Chapter 7 - Black Creek Farm
Black Creek Farm did not appear on maps.
On paper, the property belonged to an agricultural research company.
In reality, it sat behind two miles of forest and an electrified gate in rural Kentucky.
Daniel stared at satellite images inside the sheriff’s mobile command unit.
Three buildings.
A farmhouse.
A metal warehouse.
A medical facility disguised as a veterinary clinic.
“My daughters are there.”
Sheriff Briggs nodded.
“We believe so.”
Daniel pointed at the map.
“Then go.”
“We need to know how many people are inside.”
“I don’t care.”
“I do, because I want your babies alive when this ends.”
Daniel stared at him.
Briggs continued.
“State police tactical teams are thirty minutes out.”
Daniel hated waiting.
But he understood.
Emma sat across from Henry Vale.
“Why did Rachel leave the note?”
Henry looked at her.
“Because she wants us to find them.”
“Then why help Malcolm?”
“She may not have had a choice.”
Daniel almost laughed.
“Everyone suddenly has no choice.”
Emma looked at him.
“You don’t know her story.”
“She kidnapped my daughters.”
“We know she carried one.”
Daniel’s eyes hardened.
“That’s enough.”
Henry spoke quietly.
“Malcolm raised Rachel alone.”
Emma turned.
“Where was her mother?”
“Dead.”
“How?”
Henry looked away.
“Malcolm’s research.”
Silence.
Emma’s expression changed.
“He experimented on his wife?”
“An unapproved treatment. She died from complications.”
Daniel stared.
“And Rachel stayed with him?”
“She was six.”
Henry rubbed his face.
“She grew up believing her father’s work would eventually save lives.”
Emma looked at the note.
“Maybe she stopped believing.”
At 9:46 p.m., tactical teams entered Black Creek Farm.
Daniel was ordered to remain behind the perimeter.
He did not.
He followed Mark through the tree line until Briggs caught him.
“You want to get shot?”
“I want my children.”
“You’ll get them by not becoming another hostage.”
Daniel reluctantly remained near the command vehicle.
Gunfire erupted from the warehouse.
Emma grabbed Daniel’s arm.
His entire body went rigid.
Then a radio crackled.
“Warehouse secure.”
Another voice.
“Main clinic entry breached.”
Daniel barely breathed.
Minutes passed.
Then:
“Two infants located.”
Daniel ran.
Nobody stopped him this time.
Inside the clinic, he found Sophie and Lily in warming bassinets.
Alive.
A paramedic examined them.
Daniel dropped to his knees.
He kissed both daughters repeatedly.
Emma cried beside him.
But Grace was not there.
Neither was Malcolm.
Nor Rachel.
Sheriff deputies searched underground rooms.
They discovered medical equipment.
Genetic samples.
Financial records.
Photographs of Claire.
And files labeled with Grace’s name.
Daniel opened one.
A schedule.
Grace Whitmore.
Collection Phase One.
Collection Phase Two.
Long-Term Observation.
Daniel nearly tore the folder in half.
Emma stopped him.
“Evidence.”
He released it.
A deputy entered.
“We found a tunnel.”
The underground passage led beyond the property.
Tire tracks waited at the exit.
Malcolm had escaped.
With Grace.
Daniel returned to Henry.
“Where would he go?”
Henry shook his head.
“I don’t know.”
Daniel slammed the file onto the table.
“You created him.”
“I trained him. I didn’t create what he became.”
“Give me something.”
Henry studied the collection schedule.
Then froze.
“What?”
Henry pointed to a code.
C-17.
“I know this.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“What is it?”
“St. Catherine’s.”
Emma’s face changed.
“The old clinic?”
Henry nodded.
“It closed decades ago.”
“Where?”
“Outside Cincinnati.”
Sheriff Briggs immediately contacted Ohio authorities.
The original St. Catherine’s building had been demolished.
But one section remained.
An underground archive and laboratory wing purchased by a private foundation.
The foundation belonged to Malcolm Reed.
They drove through the night.
At 2:15 a.m., Daniel’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Rachel’s voice whispered:
“Don’t talk.”
Daniel’s heart jumped.
He put the call on speaker.
“I can’t stay on long.”
“Where’s Grace?”
“With me.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“Is she safe?”
“For now.”
“For now?”
Rachel began crying.
“My father has changed the schedule.”
Emma leaned toward the phone.
“Rachel, you left the Black Creek note.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed you to find Sophie and Lily.”
Daniel’s voice turned hard.
“You helped take them.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
“If I refused, my father would have used someone else.”
“That is not an excuse.”
“No.”
Rachel sounded broken.
“It’s the truth.”
Daniel gripped the phone.
“Bring Grace back.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“He’s watching me.”
“Where?”
Silence.
Then Rachel said, “Your wife was right about me.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
“Claire knew who my father was.”
Henry leaned closer.
Rachel continued.
“She still trusted me.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised to help her expose him.”
Daniel stared.
“So the cellar—”
“Victor found me searching his files. He tied me there.”
Emma exhaled.
Rachel had not staged it.
“Then why did you go with Malcolm?” Daniel asked.
“Because he threatened Grace.”
Daniel’s jaw clenched.
“He already had access to the hospital. If I resisted, he said he’d overdose her and make it look like a medical collapse.”
Emma covered her mouth.
Rachel whispered, “I thought if I stayed close, I could keep her alive.”
“Tell me where you are.”
“I can’t.”
“Rachel.”
“If he sees me—”
A male voice sounded faintly behind her.
Rachel gasped.
The line went silent.
Then Malcolm Reed spoke.
“Daniel.”
Daniel’s body went cold.
“Touch my daughter and I will—”
“You’ll what?”
Malcolm sounded calm.
Professional.
Like a doctor discussing lab results.
“You should be thanking me. Grace may answer questions medicine has ignored for thirty years.”
“She’s a baby.”
“She’s also evidence.”
“She is my daughter.”
“Emotional language doesn’t change biology.”
Daniel’s voice shook with rage.
“I’m coming for her.”
“I know.”
Malcolm laughed softly.
“That’s why Rachel called you.”
A thud sounded.
Rachel cried out.
Daniel stood.
“What did you do?”
“Your nurse has developed a conscience.”
“Leave her alone.”
“Then listen carefully.”
Malcolm gave Daniel an address.
Not St. Catherine’s.
A private airfield.
“If you want Grace alive, bring Henry Vale.”
Henry looked up.
Malcolm continued.
“Midnight tomorrow.”
“Why Henry?”
“Because he has something I need.”
Daniel looked at the old scientist.
Henry whispered, “No.”
Malcolm heard.
“Hello, Henry.”
Henry’s face hardened.
“Malcolm.”
“You owe me.”
“I owe you a prison cell.”
Malcolm laughed.
“You grew sentimental.”
Then Grace cried through the phone.
Daniel nearly broke.
“Let me hear her.”
The crying grew louder.
Rachel whispered somewhere nearby.
“She’s okay.”
Malcolm returned.
“Midnight.”
The line disconnected.
Daniel turned to Henry.
“What does he want from you?”
Henry shook his head.
“Something he can never have.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“My daughter is in his hands. You don’t get to be mysterious.”
Henry looked at everyone.
Then he said:
“I lied earlier.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“The original experiment did not fail.”
Emma stared.
Henry continued.
“We discovered something extraordinary.”
“What?”
“A rare cellular repair trait.”
Daniel looked at him.
“In Grace?”
“Possibly.”
Henry’s voice dropped.
“And Malcolm believes that if he can isolate it, he can patent a treatment worth billions.”
Daniel understood at last.
The theft.
The medical surveillance.
The hidden laboratory.
The drugging.
Claire’s murder.
His daughters.
This had never been about old science.
It was about owning what was inside Grace’s body.
Henry reached into the lining of his old coat.
A deputy immediately moved toward him.
Henry slowly pulled out a tiny metal capsule.
“This is what Malcolm wants.”
Daniel stared.
“What is it?”
“The only surviving sample from the original experiment.”
Emma whispered, “You kept it for thirty years?”
“Yes.”
Henry looked at Daniel.
“And if Malcolm gets both this sample and Grace…”
May you like
He closed his hand around it.
“Your daughter will never be safe again.”
