Chapter 14: The Last Night at Project Sanctuary
The abandoned research center stood behind a row of dead trees and a rusted iron gate.
A faded sign above the entrance still displayed the words:
MITCHELL MEDICAL RESEARCH.
Daniel parked several hundred feet away.
“Are you sure you want to do this?””
I checked the time.
11:54 p.m.
“No.””
He gave a nervous laugh.
“Good. At least one of us is being honest.””
I took the blue ledger and placed it inside my jacket.
Daniel handed me a small recording device.
“Everything you hear, make sure this is running.””
I nodded.
We had already sent copies of the ledger and Sarah's recording to the police and an independent attorney. Dr. Carter had agreed to meet investigators outside the property.
But we couldn't wait for them to arrive.
My daughters were inside.
I approached the entrance alone.
A security camera followed my movement.
The gate opened.
A man in a black uniform escorted me through a corridor lined with old photographs.
Most showed doctors standing beside newborn babies.
Some photographs had been removed.
Their frames were empty.
At the end of the corridor was a large white room.
Melissa stood beside a metal table.
Lily and Grace sat together on a sofa.
When they saw me, they jumped up.
“Daddy!””
I ran toward them.
But two guards blocked my path.
“Easy, Mr. Mitchell,” Melissa said.
I stared at her.
“Move away from my daughters.””
She looked exhausted.
Her hair was tangled, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.
“Ryan, I didn't know they would bring you here.””
“You're the one who chose which daughter gets to leave?””
Melissa closed her eyes.
“I never wanted either of them hurt.””
Lily began crying.
“Daddy, please take us home.””
I looked at her.
“I will, sweetheart.””
Then I turned toward Melissa.
“What do they want?””
She pointed toward the far side of the room.
My father stood beside Dr. Bennett.
A third person sat in a wheelchair.
An elderly woman with silver hair.
I recognized her from the photographs.
Margaret Collins.
My biological grandmother.
She looked directly at me.
“Ryan.””
I stepped forward.
“Who are you?””
She began crying.
“I'm the woman who gave birth to you.””
I couldn't speak.
She continued.
“Arthur told me you had died. He said the baby had suffered complications during delivery. I believed him for thirty years.””
My father looked irritated.
“Margaret, don't start.””
She ignored him.
“I found out the truth six years ago. I contacted Sarah. I told her what had happened.””
I looked at my father.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because Margaret was unstable.””
The elderly woman shook her head.
“He stole my children.””
She pointed at Arthur.
“First Daniel. Then Ryan. Then he tried to take Sarah's babies.””
My father raised his voice.
“You signed the original agreement!””
“I signed a surrogacy contract. I never signed away my children.””
Dr. Bennett stepped forward.
“That's enough.””
He placed a thick document on the table.
“Ryan, the ledger contains confidential medical information. Hand it over, and your daughters will be released.””
I looked at Lily and Grace.
They were holding each other.
“What happens to the other children?””
Bennett's expression hardened.
“There are no other children.””
Margaret suddenly laughed.
“Oh, Harold. You're still lying.””
She reached into her handbag and removed a small memory card.
“Your original database is backed up.””
Bennett lunged toward her.
One of the guards stopped him.
I looked at Margaret.
“What is on that card?””
“Everything.””
She handed it to me.
“Birth records. Financial records. Original donor agreements. And the truth about what happened to Sarah.””
My father stepped forward.
“Give me that.””
I backed away.
“No.””
He looked at me with disgust.
“You have no idea how much money this research could have made.””
I stared at him.
“You sold children.””
“I invested in their future.””
“You locked my daughter behind a wall!””
“That was Melissa's decision!””
Melissa suddenly stepped forward.
“Yes, it was.””
Everyone turned toward her.
She looked at me.
“I helped him because I was afraid. I told myself I was protecting Lily. Then I became afraid of what would happen if you found out.””
She began crying.
“I watched Emma feed her through that little opening. I knew it was wrong. I knew every day was hurting her.””
I looked at her.
“Why didn't you stop?””
“Because Bennett told me that if I did, he'd take both girls.””
Bennett laughed.
“You should have listened to me.””
Melissa suddenly grabbed a metal tray and struck him across the face.
He stumbled backward.
The guards moved.
At that moment, Daniel burst through the entrance with several police officers behind him.
“POLICE! EVERYONE PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!””
Chaos erupted.
One guard tried to escape through a side door.
Another dropped his weapon.
My father remained standing.
He looked at me.
“You've destroyed everything.””
I held the memory card tightly.
“No. I've finally found my family.””
The officers secured the room.
A female officer approached Lily and Grace.
“Hello, girls. We're going to take you somewhere safe.””
Lily refused to let go of my hand.
“Daddy comes too?””
I smiled through my tears.
“Everywhere.””
Then a scream came from the corridor.
An officer shouted.
“WE HAVE ANOTHER PERSON!””
A young woman stepped into the room.
She had dark hair, brown eyes, and a crescent-shaped birthmark beneath her left ear.
Daniel stared at her.
“Olivia?””
The woman looked at him.
Then at me.
Finally, she turned toward Arthur.
“You told me my mother died giving birth.””
My father said nothing.
She took a photograph from her pocket.
It showed Sarah holding a newborn baby.
The same photograph I'd seen in the old records.
“I was that baby,” she whispered.
Daniel stepped toward her.
“Are you Margaret's daughter?””
Olivia nodded.
Then she looked at me.
“And Sarah was my sister.””
I felt my breath catch.
Olivia was Sarah's biological sister.
Not my daughter.
Not Daniel's daughter.
Another child stolen by my father.
She reached into her bag and removed a folded letter.
“Sarah wrote this before she died. She told me to give it to you if I ever found you.””
I opened it.
The first sentence made my eyes fill.
Ryan, there is one person who knows exactly what happened the night I died. And it's not your father.
I looked up.
Olivia pointed toward Dr. Bennett.
“He wasn't the one who ordered the accident.””
May you like
Then she turned toward Melissa.
“It was her.””
