Chapter 42 - THE FOURTH CHILD
The knocking came from behind the chapel wall.
Three slow taps.
Daniel pressed his ear against the stone.
“Who's there?”
A young voice answered, “You promised you'd come back.”
Claire stumbled backward.
“No. That's impossible.”
Daniel grabbed her shoulders.
“Who is it?”
“My son.”
A hidden door opened.
Inside stood Noah, although another Noah was standing beside Daniel.
For one horrifying second, nobody moved.
Then the boy inside the chamber stepped forward.
“I'm the original.”
The Noah beside Daniel raised his weapon.
Abigail screamed.
“Don't let them touch each other!”
The two boys stared at one another.
One had a scar across his jaw. The other had a crescent-shaped mark beneath his ear.
Daniel looked at Claire.
“How many children did you give birth to?”
Claire was crying.
“Two.”
“Then who are they?”
Before she could answer, Richard's voice came through the speakers.
“Welcome to the family reunion.”
The chamber doors locked.
A red warning flashed.
DUPLICATE SUBJECTS DETECTED.
The original Noah attacked the other boy.
They crashed into the wall, punching and kicking until Daniel pulled them apart.
“Stop!”
The original Noah pointed at the other.
“He stole my life!”
The second boy shouted, “I never asked to be created!”
Claire collapsed.
Richard's voice continued.
“Only one subject can survive the final procedure.”
Daniel stared at the ceiling.
“You sick bastard!”
A screen illuminated.
Margaret appeared.
“Daniel, you've always been my most disappointing child.”
He looked at the monitor in disbelief.
“Mother?”
“Your father wasn't the architect of this family. I was.”
She explained that the duplicate children had been created to preserve the Hale bloodline after the original heirs were lost.
Daniel felt sick.
“You used children as experiments.”
“I saved the family.”
“You destroyed it!”
Margaret's smile disappeared.
“Then perhaps it's time to end it.”
Gas began filling the chamber.
Daniel grabbed a metal chair and smashed the control panel.
The lights flickered.
The doors opened.
“Run!”
They escaped through a narrow passage.
The original Noah followed, but the duplicate remained behind.
Daniel turned.
“Come with us!”
The boy shook his head.
“I don't belong anywhere.”
Daniel reached for him.
“You belong with us.”
For a moment, the boy hesitated.
Then a gunshot rang out.
The boy collapsed.
Daniel screamed and rushed toward him.
Richard stood at the far end of the corridor, holding a smoking pistol.
“You should have left him behind.”
Daniel charged.
Richard struck him across the face with the weapon and kicked him to the floor.
Noah attacked from behind, but Richard turned and hit him with the pistol.
Abigail fired at the ceiling, distracting the guards long enough for Daniel to drag Noah away.
They escaped into the rain.
The original Noah looked back at the burning facility.
“I'm the only one left.”
Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder.
“No. You're my son.”
The boy began crying.
Then he looked at Abigail.
“You're wrong.”
She frowned.
“What?”
He pointed at her necklace.
“You're wearing the original's identification.”
Abigail touched the pendant.
The boy continued.
“I'm not Noah.”
He removed the hospital bracelet from his wrist.
The name beneath the dirt was clearly visible.
EMMA HALE.
Daniel stopped breathing.
The child he had believed dead was standing before him.
And the boy he had raised as his son had disappeared into the burning facility.
Emma looked at Daniel with tears in her eyes.
“You came back for me.”
Daniel pulled her into his arms.
But before he could speak, a phone rang.
Claire answered.
A woman's voice whispered, “Congratulations. You've found your daughter.”
Claire turned pale.
“Who is this?”
The voice answered:
May you like
“Her mother.”
If Emma had survived by living under Noah's identity, who was the woman claiming to be her mother—and where had the real Noah gone?
