Thomas was already moving before I finished reading the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned the phone toward him.<\/p>\n
DANIEL IS MISSING.<\/p>\n
HIS CAR WAS FOUND EMPTY AN HOUR AGO.<\/p>\n
MARTIN HAS HIM.<\/p>\n
Thomas read the final line twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t one of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else has been messaging you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Margaret sent some.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said some.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Felix sent the first package.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward the diner windows.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen either somebody else has been inside this from the beginning, or Martin wants us to think Daniel is in danger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Martin warn me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wouldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen Daniel may really be missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas pulled out his phone.<\/p>\n
He called once.<\/p>\n
No answer.<\/p>\n
Again.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
On the third attempt, a mechanical voice told him the phone was unavailable.<\/p>\n
Thomas swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was the car found?\u201d<\/p>\n
I typed the question to the anonymous number.<\/p>\n
No response.<\/p>\n
Thomas opened a tracking application on his phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou track Daniel too?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. He gave me emergency access last year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he knew Martin was watching him.\u201d<\/p>\n
A location appeared.<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cEast industrial district.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned the screen.<\/p>\n
An abandoned warehouse zone near the river.<\/p>\n
One pin remained active.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis car tracker.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the message said the car was found empty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may still be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
We left immediately.<\/p>\n
I called Felix from the road.<\/p>\n
He answered on the first ring.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Then, \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to his car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll send you the location.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo arguments?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost smiled.<\/p>\n
Almost.<\/p>\n
Then I called Caroline.<\/p>\n
She had left Rosehaven to meet a county investigator handling Lily\u2019s case.<\/p>\n
When I told her, she said, \u201cDo not touch Daniel\u2019s car.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds familiar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u2019s evidence, let police document it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said from the passenger seat, \u201cTell her we already requested an officer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline heard.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
He leaned toward the phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, Caroline.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
A long one.<\/p>\n
Then her voice changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve been sending her messages.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Daniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I knew, we wouldn\u2019t be driving to an empty car.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline said something under her breath.<\/p>\n
I interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou two can have your family reunion later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n
Caroline said, \u201cSend me the address.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s car sat beneath a broken streetlamp beside a chain-link fence.<\/p>\n
Driver\u2019s door unlocked.<\/p>\n
No visible damage.<\/p>\n
One police cruiser had arrived before us.<\/p>\n
The officer asked us to stay back.<\/p>\n
Felix pulled in several minutes later.<\/p>\n
He walked toward me without touching me.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
Thomas and Felix looked at each other.<\/p>\n
Felix frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDavid Mercer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas Blake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Grandmother\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother\u2019s firstborn, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy have I never seen you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause your grandfather was thorough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer called us over after photographing the exterior.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s wallet remained in the center console.<\/p>\n
Laptop gone.<\/p>\n
Phone gone.<\/p>\n
A smear of blood marked the inside of the passenger door.<\/p>\n
Small.<\/p>\n
Not enough to prove serious injury.<\/p>\n
Enough to make Thomas pale.<\/p>\n
Felix asked, \u201cIs it his?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLab will decide.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the rear floorboard, police found a torn envelope.<\/p>\n
Inside was half of a document.<\/p>\n
A certified birth record.<\/p>\n
Daniel Mercer.<\/p>\n
Mother: Alice Margaret Blake.<\/p>\n
Father\u2014<\/p>\n
The page had been torn directly through the final line.<\/p>\n
Thomas closed his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertified copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe told me yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel believed Martin knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix looked at Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is Daniel\u2019s father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of Martin allegedly killing to protect the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever his father is changes the trust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe founder\u2019s documents distinguish between direct descendants and collateral descendants.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel is Aunt Alice\u2019s son. That makes him direct.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo why does the father matter?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked toward the torn document.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Alice may not have been his biological mother.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix said it before I could.<\/p>\n
Thomas rubbed a hand over his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is one of the older secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have too many of those.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2014your grandfather\u2014had fertility physicians working with the family long before modern IVF.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
\u201cExperimental reproductive medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlice was treated after her pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich pregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one the family said was stillborn.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said Daniel was that baby.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believed he was.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel found records suggesting Alice may have carried an embryo created from another Blake woman\u2019s egg.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was possible then?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmbryo transfer was experimental but possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose egg?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed from shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel may be Margaret\u2019s biological son?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes him your full brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGenetically, potentially.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix whispered, \u201cAnd Dad\u2019s brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every branch of the family tree had begun folding over itself.<\/p>\n
I looked at the torn birth certificate again.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if Alice gave birth to him legally, the father\u2019s name still matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the listed father may be the trust founder himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
Felix looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandfather.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas nodded once.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf true.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re saying Margaret\u2019s egg and her husband\u2019s sperm may have created Daniel, then Alice carried him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes Daniel Margaret and her husband\u2019s biological child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd legally Alice\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he exists in two generations at once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas gave a bleak smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly the kind of problem my father\u2019s trust never anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n
A second patrol car arrived.<\/p>\n
An officer approached with something sealed in an evidence bag.<\/p>\n
A key card.<\/p>\n
Mercer Biomedical.<\/p>\n
Thomas frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel hasn\u2019t worked there in months.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat access level?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
The card displayed EXECUTIVE.<\/p>\n
Felix said, \u201cThen maybe whoever took him wanted us to go there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or Daniel had.<\/p>\n
We waited until police finished the first search.<\/p>\n
No signs of a struggle beyond the blood smear.<\/p>\n
No witnesses.<\/p>\n
A traffic camera half a block away had been pointed in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n
Convenient.<\/p>\n
Then my phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Anonymous number.<\/p>\n
NOT THE MAIN MERCER CAMPUS.<\/p>\n
Another message.<\/p>\n
OLD MATERNAL UNIT.<\/p>\n
Thomas\u2019s face changed when I showed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Agnes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMercer Biomedical operated a private maternity facility thirty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave me the address.<\/p>\n
Seven miles away.<\/p>\n
Felix called the officer over.<\/p>\n
The officer checked.<\/p>\n
The property was officially closed.<\/p>\n
Scheduled for demolition.<\/p>\n
No active medical license.<\/p>\n
No reason anyone should be there.<\/p>\n
Which meant someone probably was.<\/p>\n
Police headed there first.<\/p>\n
We followed.<\/p>\n
St. Agnes stood behind a rusted gate beneath a line of dark sycamore trees.<\/p>\n
Three-story brick building.<\/p>\n
Boarded windows.<\/p>\n
One side entrance glowed with light.<\/p>\n
Not abandoned.<\/p>\n
Someone had power.<\/p>\n
The officer told us to remain outside.<\/p>\n
Then he and his partner approached.<\/p>\n
Five minutes passed.<\/p>\n
Ten.<\/p>\n
One officer returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuilding\u2019s empty.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cleared the first floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you know?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family used the place.\u201d<\/p>\n
That statement contained enough discomfort that the officer did not ask more.<\/p>\n
Two additional units arrived.<\/p>\n
Then we were told to wait farther back.<\/p>\n
While police entered again, I walked along the perimeter with Felix.<\/p>\n
He kept several feet between us.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you believe Thomas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe he believes parts of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the only one I have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Felix looked toward the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I think I understand my family, someone opens another room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou built some of those rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I glanced at him.<\/p>\n
He caught himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor saying it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor making you hear it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
We stopped.<\/p>\n
A smell reached us.<\/p>\n
Burning paper.<\/p>\n
Thomas appeared around the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you smell that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smoke drifted from a basement vent.<\/p>\n
The officers inside started shouting.<\/p>\n
Within seconds, the side door opened and smoke poured out.<\/p>\n
Fire department units were called.<\/p>\n
Someone had set a fire.<\/p>\n
Felix swore.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re destroying records.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas ran toward the officer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasement archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officer blocked him.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere may be a man down there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said that already.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying Daniel may be down there.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed everything.<\/p>\n
Firefighters arrived.<\/p>\n
The next twenty minutes were unbearable.<\/p>\n
Smoke.<\/p>\n
Radios.<\/p>\n
Flashing lights.<\/p>\n
No information.<\/p>\n
Then two firefighters emerged carrying boxes.<\/p>\n
Not a person.<\/p>\n
Records.<\/p>\n
They had found an active burn pile in a basement room.<\/p>\n
Someone had started feeding files into an industrial incinerator.<\/p>\n
Not enough time had passed to destroy everything.<\/p>\n
Police recovered dozens of partially burned folders.<\/p>\n
Thomas stared at one.<\/p>\n
ALICE BLAKE \u2014 MATERNAL CASE.<\/p>\n
Another:<\/p>\n
D. MERCER \u2014 GENETIC STATUS.<\/p>\n
Felix whispered, \u201cThey were cleaning him out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr leaving exactly what they wanted us to find,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
Thomas looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve learned.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had excellent teachers.\u201d<\/p>\n
A firefighter called from the side entrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cOfficer!\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone turned.<\/p>\n
Two paramedics hurried inside.<\/p>\n
My chest tightened.<\/p>\n
Minutes later they brought out a man on a stretcher.<\/p>\n
Gray suit.<\/p>\n
Blood along one side of his head.<\/p>\n
Daniel.<\/p>\n
Thomas ran forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel!\u201d<\/p>\n
One paramedic stopped him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I exhaled.<\/p>\n
Felix stood frozen.<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s eyes opened briefly as the stretcher passed.<\/p>\n
He saw Thomas.<\/p>\n
Then me.<\/p>\n
His hand moved.<\/p>\n
Barely.<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNora.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word came rough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He tried to sit.<\/p>\n
The medic restrained him gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cStay still.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel ignored him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBirth record.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe found part.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho\u2019s your father?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward Felix.<\/p>\n
Then back at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot Harold.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the founder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s eyes moved to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice failed.<\/p>\n
The medic urged him to stop talking.<\/p>\n
Daniel gripped my wrist.<\/p>\n
Harder than I expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cMartin lied about everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes widened.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he whispered a name.<\/p>\n
\u201cThomas.\u201d<\/p>\n
The world seemed to stop.<\/p>\n
Thomas stared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s grip loosened.<\/p>\n
I looked from him to Thomas.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel whispered again.<\/p>\n
\u201cFather.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then his eyes closed.<\/p>\n
The paramedics moved him toward the ambulance.<\/p>\n
Thomas did not move.<\/p>\n
Felix stared at his uncle.<\/p>\n
Or perhaps something else entirely now.<\/p>\n
If Daniel was Thomas\u2019s biological son, then the family tree changed again.<\/p>\n
But Thomas looked genuinely shocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cImpossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I never slept with Alice.\u201d<\/p>\n
I thought of everything we had learned about stolen eggs, stolen sperm, secret transfers, falsified identities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat may not matter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thomas understood.<\/p>\n
His face collapsed.<\/p>\n
A police officer carried out another scorched folder.<\/p>\n
The label was still readable.<\/p>\n
T.B. \u2014 DONOR MATERIAL.<\/p>\n
Thomas stared.<\/p>\n
His initials.<\/p>\n
My phone buzzed.<\/p>\n
Anonymous number.<\/p>\n
Now I almost expected the next blow.<\/p>\n
THOMAS NEVER CONSENTED.<\/p>\n
Another message appeared.<\/p>\n
DANIEL WAS THE FIRST SUCCESSION CHILD.<\/p>\n
Then:<\/p>\n
EVAN AND LILY WERE NOT NEW CRIMES.<\/p>\n
THEY WERE REPEATS.<\/p>\n
Thomas was already moving before I finished reading the message. \u201cShow me.\u201d I turned the phone toward him. DANIEL IS MISSING. HIS CAR WAS FOUND EMPTY AN HOUR AGO. MARTIN … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25356,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25377","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\/25377","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=25377"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25377\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25412,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25377\/revisions\/25412"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}