Chapter 11: Claire's Beginning
I stared at the ledger until the letters blurred.
“Claire?””
Mercer nodded.
“She was born here.””
“No.””
My voice sounded distant.
“She told me she found out about the study nine years ago.””
“She found the records nine years ago,” Mercer said.
“That isn't the same thing.””
I turned toward the stairs.
Claire was upstairs with Lily.
My wife.
The woman I'd married.
The mother of my daughter.
Another child from this place.
Michael read the ledger again.
“Is she related to us?””
The question made my stomach twist.
Mercer shook his head.
“No.””
I exhaled for what felt like the first time in a minute.
“Claire came from a different genetic line,” he continued.
“Her parents were participants.””
“Did she know?””
Thomas answered.
“Not originally.””
“When did she find out?””
“Before she met you.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
Another lie.
I climbed the stairs.
“Ryan,” Thomas called.
I didn't stop.
Claire was sitting on the floor with Lily when I returned.
She saw my face.
Then she saw the ledger.
Everything in her expression collapsed.
“You know.””
I put the book on the table.
“Claire Bennett.””
Lily looked between us.
“Mommy?””
Claire kissed her forehead.
“Can you stay with Emma for a minute?””
The girls moved to the corner.
I kept my voice low.
“When were you going to tell me?””
Claire wiped her face.
“I tried.””
“No. You almost tried. There's a difference.””
She nodded.
“I deserve that.””
That stopped some of my anger.
Not all.
“Were we arranged?””
Claire's eyes filled.
“What?””
“Did Evelyn put you in that coffee shop?””
“No.””
“Did she choose you to marry me?””
“No.””
“Then why did my mother introduce us?””
Claire took a breath.
“Because I asked her to.””
That wasn't the answer I expected.
“Why?””
“Because I found your name in the records.””
I stared at her.
“When I learned where I was born, I became obsessed with finding the other children.””
She glanced toward Michael.
“I found references to him first. Then you.””
“So you tracked me down.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I thought you might know who I was.””
The anger inside me shifted.
Not gone.
Just complicated.
Claire continued.
“When I met Evelyn, she told me you knew nothing. She warned me not to involve you.””
“But you did.””
“I wanted to meet you once.””
Her voice softened.
“Just once.””
I remembered that day.
A crowded coffee shop.
Claire had spilled cinnamon across the counter.
I joked that she'd murdered a pastry.
She laughed so hard coffee came out of her nose.
For seven years, I'd believed it was random.
“So our meeting was a lie.””
“The reason I entered the café was.””
She looked straight at me.
“Everything after you made that terrible pastry joke was mine.””
I almost smiled.
Almost.
“What about Lily?””
Claire's expression hardened.
“She was never part of Evelyn's plan.””
Evelyn stepped into the room.
“Yes, she was.””
Claire stood immediately.
“No.””
Evelyn looked at me.
“Claire is telling you what she wants to believe.””
I stepped between them.
“Then give me evidence.””
For once, Evelyn didn't answer immediately.
Mercer and Thomas entered behind her.
Mercer carried another folder.
Claire saw it.
Her face changed.
“What is that?””
“Your prenatal records.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
Mercer placed them down.
“You came to the Walker clinic during your pregnancy.””
“I went for genetic screening.””
“Yes.””
“Because Evelyn told me Lily might inherit a heart condition.””
Evelyn looked away.
Claire's voice rose.
“There was no heart condition?””
“No.””
Claire covered her mouth.
I felt sick.
“What did you do to her?””
Evelyn snapped, “Nothing.””
Mercer opened the folder.
“She monitored the pregnancy.””
“For what?””
“The markers.””
Claire looked ready to collapse.
“You tested Lily before she was born.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.””
Claire crossed the room and slapped the folder off the table.
Papers scattered across the floor.
“You used me.””
Lily began crying.
Claire immediately stopped.
She turned toward our daughter.
“Oh, baby.””
She knelt and opened her arms.
Lily ran to her.
That image mattered more than every file in the building.
Claire held our daughter.
Not a subject.
Not a marker.
Her child.
Our child.
Michael picked up one of the fallen pages.
Then he froze.
“Ryan.””
“What?””
He handed me the document.
A handwritten note had been attached.
DELIVERY PLAN: SUBJECT L TO BE TRANSFERRED AFTER BIRTH.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Transferred where?””
She said nothing.
“Where?””
Mercer answered.
“To Evelyn.””
Claire stared at her.
“You planned to take my baby?””
Evelyn finally looked ashamed.
“I changed my mind.””
“Why?””
“Because Ryan loved her.””
I stepped toward her.
“You were going to steal Lily.””
“I didn't.””
“You took her tonight!””
“To bring you here.””
Claire held Lily tighter.
Evelyn's justification died in the silence.
Then Sarah spoke from behind us.
“There's another page.””
She had been sorting through the scattered documents.
Her hands trembled.
“What?””
Sarah looked at me.
“This says Subject L wasn't the first successful birth from Claire's pregnancy records.””
Claire went completely still.
“That makes no sense.””
Sarah read the line again.
“Previous viable embryo: transferred.””
Claire whispered:
“What previous embryo?””
Evelyn closed her eyes.
May you like
And I realized the secret wasn't about Lily.
It was about a child born before her.
