true?”
She said nothing.
“Answer me!”
The old woman looked at him.
“Yes.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“You stole a child from my wife?”
“No.”
“You forced her into some experiment?”
“No.”
“Then tell me the truth!”
His mother finally broke.
“Your father did.”
Ethan froze.
She continued.
“Caroline discovered what he was doing. She tried to stop him. He threatened to destroy her family.”
“What family?”
“Her sister.”
Ethan stared.
“Caroline had a sister?”
His mother nodded.
“An older sister.”
“Where is she?”
“Dead.”
Ethan's voice dropped.
“Because of my father?”
“Yes.”
Mara stepped forward.
“Then what happened to the fourth baby?”
His mother looked at Ethan.
“Caroline gave the child away.”
Ethan's face changed.
“To whom?”
His mother shook her head.
“She never told me.”
A car approached.
Sheriff Cole looked toward the road.
“Someone's coming.”
The vehicle stopped.
A young woman stepped out.
She looked around twenty-four.
She held a small envelope.
“Ethan Whitmore?”
Ethan nodded.
The woman walked toward him.
“My name is Sophie.”
She looked at Mara.
Then at Ethan.
“I think I am your daughter.”
Silence.
Ethan stared at her.
The woman handed him the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Caroline.
Holding a newborn baby.
On the back was written:
My fourth child.
Ethan looked at the young woman.
Sophie began to cry.
“I didn't know who my father was.”
Ethan couldn't move.
Then his phone rang.
May you like
The hospital.
One of the triplets had stopped breathing.
