The woman in the photograph was older than Olivia, perhaps by only a few years, but the resemblance was so striking that I felt as if I were looking at Olivia through a distorted mirror.
Her hair was shorter. A pale scar crossed her cheek. Yet her eyes held the same gray intensity that had haunted my dreams during the years my wife was missing.
“Is that your mother?”” I asked Olivia.
She shook her head.
“I don’t know anymore.””
Rachel sat with her hands folded in her lap, unable to meet anyone’s eyes.
“Tell us everything,” Harris ordered.
Rachel drew a shaky breath.
“Richard discovered the third daughter through medical records after Olivia’s mother died. He believed the child could expose the family’s hidden fertility arrangements. He paid the clinic to erase her identity and place her with a family far from Atlanta.””
“Why didn’t you tell Olivia?”” I demanded.
“Because I was ordered to keep quiet. Richard said the child would be safe if nobody knew who she was.””
“And you believed him?””
“No.”” Rachel looked up, tears running down her cheeks.
“I was afraid of him.””
Olivia approached her slowly.
“You helped take my children. You watched me suffer. You knew there were secrets about my family that could have helped me understand why I was targeted.””
“I know.””
“Did you ever think about what that did to me?””
Rachel began to sob.
“Every day.””
Olivia looked away.
“I can’t forgive you right now.””
Rachel lowered her head.
“I don’t expect you to.””
Detective Harris interrupted.
“We need to identify the woman in the photograph. The emergency contact information may lead us to Dr. Price.””
An officer entered carrying a printout.
“We traced the apartment building. The woman left approximately twenty minutes ago. A neighbor says she was asking about a man named Damien Cole.””
My stomach tightened.
“Me?””
The officer nodded.
“She said she needed to speak with you before Victor could reach you.””
Harris immediately called for additional units.
We returned to Atlanta under police protection. By the time we arrived, a storm had rolled across the city, darkening the sky and sending rain against the windshield.
Olivia sat beside me, silent.
I reached for her hand.
“Whatever we discover, we’re going to face it together.””
She squeezed my fingers.
“What if the woman is my sister? What if my whole family has been built on lies?””
“Then we’ll find the truth.””
“And if the truth is worse than the lies?””
I looked at her.
“Then we survive it together.””
At the station, an officer brought us to a private room where the woman from the photograph was waiting.
She stood as we entered.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Olivia stared at her.
The woman stared back.
Then she whispered, “You look exactly like your mother.””
Olivia’s breath caught.
“Who are you?””
“My name is Evelyn.””
“Are you related to me?””
Evelyn nodded.
“I’m the daughter your grandmother was forced to give up before she married your grandfather.””
Olivia sat down heavily.
“Then you’re my aunt.””
Evelyn nodded again.
“And Elise’s aunt. And the biological mother of the woman you’ve been searching for.””
Elise stepped forward.
“Who is my biological mother?””
Evelyn looked at her.
“I believe it’s me.””
The room went silent.
Elise shook her head.
“No. Richard told me my mother died when I was born.””
“Richard lied,” Evelyn said.
“I was told my daughter had died during a medical procedure. I didn’t discover the truth until six months ago.””
Olivia gripped the edge of the table.
“Then who is the woman in the photograph?””
Evelyn looked toward the door.
“Someone who was created by the same people who took my child.””
She removed a folder from her bag.
Inside were medical records, photographs, and a letter written by Richard Cole.
The letter was dated three months before his death.
Evelyn, if you’re reading this, then the program has failed. I tried to protect the family from the consequences of the original procedure, but the truth can no longer be contained.
Below the letter was a list of names.
Olivia.
Elise.
Sophie.
Ruby.
And one final name.
*MARA COLE.*
“Who is Mara?”” I asked.
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“The daughter Richard never wanted anyone to find.””
She explained that Mara had been born through an experimental reproductive procedure involving genetic material from several members of the Cole family. The procedure was intended to create a child whose genetic profile would preserve Richard’s family line even if his own descendants died.
But the clinic had never completed the legal documentation.
Mara had been transferred to a private guardian under a false identity, and Richard had spent years trying to locate her.
“Why?”” Olivia asked.
“Because he believed Mara’s genetic profile could expose the illegal procedures. He wanted her found before anyone else could identify her.””
I stared at the records.
“So where is she now?””
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know. But she contacted me yesterday.””
She handed Harris a phone.
The screen showed a message.
*I KNOW WHO I AM. I KNOW WHAT RICHARD DID. I’M COMING TO ATLANTA.*
Below it was a photograph of a woman standing beside a black SUV.
The same SUV that had followed Sophie.
Olivia gripped my arm.
“That’s her.””
Harris zoomed in on the image.
The woman was holding a small silver necklace with a blackbird pendant.
My heart stopped.
“That necklace belonged to you,” I whispered to Olivia.
She shook her head.
“No. I gave one to Elise. I gave another to my mother. But the original blackbird pendant was part of a set Richard commissioned before I was born.””
Evelyn looked at the photograph.
“There’s something you need to know about Mara.””
“What?”” I asked.
“She wasn’t just hidden from Richard. She was hidden from the entire family because she was the only person who could prove who authorized the original embryo program.””
Harris leaned forward.
“Who authorized it?””
Evelyn looked at Olivia.
“Your mother.””
Olivia stared at her.
“My mother died before I was old enough to remember her.””
“She was involved in the original program. Richard didn’t create it. He inherited it.””
Olivia shook her head.
“No.””
Evelyn opened the final page of the file.
A photograph showed Olivia’s mother standing beside a medical researcher. The researcher was holding a newborn baby.
On the back, someone had written:
Subject Zero. The original daughter.
Olivia’s lips parted.
“That’s my mother.””
Evelyn nodded.
“And the baby she’s holding is Mara.””
Before anyone could respond, the station’s emergency alarm sounded.
An officer rushed into the room.
“Detective, we’ve got a problem. Someone has breached the evidence storage area.””
Harris stood.
“What was taken?””
“The medical records from Blackwater Estate.””
“Anything else?””
The officer hesitated.
“A photograph of Sophie and Ruby.””
Olivia grabbed my hand.
“Where are the girls?””
“At the protected residence,” Harris replied.
He immediately called the officers assigned to guard them.
Nobody answered.
He tried again.
Nothing.
Then his phone rang.
A video appeared on the screen.
Sophie and Ruby were sitting in the back seat of a moving car.
A woman sat beside them.
She turned toward the camera.
Her face was identical to Olivia’s.
“Hello, Damien,” she said calmly.
“I’ve finally come home.””
Olivia stared at the screen.
Then she whispered a name.
“Mara.””
The woman smiled.
“Bring me the original records, and I’ll return the girls.””
The video ended.
May you like
And beneath it appeared a final message.
*YOU HAVE ONE HOUR BEFORE I TELL YOUR DAUGHTERS WHO THEIR FATHER REALLY IS.*
