CHAPTER 24 — THE MIDNIGHT BOARD
Helena’s officers surrounded the platform.
Grant’s two officers were disarmed.
Lydia held her hands away from her body.
The duplicate lifted Emily’s biological daughter from the carrier.
Emily stepped forward.
“Put her down.”
The duplicate smiled with Nathan’s face.
“You still speak to me as though I love you.”
“Do you?”
His smile weakened.
For one second, something real appeared in his eyes.
Then it vanished.
Helena’s voice came through the speakers.
“The board chamber is waiting.”
The group was transported beneath Bennett headquarters through a private tunnel.
The children were kept in separate carriers.
Emily was allowed to hold the newborn she had delivered.
Lydia carried her own infant.
The duplicate carried Emily’s biological daughter.
Preston, Charles, and the surviving man from the lighthouse were already inside the board chamber.
Preston stared at the duplicate holding the child.
“Silas?”
The man looked at him.
“Do not call me that.”
“You remembered the red staircase.”
“I remember many lives.”
Preston moved toward him.
Board security blocked the way.
The chamber contained twelve members seated around a circular black table.
Helena sat at the highest position.
Her silver hair was pulled back severely.
She looked at Emily without affection.
“You have caused considerable disorder.”
Emily laughed once.
“You created children in secret laboratories.”
“I preserved the Bennett line.”
“You stole our bodies.”
“I protected what Charles was too weak to protect.”
Charles stepped forward.
“I never gave you permission to implant those embryos.”
“You gave me authority over continuity.”
“Not over Emily.”
Helena looked at the children.
“At midnight, one infant must be recognized.”
“Why only one?” Emily asked.
“The biometric network cannot accept competing primary heirs.”
“Then recognize none.”
Helena’s expression became cold.
“That would activate the extinction clause.”
Preston looked sharply at her.
“You told the board that clause was removed.”
“It was amended.”
“What happens if no heir is chosen?”
Helena folded her hands.
“Every Bennett-controlled company enters automatic liquidation. Every protected archive becomes public. Every financial account freezes.”
Charles stared at her.
“Millions of employees would lose access to operational systems.”
“Yes.”
Emily understood the cruelty of the choice.
Helena had tied the children’s identities to an economic disaster.
If Emily refused to choose an heir, innocent people would suffer.
If she chose, Helena could seize control as guardian.
The clock showed 11:52 p.m.
Helena pointed toward Lydia’s infant.
“This child was born second, but registered first.”
Then she indicated Emily’s newborn.
“This child was carried by Emily but created from Vanessa’s genetic material.”
Finally, she looked at Emily’s biological daughter.
“This child was created from Emily’s genetic material and delivered first.”
Emily moved toward her daughter.
The duplicate tightened his hold.
“Give her to me.”
Helena raised a hand.
“Not yet.”
The board secretary placed three documents on the table.
Each required Emily’s signature.
“Choose,” Helena said.
Emily looked at the children.
“They are not documents.”
“They are legal claimants.”
“They are babies.”
“Babies become adults. Adults become threats.”
Emily looked at Lydia.
Lydia gave the smallest nod toward the black device hidden in Emily’s sleeve.
Emily could erase the registry.
But she still did not know what else would disappear with it.
At 11:56, the chamber doors opened.
Vanessa entered.
She looked exhausted, but she was alive.
Two guards followed her.
Emily stepped toward her.
Vanessa’s eyes immediately found the newborn in Emily’s arms.
“My daughter.”
Emily held the baby closer.
“The child I carried.”
Pain crossed Vanessa’s face.
“And the child I carried belongs to you.”
Both women looked toward Emily’s biological daughter.
Helena smiled.
“Now everyone necessary is present.”
Vanessa turned toward the duplicate.
Her face changed.
“That man should not be holding the baby.”
Preston moved closer.
“Is he Silas?”
Vanessa shook her head.
“No.”
“Then who is he?”
Vanessa stared at the man wearing Nathan’s face.
“I treated Silas after the surgery. He had a scar across his left palm.”
The duplicate’s left palm had no scar.
Preston looked toward the surviving man from the lighthouse.
“Show me your hand.”
The survivor slowly opened his palm.
A long pale scar crossed it.
Preston stopped breathing.
“Silas.”
The other man holding the child smiled.
Helena did not appear surprised.
Emily looked at her.
“You knew.”
“Of course.”
“Who is he?”
Helena checked the clock.
11:58.
“The only man who can identify himself.”
The duplicate stepped toward Emily.
May you like
His voice softened.
“You used to call me Nathan.”
