Chapter 4 - The Secret in Arthur's BloodArthur did not speak again until the ambulance reached Bennett Medical Institute.
The first baby she heard was crying.
The second wasn't.
That terrified her.
"Which one isn't crying?" she demanded.
Marcus pushed faster.
"Both are breathing."
"How do you know?"
"Paramedics checked them."
"Where are they?"
Twenty yards ahead, federal agents surrounded the black SUV.
Arthur Bennett stood among them.
Claire hadn't seen her father since she was twenty-eight.
He had aged.
His once-black hair had gone mostly silver.
His shoulders looked slightly narrower.
But when he turned and saw his daughter in the wheelchair, the years disappeared from his face.
"Claire."
She burst into tears.
Arthur didn't.
He rarely cried.
Instead, he stepped aside.
Behind him, two paramedics stood beside mobile bassinets.
Twin newborns lay wrapped in white hospital blankets.
Alive.
Claire tried to stand.
Pain doubled her over.
Nora caught her.
"Easy."
"I need them."
A paramedic wheeled the first bassinet closer.
"Baby girl. Stable. Mildly low body temperature, but otherwise doing well."
Claire touched her daughter's cheek.
Warm.
Soft.
Real.
The baby's face scrunched.
Her tiny mouth opened.
A cry escaped.
Claire sobbed.
"My sweetheart."
The second bassinet came forward.
"Baby boy. Stable. Slightly lower oxygen saturation earlier, but improving."
Claire placed her hand against his chest.
Heartbeat.
Fast and steady.
She bent over him and kissed his forehead.
Daniel had made her believe this child was dead.
For hours, Claire had believed that she would never hear this heartbeat.
Arthur crouched beside her.
"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner."
Claire looked at him.
"You came in twenty-eight minutes."
"I meant seven years."
Her face crumpled.
Arthur took her hand.
"We can fix us later."
She nodded.
Behind them, agents removed Selena Ward from the SUV.
She didn't resist.
She looked almost bored.
Claire saw the woman clearly for the first time.
Early forties.
Dark hair.
Thin face.
No visible panic.
She turned her head toward Claire.
Their eyes met.
Selena smiled.
Claire's skin went cold.
"Why is she smiling?"
Marcus followed her gaze.
"Good question."
Selena was placed in handcuffs.
As agents walked her past, Claire spoke.
"Where were you taking my children?"
Selena stopped.
"Don't talk to her," Marcus warned.
But Selena looked directly at Claire.
"You still think your husband planned this."
Claire felt her stomach twist.
"Keep walking," Marcus ordered.
Selena did.
But before she passed through the loading doors, she called over her shoulder:
"Ask your father why someone paid twelve million dollars for your prenatal genetic panel."
Arthur went completely still.
Claire turned toward him.
"What?"
Marcus stared at Arthur too.
Selena laughed softly as agents removed her.
Claire's attention snapped back to her father.
"What was she talking about?"
Arthur looked genuinely confused.
"I don't know."
"She knew who you were."
"Apparently."
"Why would someone pay twelve million dollars for my prenatal tests?"
"Nobody would."
Marcus interrupted.
"Actually, someone did."
Arthur looked at him.
"You found a transaction?"
"We found a shell payment tied to New Dawn Neonatal Services."
Claire shook her head.
"This doesn't make sense."
Marcus lowered his voice.
"That's why you and the babies need to be moved."
"Moved where?"
"Secure medical facility."
"No."
"Claire—"
"I'm not letting anyone take them out of my sight."
"You won't have to."
Arthur stood.
"My medical center."
Claire stared at him.
Arthur owned a private research hospital outside Washington.
He had funded it after Claire's mother died from cancer.
"They'll be safer there," he said.
Claire looked toward the hospital entrance.
Daniel and Vivian had not been brought downstairs.
"Where's my husband?"
Marcus's jaw tightened.
"Still upstairs."
"Why isn't he in handcuffs?"
"Because stealing children is easy to say and harder to prove when one parent claims he authorized a medical transfer."
Claire stared at him.
"He told me they were dead."
"We're documenting everything."
"What about Vivian?"
"Same issue."
Claire almost laughed.
"They were caught lying beside my hospital bed."
"Morally disgusting isn't automatically enough for an arrest."
Claire looked toward Selena.
"Then arrest her."
"We are."
"For kidnapping?"
"For falsifying transport credentials and obstructing a federal investigation. Kidnapping charges will depend on where the evidence leads."
Arthur touched Claire's shoulder.
"Focus on the babies."
Claire wanted to.
She desperately wanted this story to end right there.
Babies recovered.
Father returned.
Husband exposed.
Mistress humiliated.
But when Claire looked at the black SUV, she noticed something.
A cooler.
Small.
Silver.
Medical-grade.
One agent removed it from the back.
"What's that?"
Marcus followed her gaze.
"Evidence."
"Evidence of what?"
He didn't answer.
Claire looked at Arthur.
Her father wasn't watching the babies anymore.
He was staring at the cooler.
And for the first time since arriving, Arthur Bennett looked afraid.
Two hours later, Claire lay in a private ambulance with both bassinets secured beside her.
Nora rode with them.
Arthur sat opposite.
The twins had been temporarily registered under aliases until their medical records could be rebuilt from independent tests.
Claire had named them months earlier.
Emily Rose.
Noah James.
Daniel had pretended to love both names.
The memory now made her sick.
Nora checked Noah's pulse.
"Strong."
Claire stroked Emily's tiny hand.
"Why did they need the cooler?"
Arthur looked away.
Claire noticed.
"Dad."
"I don't know."
"You do."
"I know possibilities."
"Tell me."
Arthur hesitated.
"The payment Selena mentioned may relate to a research program."
"What research program?"
"Years ago, Bennett Dynamics invested in genomic medicine."
Claire stared at him.
"You never told me."
"You weren't speaking to me."
"That's not an answer."
Arthur rubbed his forehead.
"We developed an experimental gene-repair platform with a company called Helixor Therapeutics."
"Developed what?"
"Technology designed to correct certain inherited blood disorders before symptoms appeared."
Claire looked at the babies.
"What does that have to do with them?"
"Probably nothing."
"Don't say probably."
Arthur sighed.
"Your mother carried a rare genetic marker."
Claire blinked.
"What marker?"
"One associated with a protein that certain researchers believed could dramatically increase stem-cell regeneration."
Claire sat straighter.
"And I inherited it?"
"We never tested you."
"Why not?"
"Because the research became unethical."
The ambulance suddenly felt smaller.
"What happened?"
Arthur stared through the rear window.
"Helixor started paying families for fetal tissue samples without properly disclosing how they would be used."
Claire felt nauseated.
"We terminated the partnership."
"And?"
"And three months later their laboratory burned down."
"Accident?"
Arthur didn't answer.
Claire's pulse quickened.
"Dad."
"Officially."
"What happened unofficially?"
"Someone removed nearly all the research before the fire."
Nora looked up.
"And whoever took it could still be working on it."
Arthur nodded.
Claire stared down at Emily.
"What makes my children worth twelve million dollars?"
Arthur's silence terrified her more than any answer.
Finally he said:
"If you inherited your mother's marker and Daniel carries the complementary trait listed in the old research..."
Claire's fingers tightened protectively around Emily's blanket.
"What?"
Arthur looked directly at her.
"Your twins may be the first naturally occurring children ever identified with both."
Claire swallowed.
"What does that mean?"
"It means their blood could be extremely valuable to someone still trying to finish Helixor's work."
Claire's eyes filled with rage.
"They're babies."
"I know."
"They aren't samples."
"I know."
"They aren't property."
"I know."
The ambulance slowed.
Arthur leaned closer.
"And that's why we are going to find every person involved."
Claire stared into his eyes.
"Starting with Daniel."
Arthur nodded.
But Nora suddenly spoke from Noah's bassinet.
"Wait."
Claire turned.
"What?"
Nora had removed Noah's hospital blanket.
A tiny adhesive patch was attached behind his left shoulder.
She peeled it back.
Beneath it was a pinpoint puncture.
Claire's blood ran cold.
"What is that?"
Nora examined the area.
"Someone took blood."
"When?"
"Recently."
Claire looked at Emily.
"Check her."
Nora did.
Same mark.
Claire stopped breathing.
Someone had already collected samples.
Arthur reached for his phone.
Marcus answered immediately.
"Tell me you still have the cooler."
"We do."
"Open it."
A pause.
"We need a warrant."
"Get one."
"Arthur—"
"Marcus, somebody drew blood from both babies."
Silence.
Then movement on the other end.
"We're opening it."
Claire listened.
Metal latches clicked.
Paper shifted.
Then Marcus cursed.
"What?"
Arthur stood.
"What is it?"
Marcus's voice came through the speaker.
"Four blood vials."
Claire pressed her hand to her mouth.
"From the twins?"
"Labels match their hospital identifiers."
Arthur looked devastated.
But Marcus wasn't finished.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"A fifth vial."
Arthur frowned.
"Whose?"
Marcus read the label.
Then stopped.
"Marcus?"
When he answered, his voice had changed.
"It says Arthur Bennett."
Claire slowly turned toward her father.
Arthur went pale.
Claire whispered:
"Why would they have your blood?"
Arthur stared at the phone.
"I have no idea."
But Claire knew him well enough to recognize the expression.
For the first time since returning to her life, her father wasn't merely frightened.
May you like
He recognized something.
And whatever he recognized, he wasn't ready to tell her.
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