Anna did not deny the signature.<\/p>\n
When Ortiz showed her the photograph of the authorization, she sat down in the hospital conference room and stared at it for a long time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father\u2019s?\u201d Ortiz asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDouglas Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stood near the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know he signed this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you knew he worked with Harlan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow closely?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s silence answered first.<\/p>\n
I leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart at the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beginning is older than Harlan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course it was.<\/p>\n
Every time we found a floor beneath the story, someone opened another trapdoor.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father was a pathologist,\u201d Anna continued. \u201cHe studied hereditary disease before genetic sequencing became practical.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLegitimate research?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat changed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe became interested in families with unusual cancer patterns.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn\u2019s family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did he find her?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHospital records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would have been before modern privacy law.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna folded her hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe traced deaths through pathology reports, obituaries, birth certificates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Harlan joined him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan was one of his residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked away.<\/p>\n
His father had not invented the obsession.<\/p>\n
He had inherited it.<\/p>\n
Grace asked, \u201cWhere does Evelyn fit?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was recruited by my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor fertility research.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Douglas know she carried VQ-17?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe suspected something in her family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Samuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father chose him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words chilled me.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA reproductive pairing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel gripped my hand.<\/p>\n
I stared at Anna.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay that again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDouglas believed the best way to understand the mutation was to observe inheritance across generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he found Evelyn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then found my father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy Samuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had distant ancestry connected to another family with similar cancer history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Daniel may carry variants from both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt Rachel\u2019s hand tighten.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Samuel and Evelyn were paired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid they know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvelyn thought they met naturally.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Samuel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know when he learned.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo my father and I were both placed into relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike livestock.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna flinched.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stopped.<\/p>\n
I had heard enough apologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Samuel love Evelyn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so.\u201d<\/p>\n
That answer surprised me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was married.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd still?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople can love badly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel looked at me.<\/p>\n
We both understood that more than we wanted to.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened when Evelyn became pregnant?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cDouglas expected her to remain under observation. Samuel discovered the scope of the research and tried to pull her out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he did resist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWanted the pregnancy monitored.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Evelyn died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cComplications after delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNatural?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael asked, \u201cWhy did Samuel take Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo keep Harlan from controlling his childhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gave me to Margaret.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she know where I came from?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEventually?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSamuel brought you home and told her your mother had died.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd she simply accepted me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna\u2019s eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe had lost pregnancies.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew that much.<\/p>\n
My mother had once told me there had been babies before me who never came home.<\/p>\n
I had assumed miscarriages.<\/p>\n
Maybe that part was true.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wanted a child,\u201d Anna said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Samuel gave her one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something inside me resisted the ugliness.<\/p>\n
Not because it was impossible.<\/p>\n
Because my memories of Margaret were not ugly.<\/p>\n
She had sat beside me through pneumonia.<\/p>\n
She had taught me to read using newspaper headlines.<\/p>\n
She had saved every ridiculous clay project I brought home from school.<\/p>\n
Whatever arrangement brought me to her, she had been my mother afterward.<\/p>\n
I would not let Harlan take that too.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened to Douglas?\u201d<\/p>\n
I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cStroke. Twenty-seven years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the twins were born?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA few months before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYet his signature appears a week before their birth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz placed the photograph on the table.<\/p>\n
Anna looked closer.<\/p>\n
Her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father couldn\u2019t have signed this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just said the signature was his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like his.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy couldn\u2019t he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn\u2019t move his right hand after the stroke.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael leaned closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo someone forged it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho had access to his signature?\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna looked toward Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another forged authorization.<\/p>\n
Another dead or incapacitated person used as cover.<\/p>\n
Grace asked, \u201cWhy keep Douglas\u2019s name involved?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLegitimacy,\u201d Michael answered. \u201cHe had institutional credentials Harlan didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Harlan built the later experiment under Douglas\u2019s authority.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Anna.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Douglas approve the idea before the stroke?\u201d<\/p>\n
She hesitated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s expression hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Harlan forged the signature, but Douglas designed the crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Douglas.<\/p>\n
Harlan.<\/p>\n
Then David.<\/p>\n
Each man inheriting the same obsession and finding a new justification.<\/p>\n
I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He met my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not defend himself.<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Grace heard it too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t intervene.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still tracked us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you didn\u2019t dose us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCan you prove that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace nodded.<\/p>\n
Not forgiveness.<\/p>\n
A place to begin.<\/p>\n
Ortiz entered with an evidence technician carrying a laptop.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found access logs from the hidden room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDigitized index created fifteen years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHarlan?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccount name says D. Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid would have been sixteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cOld enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz opened a list.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone accessed the archive repeatedly for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow often?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery few months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom where?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMostly remotely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRecent?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLast login was six days ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
David.<\/p>\n
The church.<\/p>\n
Phase II.<\/p>\n
Everything tightened around him.<\/p>\n
Then Ortiz scrolled.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne folder was downloaded.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPairing protocols.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Rachel.<\/p>\n
She looked back.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was in them?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
Michael answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably family trees. Match predictions. reproductive outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would David need those now?\u201d<\/p>\n
No one answered.<\/p>\n
Then Leah, who had been quiet near the doorway, said, \u201cMaybe we aren\u2019t the end of the experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every head turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at Grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re twenty-six.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace understood.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel\u2019s face drained.<\/p>\n
I did too.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leah nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cNext generation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael immediately reached for the laptop.<\/p>\n
Ortiz blocked him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell the technician.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael did.<\/p>\n
\u201cSearch the index for Generation Three, G3, offspring, descendants, reproductive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician typed.<\/p>\n
A folder appeared.<\/p>\n
G3 CANDIDATES.<\/p>\n
Grace went pale.<\/p>\n
Leah whispered a curse.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow many?\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician opened it.<\/p>\n
Seven names.<\/p>\n
Not Grace or Leah.<\/p>\n
Children.<\/p>\n
Some teenagers.<\/p>\n
Some younger.<\/p>\n
Descendants of other babies from Harlan\u2019s original placements.<\/p>\n
Michael stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid expanded the study.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz said, \u201cAny current locations?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician scrolled.<\/p>\n
Six had addresses.<\/p>\n
The seventh entry was different.<\/p>\n
No name.<\/p>\n
Only:<\/p>\n
Candidate pending.<\/p>\n
Maternal line: Bennett.<\/p>\n
Grace stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy line?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have children.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Leah said, \u201cNeither do I.\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician opened the file.<\/p>\n
There was a note.<\/p>\n
Potential embryo preserved.<\/p>\n
Grace went completely still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked horrified.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n
He did not answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could mean stored reproductive material.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have never frozen embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel whispered, \u201cEggs?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was nineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had ovarian surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel gripped the wheelchair.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA benign cyst.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace looked toward Michael.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace\u2019s voice sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour surgical consent may have included tissue preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not consent to egg retrieval.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen say what you\u2019re thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone may have taken ovarian tissue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel stood halfway from the wheelchair before weakness forced her back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey stole from her again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace was breathing quickly.<\/p>\n
I moved beside her.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe verify.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t even know what I\u2019m verifying anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
She immediately regretted it.<\/p>\n
But I did not.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n
I touched her shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
That helped more than pretending.<\/p>\n
Ortiz ordered the technician to locate storage references.<\/p>\n
A code appeared.<\/p>\n
CRYO-MG-44.<\/p>\n
Michael recognized it.<\/p>\n
\u201cMercy cryogenic archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a fertility storage unit?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot active anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOld reproductive medicine wing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz was already calling officers.<\/p>\n
Anna whispered, \u201cHarlan used that wing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did David.\u201d<\/p>\n
We went downstairs.<\/p>\n
The storage room required two keys and an electronic override.<\/p>\n
Police opened it.<\/p>\n
Inside, stainless-steel tanks stood beneath fluorescent lights.<\/p>\n
Most were empty.<\/p>\n
One remained powered.<\/p>\n
Michael checked the inventory.<\/p>\n
\u201cCRYO-MG-44.\u201d<\/p>\n
He found the canister.<\/p>\n
Ortiz stopped him from opening it until forensic staff arrived.<\/p>\n
The inventory sheet was enough.<\/p>\n
Subject: G.B.<\/p>\n
Retrieval date: seven years ago.<\/p>\n
Grace was nineteen.<\/p>\n
Material: ovarian cortical tissue \/ oocytes.<\/p>\n
Consent reference: surgical discard authorization.<\/p>\n
Grace stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey called it discarded tissue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael nodded grimly.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they preserved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor seven years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leah moved beside her.<\/p>\n
For once she had no joke.<\/p>\n
Rachel began crying.<\/p>\n
Grace did not.<\/p>\n
She looked furious.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan it be used to create an embryo?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael answered carefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cOocytes potentially could.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHas anything been removed?\u201d<\/p>\n
The technician checked the inventory.<\/p>\n
One vial missing.<\/p>\n
Grace stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
The log appeared.<\/p>\n
Eleven months ago.<\/p>\n
The same period Harlan began demanding access to Leah.<\/p>\n
The same period Grace\u2019s abnormal markers appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho removed it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The authorization field contained initials.<\/p>\n
D.M.<\/p>\n
David Mercer.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Ortiz immediately called the detention team.<\/p>\n
\u201cConfirm Mercer is secure.\u201d<\/p>\n
A pause.<\/p>\n
Then her face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cLock the facility.\u201d<\/p>\n
She lowered the phone.<\/p>\n
I already knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid escaped.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ortiz looked at us.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring medical transfer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grace stared at the missing-vial record.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty-three minutes ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leah whispered, \u201cWhere would he go?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael looked at the screen.<\/p>\n
Then at the cryogenic tank.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has something he thinks belongs to the next phase.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s eyes moved to Grace.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer genetic material.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna did not deny the signature. When Ortiz showed her the photograph of the authorization, she sat down in the hospital conference room and stared at it for a long … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19932","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20010,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19932\/revisions\/20010"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}