Chapter 12: The Child Nobody Was Supposed to Remember
I had heard threats before.
Some were loud.
Some were whispered.
But Nathaniel Voss didn't need to raise his voice.
He simply pointed toward the monitor.
Seven children sat behind a glass partition.
Lily was holding Emma's hand.
Grace was standing near the door.
A man in medical scrubs approached them carrying a tray.
Harris raised his weapon.
"Open that door!""
Voss shook his head.
"That would be unwise.""
I stepped closer.
"What do you want?""
"The bracelet.""
I held it up.
"You get this, and the children go free?""
He smiled.
"You're still thinking like a soldier. This isn't a battlefield, Cole. It's a business.""
"Children aren't merchandise.""
"Everything has a price.""
I glanced at the computer screen.
Jacob Mercer.
My dead brother.
I looked back at Voss.
"Tell me about Jacob.""
His expression changed.
"Ah.""
He removed his glasses.
"So you've seen the records.""
"Who was he?""
Voss folded his hands.
"Your parents were very young when you were born. They had another child after you. A boy.""
"I know that.""
"Do you?""
He opened a drawer and removed a photograph.
A baby lay inside a hospital bassinet.
A small bracelet rested around his wrist.
My throat tightened.
It was the bracelet I'd seen in the earlier photograph.
The one with the Marine Corps insignia.
"Your brother didn't die," Voss said.
I stared at him.
"You're lying.""
"Your parents were told he had a congenital condition. They were offered an experimental treatment.""
"Where?""
"Here.""
I felt anger rising.
"What did you do to him?""
"Nothing that wasn't authorized.""
"He's my brother!""
Voss sighed.
"Jacob was transferred to another facility. His records were changed. Your parents were given a death certificate.""
I stepped closer.
"Where is he now?""
Voss looked at the screen.
"He's the reason you're here.""
I frowned.
"What does that mean?""
He pressed another button.
The monitor changed.
A young man appeared.
Maybe twenty years old.
He was sitting alone in a small room, wearing a gray sweatshirt.
His hair was dark.
His face looked familiar.
Too familiar.
Voss smiled.
"Meet Jacob.""
My knees almost gave way.
Harris lowered his weapon slightly.
"That's impossible.""
Voss looked pleased.
"Nothing is impossible when the right people control the records.""
I stared at the young man.
"Jacob?""
He didn't respond.
He was looking down at his hands.
Voss continued.
"Your brother has spent most of his life in specialized care. He has a neurological condition that makes him particularly vulnerable to stress.""
"Let him go.""
"Eventually.""
I turned toward the monitor showing Lily.
"Now.""
Voss shook his head.
"First, the bracelet.""
Claire stepped forward.
"You're not getting it.""
Voss looked at her.
"Claire, I gave you everything.""
"You gave me a child you had stolen from another woman.""
"I gave you a family.""
"You gave me a lie.""
His expression hardened.
"You should be grateful. Your husband would have abandoned you years ago without my help.""
Claire slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
Voss touched his cheek.
Then he pressed a button.
On the monitor, the man with the syringe grabbed Lily's arm.
She screamed.
"NO!""
I lunged toward Voss.
Harris caught him from behind.
The doctor struggled.
"Get them off me!""
The nurse rushed to the computer.
"Which button opens the lower corridor?""
Voss laughed.
"You don't know the system.""
She searched the controls.
"There's a manual override.""
"Don't touch it!"" Voss shouted.
She pressed a red switch.
A loud alarm sounded.
The screen went black.
Then the steel door opened.
Harris released Voss and ran toward the children's room.
I followed.
The corridor was narrow.
A second door stood open at the end.
I reached it first.
Lily was standing beside Emma.
The man in scrubs was gone.
Grace ran toward Harris.
"Daddy!""
He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around her.
"Oh, sweetheart.""
She buried her face against his shoulder.
"I knew you'd come.""
He held her tightly.
"I'm sorry it took so long.""
I looked around.
"Where's Lily?""
A small voice answered behind me.
"Mr. Cole.""
I turned.
She was standing near the wall.
Her pink hoodie was torn.
Her eyes were red.
But she was alive.
I knelt.
"Are you okay?""
She nodded.
Then she signed.
*MOMMY IS HERE.*
I froze.
A woman stepped out of the shadows.
Her hair was shorter than I remembered.
Her face was thinner.
But her eyes were unmistakable.
Sarah.
For eleven years, I'd believed she had abandoned me.
Now she was standing in front of me.
Alive.
She looked at Lily first.
Then at me.
"Cole.""
I couldn't speak.
She reached toward my face.
"I'm sorry.""
I took a step backward.
"Eleven years, Sarah.""
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I know.""
"You let me believe you were gone.""
"I had to.""
"You could have told me.""
"They were watching you.""
I shook my head.
"Then you should have trusted me.""
She looked down.
"I was afraid they'd take you too.""
Lily ran into her arms.
Sarah dropped to her knees and held her daughter.
For a moment, everything else disappeared.
Then a metallic sound came from the far end of the corridor.
Voss was gone.
The nurse rushed toward the security terminal.
"He's escaped!""
Harris stood.
"How?""
She pointed toward a service elevator.
"There's another exit.""
I looked at the monitor.
The elevator was descending.
Destination: LEVEL B.
Sarah grabbed my arm.
"Don't follow him.""
"Why?""
"Because that's where he keeps the original records.""
"Then we need them.""
She shook her head.
"You don't understand. Those records aren't just about the children.""
I looked at her.
She took a shaky breath.
"They contain the names of every person who paid Nathaniel Voss to erase a child.""
Harris looked toward the elevator.
"How many names?""
Sarah whispered:
"Forty-three.""
Before anyone could respond, the hospital speakers crackled.
Voss's voice filled the corridor.
"Congratulations, Cole. You've found your brother.""
A pause.
Then he continued.
"But there's something else you should know.""
The screen flickered.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a young woman holding a newborn baby.
Sarah covered her mouth.
Voss spoke again.
"Your parents didn't lose Jacob because of an experimental treatment.""
I stared at the photograph.
He zoomed in on the woman's face.
It was my mother.
Then Voss delivered the sentence that destroyed everything I thought I knew about my family.
"Your mother sold your brother to us.""
May you like
And beneath the photograph appeared a date.
The same day my parents had told me Jacob died.
