CHAPTER 18 — THE HOUSE WITHOUT WINDOWS
Helena’s transmission lasted eleven seconds.
That was enough for Grant to trace it.
“Bennett House East,” he said. “An abandoned maternity property outside the city.”
Nicholas—or the man claiming to be Nicholas—looked toward Emily.
“That was where Charles took us after the boat explosion.”
The other man shook his head.
“No. We were taken to a military hospital.”
“You remember what they wanted you to remember.”
“So do you.”
Emily interrupted them.
“We are not solving your identities here.”
She placed her newborn in Claire’s arms.
“Protect her.”
Claire shook her head.
“You just gave birth.”
“And Lydia has two children who may be connected to me.”
“You can barely stand.”
Emily forced her legs over the side of the bed.
“Then help me stand.”
Grant wanted to object, but the expression in Emily’s eyes stopped him.
Less than an hour later, two armored vehicles approached Bennett House East.
The property stood behind rusted gates and dead trees.
There were no visible windows.
Only narrow ventilation slits cut through gray concrete walls.
Grant’s team entered through the rear service corridor.
Emily stayed between the two identical men.
Neither was allowed near a weapon.
The hallway smelled of bleach and damp stone.
Old nursery numbers were still painted above the doors.
NB-01.
NB-02.
NB-03.
Emily touched the third door.
“What happened here?”
One of the men answered.
“Children were observed.”
The other looked at him.
“How do you know that?”
“I remember the cameras.”
They entered the central nursery.
Two overturned chairs stood beneath a hanging light.
Charles was tied to one.
Preston was tied to the other.
Grant cut Charles free.
“Where is Lydia?”
“She took the eastern tunnel.”
“Helena?”
Charles looked toward the empty crib.
“She was here.”
Preston pulled against his restraints.
“Untie me.”
Grant ignored him.
Emily approached her father.
“You built this place.”
Charles’s face was gray with exhaustion.
“I built the original clinic. Helena changed it.”
“Why were you tied up?”
Charles looked at Preston.
“Because the plan failed.”
Emily stepped closer.
“What plan?”
Charles did not answer.
Preston began laughing.
“Tell her.”
Charles closed his eyes.
“Lydia contacted me after Emily was taken to the clinic. She said Helena was preparing to activate the succession clause.”
“So you allowed her to abduct you?”
“I asked her to stage it.”
Emily stared at him.
“You worked with Lydia?”
“I needed Helena to expose the location of the third child.”
“You used my delivery as bait.”
“I was trying to protect all three children.”
Emily struck him across the face.
The sound echoed through the empty nursery.
Charles did not move.
“You do not get to call this protection.”
Preston leaned forward.
“Now untie me before Helena completes the registration.”
Grant removed Preston’s restraints but immediately handcuffed him.
A cry came from behind the eastern wall.
They found a small hidden chamber.
Inside was the infant from Lydia’s video.
The baby lay alone beneath a heating lamp.
Claire’s examination confirmed the child was unharmed.
A wristband circled the baby’s ankle.
NB-02.
Emily now stood beside three children.
The newborn she had delivered.
The older infant Nathan had carried into the clinic.
And the baby found inside Bennett House East.
Yet Helena had shown another crib.
Emily looked at Charles.
“How many children are there?”
“Three.”
“Then who was Helena holding?”
Charles stared at the wristbands.
His expression changed.
“What?”
“NB-01, NB-02, and NB-03,” Emily said. “Three children.”
Charles picked up the band from the newborn Grant’s team had recovered.
He rubbed his thumb over the printed number.
“The ink is wrong.”
Preston leaned closer.
“That band was created recently.”
Emily’s throat tightened.
“So one child is being counted twice.”
Grant searched the hidden chamber.
Behind the crib, he found a small security monitor.
The last recorded video showed Helena entering the nursery six hours earlier.
She was not alone.
A woman walked beside her wearing a dark hood.
A wooden bird charm hung from the woman’s wrist.
Emily recognized it immediately.
Vanessa’s bracelet.
Charles whispered the name before Emily could.
“Vanessa.”
Emily looked at him.
“You told me she was dead.”
Charles stared at the screen.
“I believed she was.”
On the recording, Vanessa lifted an infant from the crib and turned toward the camera.
For a fraction of a second, her face was visible.
She looked older, frightened, but unmistakably alive.
Before leaving, she spoke to Helena.
The monitor had no sound.
Grant replayed the footage and watched Vanessa’s lips.
May you like
Emily read the words at the same moment he did.
She is Emily’s daughter.
