CHAPTER 23: NOT HIS MOTHER
Ethan stared at the photograph.
“That isn’t possible.”
Amelia examined the woman beside William.
The image was old, but the pendant was unmistakable.
“My mother was eighteen when you were born.”
Ethan shook his head.
“My mother was Linda Carter.”
Mara searched public records.
Linda Carter had no hospital admission connected to Ethan’s birth.
His birth certificate had been filed six weeks late.
The attending physician later worked for Whitmore Biotechnologies.
Ethan sat down.
“Are you saying Evelyn is my mother?”
“No,” Mara said. “The photograph doesn’t prove that.”
Amelia turned it over again.
ETHAN CARTER WAS THE FIRST SUCCESS.
Noah looked through the research documents.
“The program studied resistance to chemical exposure.”
“Firefighters,” Amelia said.
“Not only firefighters.”
Noah found a page containing Ethan’s childhood medical tests.
At age eight, Ethan had been exposed to a laboratory compound.
He had shown no lasting damage.
At age seventeen, the experiment was repeated.
William Carter had signed every authorization.
Ethan looked sick.
“He experimented on me.”
Mara continued searching.
A second child appeared in the program.
Male.
Born three years after Ethan.
Identity sealed.
“Another success?” Amelia asked.
“Possibly.”
Noah turned away from the table.
Amelia noticed.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”
“You recognized something.”
“No.”
Amelia took the document from his hand.
A handwritten note appeared near the bottom.
TRANSFERRED TO REED FAMILY.
Everyone looked at Noah.
“My parents adopted me,” he admitted.
“You never mentioned that,” Ethan said.
“It wasn’t relevant.”
“It is now.”
Noah stepped backward.
“My mother told me my birth parents were dead.”
Mara compared the genetic marker numbers.
Ethan and Noah shared the same classification.
They were part of the same experiment.
Before anyone could speak, Noah’s phone rang.
He answered.
A distorted voice said:
“Ask Ethan which one of you William considered his real son.”
The call ended.
May you like
At that moment, the hospital guard outside Claire’s room sounded an alarm.
Claire Whitmore had disappeared.
