CHAPTER 2 – THE DYING WOMAN'S CONFESSION
CHAPTER 2 – THE DYING WOMAN'S CONFESSION
The hospital room fell into a silence so complete that even the heart monitor seemed afraid to interrupt it.
I stared at the frail woman gripping my wrist.
"What did you say?"
Her cloudy eyes searched my face, making certain we were alone before speaking again.
"They stole... more than one child from you."
My pulse hammered against my throat.
Behind me, Sophia stood frozen beside the door, clutching the edge of her oversized sweater.
She wasn't surprised.
She looked like someone hearing a nightmare she'd already lived.
"Who stole them?" I demanded.
The old woman coughed violently, blood spotting the corner of her lips.
"Your family..."
The words barely escaped before another coughing fit bent her thin body in half.
A nurse rushed inside.
"You need to leave. She's too weak."
"No."
The old woman grabbed my sleeve with astonishing strength.
"If I die tonight... he'll bury the truth forever."
She pointed a trembling finger toward Sophia.
"Bring the girl closer."
Sophia hesitated.
For several seconds she simply stared.
Then she slowly approached the bed.
The old woman's expression softened.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
Sophia lowered her head.
"You promised Mama you wouldn't tell."
The sentence struck me harder than any confession.
"You knew my mother?" I asked.
The old woman nodded.
"My daughter... Emily."
The name meant nothing to me.
Not yet.
"She worked in your fertility clinic twelve years ago."
I turned toward Isabella.
She had gone completely pale.
"You knew her."
Isabella's lips trembled.
"I... remember an Emily."
"She was a laboratory technician," the old woman whispered.
"She saw things she wasn't supposed to see."
I felt the room closing around me.
"What things?"
The old woman looked directly at Isabella.
"Tell him."
Isabella couldn't.
Instead, tears filled her eyes.
"I thought they destroyed the records."
"What records?"
She covered her mouth.
"The embryos."
Every muscle in my body tightened.
"There weren't just one."
The old woman nodded slowly.
"They created six embryos using your DNA."
I stared at Isabella.
"You told me I was infertile."
"I believed you were," she whispered.
"They changed your medical file before I ever saw it."
My heartbeat became deafening.
"Who?"
Neither woman answered immediately.
Finally the old woman whispered one name.
"Richard."
The world tilted.
"My attorney?"
"He wasn't your attorney then."
"He worked for your father."
Pieces that had never fit together suddenly began sliding into place.
Richard.
Always nearby.
Always controlling every legal document.
Every business decision.
Every family trust.
Every inheritance meeting.
Every crisis.
Almost as if he had never been protecting me...
Only managing me.
"No..."
I shook my head.
"This makes no sense."
The old woman reached beneath her pillow with trembling hands.
She pulled out a worn leather pouch tied with faded blue string.
"I've hidden this for twelve years."
She placed it in my hand.
Inside were photographs.
Medical reports.
Birth certificates.
DNA laboratory labels.
And one security badge.
Emily Carter.
Drummond Fertility Research Center.
The final photograph made my blood freeze.
Six newborn babies.
Each wearing identical hospital bracelets.
Each marked only by a number.
No names.
Just numbers.
"What is this?"
"Evidence."
"Where are the others?"
"I don't know."
She began crying.
"They separated them."
"Who did?"
"They said one child would control the inheritance."
"They said six children were... too dangerous."
I could barely breathe.
"Who ordered this?"
The old woman's eyes filled with terror.
She looked toward the hospital door as though expecting someone to walk in.
"Your father."
The room exploded into silence.
"My father died ten years ago."
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"That's what Richard wanted everyone to believe."
A cold wave rushed through my entire body.
Impossible.
I had buried my father myself.
Hadn't I?
Before I could ask another question, Sophia suddenly screamed.
"Mr. Edward!"
She was staring into the hallway.
I turned.
Richard stood at the far end of the corridor.
Perfect suit.
Perfect smile.
Holding a bouquet of white lilies.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
He wasn't surprised to see me.
He slowly raised one hand in greeting.
Then his eyes shifted toward the old woman's room.
For a fraction of a second...
The smile disappeared.
It became something much colder.
Recognition.
Calculation.
Threat.
He knew exactly who she was.
And he knew she had talked.
Richard casually turned and walked away.
Not running.
Not panicking.
Simply walking.
As though he already knew it was too late to stop whatever had begun.
I sprinted into the hallway.
"Richard!"
The elevator doors slid shut.
He looked at me through the narrowing gap.
Still smiling.
Then he mouthed four silent words.
You're already too late.
The elevator disappeared.
I hit the emergency stairwell instead.
Taking the steps three at a time.
By the time I reached the lobby, Richard's black sedan was already pulling onto the road.
I jumped into my car and chased him through the rain-soaked streets.
Traffic lights blurred.
Horns screamed.
My tires slid across wet pavement.
I refused to lose him.
Then my phone rang.
Hospital.
I answered without taking my eyes off the road.
The nurse's voice was shaking.
"Mr. Drummond..."
A pause.
"I'm so sorry."
"Your witness..."
"She's gone."
My hands tightened around the steering wheel.
The woman who held twelve years of answers had died.
But before I could process it, another call flashed across the screen.
Unknown Number.
I answered.
A distorted voice whispered only one sentence.
"If you want your real heir alive..."
"Stop chasing Richard."
The line went dead.
At that exact moment, I looked into my rearview mirror.
Three black SUVs had appeared behind me.
Closing fast.
Too fast.
May you like
And they weren't following Richard.
They were following me.
