Chapter 26: Beneath the Nursery
We returned to the center at full speed.
Claire was waiting inside the entrance.
My mother stood beside her.
Neither of them spoke when I entered.
I looked at Claire.
“How old are you?”
She told me her birthday.
The same day as mine.
The same year.
My mother began crying.
“I held two babies,” she said. “They told me one stopped breathing.”
Claire’s eyes remained on me.
“I was raised by a family connected to the Arden Foundation. I did not learn the truth until after they died.”
“You knew when you came to work here?”
“No.”
“When did you know?”
“When I found the original hospital records six months ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Thomas was watching you. I thought he would use the truth to divide us.”
“He did not need your help.”
Claire accepted the anger.
“I deserve that.”
“Where is Noah?”
Claire pointed toward the nursery.
“The underground plans show a second level beneath the surveillance room.”
We entered the hidden passage.
Detective Ellis found a mechanical release concealed behind an electrical panel.
A section of the concrete floor opened.
Stone steps descended into darkness.
At the bottom was a corridor much older than the mansion.
Small rooms lined both sides.
Each door had a viewing slot.
Aster House had not merely hidden records.
It had hidden people.
Some rooms contained abandoned beds.
Others held old medical equipment.
Names had been carved into the walls.
Women.
Children.
Dates.
Rosa covered her mouth.
“We have to preserve all of this.”
A sound came from the final room.
A baby crying.
I ran.
The room contained a crib beneath a blue light.
Noah lay inside.
I lifted him into my arms.
He was alive.
He was warm.
He cried against my shoulder.
I checked his hands, his feet, his breathing.
A bandage covered the inside of his heel.
“They took blood,” Claire said.
Beside the crib sat a portable scanner.
Its screen displayed a completed verification.
SUCCESSION MATCH CONFIRMED.
TRUSTEE AUTHORITY ACTIVATED.
A printer released a document.
The Aster Children’s Trust had formally recognized Noah as the primary heir.
Thomas Arden had been appointed controlling trustee.
A second page followed.
It authorized the removal of Noah’s current guardian if she was considered mentally, medically, or legally unfit.
My history had already been attached.
The psychological reports Margaret had forged.
The medical records Adrian had manipulated.
Every lie we had exposed was being used again.
My phone rang.
Jonathan Vale spoke when I answered.
“Mrs. Whitmore, the trustee has filed an emergency custody petition.”
“Tell Thomas he will never touch my son.”
“The hearing is tomorrow morning.”
“No legitimate judge would approve this.”
“You still believe legitimacy controls the court.”
The line disconnected.
Claire looked at the carved names on the walls.
“There is one judge who might.”
“Who?”
She pointed toward the oldest name carved beside the door.
AMELIA VOSS.
May you like
Detective Ellis stared at it.
Judge Amelia Voss was scheduled to hear the custody petition.
