Chapter 16 - THE SECRET BETWEEN US
Adrian survived.
Ethan survived too.
But neither man left the hospital.
The Mercer operation became national news.
Federal investigators seized the underground facility.
Hundreds of victims came forward.
Families discovered that medical records had been falsified.
Doctors admitted they had been pressured.
Executives disappeared.
Politicians resigned.
But none of that mattered to me.
I sat beside three incubators.
My three babies.
Lucas.
Noah.
Grace.
For the first time, I could breathe.
Then Adrian entered the room.
He was pale.
His shoulder was bandaged.
“You should be resting.”
“So should you.”
He smiled faintly.
“I own the hospital.”
“That's becoming your favorite excuse.”
He smiled.
Then his expression became serious.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“I need to tell you something.”
“I know.”
He sat beside me.
“My mother didn't tell the whole truth.”
“About what?”
“About us.”
My heart tightened.
“You were Subject Two.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“My father took me from my mother when I was six.”
I stared.
“He raised me inside the research program.”
“For how long?”
“Until I was twelve.”
“What happened then?”
“He realized I was resistant to the system.”
“And?”
“He sold me to another facility.”
I covered my mouth.
“How did you survive?”
“Your father.”
My heart stopped.
“My father saved you.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“He broke me out.”
Adrian looked down.
“Then he hid me.”
“Where?”
“In your childhood home.”
I stared.
“You lived in my house?”
“For three months.”
I couldn't believe it.
“I was six.”
“I was twelve.”
“You were there when I was a child.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know me?”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“What did you think of me?”
He smiled.
“You were loud.”
I laughed through tears.
“I was not.”
“You were.”
“What did I call you?”
“Shadow.”
I froze.
I remembered.
There had been a boy in the basement.
A boy I wasn't supposed to see.
I had called him Shadow.
I had believed he was imaginary.
“You were real.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“And then?”
“Your father moved me.”
“Where?”
“To a family in Vermont.”
I swallowed.
“And we never met again.”
“Not until years later.”
“When you investigated Ethan.”
“Yes.”
“You recognized me.”
“Immediately.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know if remembering would put you in danger.”
I looked down.
“And now?”
“Now I don't care.”
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?”
He leaned closer.
“It means I'm done being afraid.”
My heart began pounding.
“Adrian…”
He stopped.
“I know.”
He stood.
“I won't ask you for anything.”
“Why?”
“Because you deserve to choose.”
He walked toward the door.
“Wait.”
He turned.
I looked at him.
“Stay.”
He did.
He sat beside me.
Neither of us spoke.
We simply watched our children breathe.
For the first time, there were no secrets between us.
Or so I thought.
Because that evening, federal agents came to my room.
“Mrs. Mercer?”
“Yes?”
“We found something in the Mercer archives.”
“What?”
“A recording.”
“From who?”
“Your father.”
They played it.
My father's face appeared.
He looked terrified.
“If Claire and Adrian ever meet again, the project will become active.”
I froze.
“What does that mean?”
My father continued.
“They are not merely compatible.”
He paused.
“They are linked.”
The recording ended.
I looked at Adrian.
“What does linked mean?”
He didn't answer.
Then every monitor in the room turned on.
A message appeared:
SUBJECT PAIR REUNITED.
Then another:
ACTIVATION SEQUENCE BEGINNING.
My babies' monitors began screaming.
Adrian stood.
“Get the doctors.”
I ran toward the incubators.
The three babies began crying simultaneously.
Then Grace opened her eyes.
And for the first time, her tiny hand moved toward Adrian.
His face went pale.
“Claire…”
“What?”
He looked at her.
“She recognizes me.”
I stared.
“How?”
May you like
Adrian whispered:
“Because the project remembers us.”
