Chapter 14: The Woman Behind the Abduction
Victoria stood motionless, holding the telephone.
Elena approached.
"What happened?""
Victoria looked at her.
"Richard says my mother arranged her own kidnapping.""
Veronica frowned.
"That's impossible. I saw the room.""
Samuel immediately checked his phone.
"Something's wrong.""
"What?""
"The security footage from Newport Hospital has been erased.""
Victoria turned.
"By whom?""
Samuel looked at his screen.
"Someone with administrative access.""
Elena stepped closer.
"Could Evelyn have done it?""
Samuel shook his head.
"Her credentials were revoked yesterday.""
Victoria stared at the floor.
Everything had become a maze of lies.
Robert was supposedly holding Margaret.
Daniel had been arrested.
Richard was under protection.
Evelyn had disappeared.
And now Richard claimed Margaret had orchestrated the kidnapping herself.
Victoria looked at Samuel.
"Call the hospital commander. I want every officer questioned.""
Samuel nodded.
Then his phone vibrated.
He read the message.
His expression changed.
"What?""
"Daniel.""
Victoria frowned.
"He's in custody.""
"Not anymore.""
Samuel turned the screen toward her.
A photograph showed an empty police transport vehicle on a deserted road.
The rear doors were open.
The handcuffs lay on the floor.
A message accompanied the photograph.
*YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES TO FIND YOUR MOTHER.*
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Where is he?""
Samuel enlarged the image.
A road sign was visible in the background.
Route 1A.
He checked the map.
"He's heading toward the old Vance marina.""
Veronica grabbed her coat.
"That's where Daniel keeps his private boat.""
Victoria looked at her.
"How do you know?""
"I used to go there with him.""
Elena picked up the black case.
"Then let's go.""
The marina was nearly empty.
A cold wind blew across the water.
Several expensive yachts rocked against their moorings.
At the far end stood a large white vessel named The Margaret.
Victoria recognized it from family photographs.
Her father had purchased it shortly after her mother's supposed death.
Samuel examined the dock.
"Someone left recently.""
He pointed toward a wet rope hanging over the side.
Veronica walked toward the vessel.
"Daniel's boat.""
Victoria stopped.
A familiar perfume drifted from the cabin.
Her mother's perfume.
"Mom?""
No answer.
She stepped inside.
The salon was beautifully furnished.
A crystal vase stood on the dining table.
Beside it lay a half-finished cup of tea.
And a handwritten note.
Victoria picked it up.
*My daughters deserve the truth. Meet me where everything began.*
Beneath the message was an address.
A private medical clinic in Boston.
Elena looked at the handwriting.
"It's Margaret's.""
Veronica stared at the note.
"She was here.""
Samuel checked the cabin.
"There's something else.""
He opened a locked drawer.
Inside was a small audio recorder.
Victoria pressed play.
Margaret's voice filled the cabin.
"If you're listening to this, then I have finally decided to stop running.""
A pause.
"I know what Richard told you. I know what Robert told you. And I know what Daniel has done.""
The recording continued.
"None of them understands why I created Project Genesis.""
Victoria frowned.
"Created?""
Elena looked at her.
"Your mother?""
Margaret's voice became softer.
"I was not merely a victim. I was the person who designed the original program.""
Victoria felt the room tilt.
"No.""
The recording continued.
"I was a genetic researcher before I married Richard. I believed I could develop treatments for inherited diseases. Robert supplied the funding. Richard provided the facilities.""
Veronica sat down.
"That's why he called it Genesis.""
Margaret continued.
"But the program changed. Robert wanted children who could inherit wealth, power, and influence. Richard wanted an heir. I wanted to stop them.""
A long silence followed.
"By then, I had already created the fourteen embryos. I had approved the procedures. I had signed the documents. I had convinced myself that the ends justified the means.""
Victoria covered her mouth.
Her mother continued.
"After you and Veronica were born, I realized what I had done. I tried to destroy the research. Robert discovered my plan and staged my death.""
The recording crackled.
"I escaped. But I couldn't take you both with me.""
Veronica began crying.
Margaret's voice trembled.
"I chose to save Victoria because she was already living outside the facility. I believed Veronica had been killed. I was wrong.""
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Why didn't you come back?""
"Because I was afraid that Robert would use you to restart the program. I watched you grow from a distance. I watched you become a woman. And every year, I promised myself I would return.""
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Samuel noticed another file on the device.
He pressed play.
A man's voice followed.
Richard Vance.
"Margaret, you can't do this.""
Margaret answered:
"I have no choice.""
Richard sounded desperate.
"Daniel is my son.""
"No, Richard. Daniel is Robert's biological son.""
"I raised him.""
"And you helped turn him into a weapon.""
A pause.
Then Richard said something that made Victoria's stomach tighten.
"What happens when he finds out the truth?""
Margaret answered quietly.
"Then he will come looking for his real father.""
The recording ended.
Victoria looked at Elena.
"Daniel knew?""
Elena shook her head.
"I don't think so.""
Veronica stood.
"Then why did he marry me?""
Samuel looked toward the water.
"Because he thought marrying you would give him control of the trust.""
Victoria turned.
"That's not enough.""
Samuel nodded.
"There's another reason.""
He picked up a document from the drawer.
It was a confidential medical agreement between Robert Hale and a private clinic.
The agreement described a procedure to transfer control of the Genesis research patents to a designated biological successor.
The successor's name was Daniel Vance.
Victoria stared at the document.
"He's not just trying to inherit the company.""
"No," Samuel replied.
"He's trying to inherit the research.""
Elena looked toward the cabin door.
"Then why would Margaret leave this recording?""
Victoria examined the final page.
A handwritten note appeared at the bottom.
*THE ORIGINAL KEY IS WITH THE FIRST CHILD.*
She looked up.
"Who was the first child?""
Samuel opened the original Genesis file.
His face went pale.
"Subject 000.""
Veronica stepped closer.
"What?""
Samuel turned the folder around.
The photograph showed a newborn baby in a hospital cot.
The baby's name was listed as:
*DANIEL ROBERT HALE.*
Victoria stared.
"Daniel was Subject 000?""
Samuel nodded.
"He wasn't just one of the fourteen children.""
Elena's lips parted.
"He was the first.""
Victoria looked at the medical record.
Beneath the photograph was a line of text.
*ORIGINAL GENETIC MATERIAL STORED IN SUBJECT 000'S BIOLOGICAL ARCHIVE.*
She looked toward Veronica.
"Where is that archive?""
Veronica shook her head.
"I don't know.""
Then the cabin lights flickered.
A phone rang.
This time, it was Victoria's.
Unknown number.
She answered.
A man's voice sounded.
"Hello, daughter.""
Robert Hale.
Victoria gripped the phone.
"Where is my mother?""
"With me.""
"Then let her speak.""
A faint rustling followed.
Then Margaret's voice.
"Victoria?""
"Mom!""
"Listen carefully. Your father is not trying to inherit the company.""
Victoria looked toward the document.
"What is he trying to do?""
Margaret began crying.
"He's trying to bring back the original experiment.""
The line crackled.
Then Robert returned.
"Your mother has told you enough.""
A pause.
"Now I want you to meet your brother.""
Victoria frowned.
"Daniel is in custody.""
Robert laughed.
"Not Daniel.""
May you like
Then he delivered the name that made every person inside the cabin freeze.
"Your other brother. The one you were never told about.""
