Chapter 8: The Mother Who Chose One Son
“Mom?””
Damian rose slowly.
Denise stood in Evelyn's doorway, her coat buttoned incorrectly and her hair disheveled.
She looked as though she hadn't slept in days.
Daniel moved between her and Ruby.
“Stay away from the girls.””
Denise flinched.
“Daniel, please.””
“You knew I existed.””
She began crying.
“I did.””
“You knew I was alive.””
“Yes.””
“And you let me believe my entire life that I had been abandoned?””
Denise covered her face.
“I was afraid.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Of Marcus?””
“Of what he would do to you.””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“He already did it.””
Damian held up Olivia's photograph.
“She said you helped Marcus.””
Denise looked at the image.
Then she nodded.
“I did.””
The admission landed harder than any accusation.
Damian's voice dropped.
“Why?””
Denise looked toward the girls.
“Because your father told me he would destroy one of you if I didn't cooperate.””
“Which one?”” Daniel demanded.
Denise looked at Damian.
“Daniel.””
Daniel went completely still.
Denise continued.
“Marcus said Daniel was unstable. He said he had inherited a condition from his father's side of the family. He wanted him placed in a facility where he could be monitored.””
Daniel shook his head.
“I was a child.””
“I know.””
“You let him take me.””
“I thought he would protect you.””
Daniel's eyes filled.
“You let another woman raise me. You never even came to see me.””
Denise began sobbing.
“I tried once.””
“When?””
“When you were five.””
Daniel looked at her.
“What happened?””
“Marcus found out. He threatened to have your foster family investigated and have you moved again. He said I would never see either of my sons if I tried to contact you.””
Daniel turned away.
Damian watched his brother.
He wanted to be angry at Denise, too.
But part of him remembered the woman who had stayed awake beside his bed during childhood fevers, who had worked double shifts to buy him school clothes, who had taught him to ride a bicycle.
How could the same woman have helped destroy another child's life?
“Why did Olivia get involved?”” he asked.
Denise wiped her face.
“Because she discovered the fertility records.””
“And you helped her?””
Denise shook her head.
“At first, no. I told Marcus she was asking questions. I thought I was preventing him from hurting her.””
Damian stared.
“You told him?””
“I didn't know what he would do.””
“You always knew what he could do!””
Denise lowered her head.
“Yes.””
The room fell silent.
Then Ruby walked toward Denise.
“Are you my grandma?””
Denise looked down.
Her expression crumpled.
“Yes, baby.””
Ruby studied her face.
“Did you take my mommy?””
Denise knelt.
“No, sweetheart.””
Ruby stepped backward.
“Then why did Mommy say she was scared of you?””
Denise couldn't answer.
Daniel gently guided Ruby back beside him.
“Come on, baby.””
Denise reached out.
“Please. Let me explain.””
Daniel shook his head.
“You've had seven years.””
Detective Harris arrived twenty minutes later.
He listened to Denise's statement while another officer escorted the girls to a safe location.
Damian stood near the window, staring at the street.
He couldn't stop thinking about Olivia's video.
There was another person responsible.
Someone Denise hadn't named.
Evelyn approached him.
“Damian, there's something else.””
He turned.
“What now?””
“Olivia left another recording.””
“Where?””
Evelyn pointed toward the laptop.
“She asked me to keep it hidden until you understood the first one.””
Damian returned to the table.
He inserted another memory card.
This video showed Olivia sitting in the same white room.
But this time, she was speaking to someone off-camera.
“I know what you did, Marcus.””
A man's voice responded.
“You don't understand what you're involved in.””
“I understand perfectly. You used your sons. You used me. You used our daughters.””
“You signed the original agreement.””
“I signed a medical consent form. Not an agreement to turn my children into laboratory subjects.””
Marcus's voice became colder.
“Your husband would never have had a family without me.””
Olivia shook her head.
“Damian isn't your property.””
A chair scraped.
Then Marcus spoke again.
“Do you know why Daniel was separated from his brother?””
“Because you wanted control.””
“No. Because I needed a replacement.””
Olivia went quiet.
Marcus continued.
“One son was always going to inherit the business. The other was supposed to disappear. But the project required two identical subjects.””
Olivia stared at him.
“You're talking about your own children.””
“I'm talking about my legacy.””
The video ended.
Damian stood motionless.
Daniel looked at him.
“Replacement for what?””
Evelyn spoke quietly.
“Marcus has a progressive neurological condition. His doctors told him years ago that his health would deteriorate.””
Damian frowned.
“So he wanted an heir?””
“More than that,” Evelyn said.
“He believed he could preserve his research and his identity through his descendants.””
Daniel looked disgusted.
“He wanted to create another version of himself.””
Evelyn nodded.
“Your father funded a private genetic research program. The girls were never supposed to be experiments, but they became central to his plans.””
Damian looked at the two photographs on the screen.
Ava.
Ruby.
His daughter and his niece.
Two little girls who had never asked to be part of anyone's legacy.
He turned toward Detective Harris.
“Where is Marcus?””
Harris checked his phone.
“We've traced the signal from the warehouse to a private medical facility outside the city.””
“Then let's go.””
The detective shook his head.
“Not until we have a warrant and enough officers.””
Damian's phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
You have something that belongs to me.
A second message followed.
A photograph of Ava and Ruby sitting together in a room.
They were alive.
But the image had been taken recently.
Beneath it was another message.
Bring the original records. Come to the facility alone.
Damian looked at Daniel.
“He has them.””
Daniel grabbed his jacket.
“Then we're going.””
Detective Harris stepped forward.
“Absolutely not. You're both going to wait for backup.””
Damian shook his head.
“Detective, that man has spent his entire life taking things from our family. I'm not letting him take another minute from those girls.””
Harris stared at him.
Then his radio crackled.
“Detective, we have a problem.””
Harris lifted it.
“Go ahead.””
“There's been a breach at the evidence storage unit. The original hospital records are missing.””
Damian looked at the document in his hand.
The original records.
The very evidence Marcus wanted.
Then Harris received another message.
He read it.
His expression changed.
“What?”” Damian demanded.
Harris looked up.
“Your mother has disappeared.””
Damian turned.
The chair where Denise had been sitting was empty.
The front door stood open.
And on the table was a handwritten note.
I have to finish what I started.
Daniel picked it up.
His face went pale.
“She's going to Marcus.””
The brothers drove toward the medical facility with Detective Harris following in an unmarked vehicle.
The building stood behind high security gates, surrounded by trees and a tall concrete wall.
A sign near the entrance read:
*BROOKS MEDICAL RESEARCH CENTER.*
Damian stared at it.
His father had built an empire while pretending to be dead.
The gates opened automatically.
Daniel looked toward the upper floors.
“Do you see that?””
A light was on in a room at the far end.
A woman stood behind the glass.
Olivia.
Damian nearly jumped out of the moving vehicle.
“Olivia!””
The figure raised her hand.
Then a second person stepped into view.
Marcus.
He placed a hand on Olivia's shoulder.
And smiled directly at the brothers.
A security gate slammed shut behind their vehicle.
The dashboard lights went dark.
Daniel grabbed the door handle.
“Damian, get out!””
Before either man could move, loudspeakers crackled above the entrance.
Marcus's voice filled the parking area.
“Welcome home, my sons.””
A moment later, the main doors opened.
Denise walked out.
Her face was bruised.
Behind her stood two armed guards.
She raised both hands.
May you like
Then she shouted:
“Damian! Don't let him take the girls to the operating room!””
