Chapter 14: Ethan
We found the speaker in the ceiling.
But the voice wasn't coming from the hospital system.
It was coming through a phone hidden somewhere inside the building.
Daniel shouted,
“Who are you?””
Static crackled.
Then:
“Ethan.””
Milo stared upward.
“Where are you?””
“Close.””
My mother stepped forward.
“Ethan, this is Eleanor.””
Silence.
Then the voice changed.
“You're my mother.””
Mom covered her mouth.
“Yes.””
“I've wanted to hear you say that.””
Her knees nearly buckled.
“I've been looking for you.””
“I know.””
“Why didn't you come home?””
“I didn't know where home was.””
I felt tears sting my eyes.
“Ethan,” I said.
The voice went silent.
Then:
“Kate?””
“Yes.””
“I remember you.””
My heart stopped.
“How?””
“You were little.””
I looked at Milo.
“You remember me?””
“I remember your laugh.””
Milo's eyes filled with tears.
“You're really our brother.””
“Yes.””
“Where are you?””
“Downstairs.””
Daniel looked at Laura.
“Basement?””
“No.””
The voice continued.
“Under the basement.””
Thomas suddenly understood.
“The old surgical tunnels.””
He ran toward the back wall.
“There was a lower level.””
We followed him through a narrow corridor.
At the end was a steel elevator.
Thomas entered a code.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Milo looked at the keypad.
“Move.””
He entered six numbers.
The doors opened.
I stared at him.
“How did you know that?””
“It's our birthday.””
The elevator descended.
No one spoke.
When the doors opened, we stepped into a modern medical facility.
Not abandoned.
Not ruined.
Clean white walls.
Security cameras.
Computer terminals.
A nurse ran past us.
Then stopped when she saw my mother.
“Oh my God.””
Mom whispered,
“Where is he?””
The nurse pointed down the hall.
“Room twelve.””
We ran.
The door opened.
A young man sat beside a hospital bed.
He looked about twenty.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A thin scar above his eyebrow.
He stood slowly.
Milo stopped breathing.
“Ethan?””
The young man smiled.
“Hi.””
Milo crossed the room.
They stared at each other.
Then Milo hugged him.
Ethan broke down.
“I thought you were dead.””
“So did I.””
They held each other while my mother stood frozen in the doorway.
Then Ethan looked at her.
She couldn't move.
“Mom.””
She walked toward him.
Her hand touched his cheek.
“You're alive.””
“I am.””
“I thought…”
“I know.””
She pulled him into her arms.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Ethan looked at me.
“Kate.””
I smiled through tears.
“Hi.””
He laughed softly.
“You look like Mom.””
“So do you.””
He nodded.
“We all do.””
Daniel stepped into the room.
Ethan's expression changed.
“You're Dad.””
Daniel swallowed.
“Yes.””
Ethan looked at him for a long moment.
Then said,
“I've seen your pictures.””
“I'm sorry.””
“For what?””
“For not finding you.””
Ethan shook his head.
“You didn't know.””
Then the room's monitor began beeping.
A red warning flashed.
The nurse rushed in.
“His heart rate is dropping.””
Mom stepped back.
“What?””
Ethan grabbed her hand.
“It's okay.””
“No.””
She shook her head.
“It's not okay.””
The nurse adjusted the monitor.
“His condition is unstable.””
Daniel looked at the machines.
“What happened to him?””
The nurse hesitated.
“His treatments were stopped three months ago.””
“Why?””
“Funding.””
I looked around the room.
“This entire facility belongs to the Mercer Foundation.””
The nurse nodded.
“Used to.””
“Used to?””
She pointed toward the hallway.
“Richard transferred ownership this morning.””
“To whom?””
She looked frightened.
“I don't know.””
Ethan suddenly spoke.
“I do.””
Everyone turned.
He looked at me.
“The person who owns this facility now…”
He stopped.
The monitor beeped faster.
“Is Claire.””
My mother went white.
“That's impossible.””
Ethan nodded.
“She came here yesterday.””
“Where is she?””
Ethan pointed toward the observation window.
“She was standing there.””
We all turned.
Empty.
Only a reflection.
Then my phone buzzed.
A video appeared.
I pressed play.
Claire appeared on screen.
She looked exactly like my mother.
Older.
Tired.
Terrified.
“Katherine,” she said.
“I'm sorry.””
My mother whispered,
“Claire.””
The video continued.
“If you're watching this, Richard has failed.””
Claire looked directly into the camera.
“And now I need you to hear the truth from me.””
She took a breath.
“I didn't steal you.””
My mother stepped closer.
Claire's voice cracked.
“I saved you from the person who wanted you dead.””
The video ended.
A second message appeared.
*Come to the house where you grew up. Alone.*
Then another:
*Bring Milo.*
I looked at my mother.
“What happens if we go?””
May you like
Ethan answered.
“You'll finally find out why Claire was protecting you.””
