CHAPTER 28 — DR. MONARCH
The clue changed everything.
M-7 was not a man.
It was a medical designation.
Dr. Reed examined the HEIRLINE coding system.
“M-subjects were gestational carriers.”
Khloe frowned.
“Surrogates?”
“Not exactly. Some were genetically modified maternal lines used in the program.”
Gabriel located M-7’s hidden record.
The name had been removed, but the birth date remained.
It matched Celeste Cole.
Khloe stared at her mother’s file.
“Isabella’s baby is connected to my mother?”
Dr. Reed read further.
“According to this, Celeste was not Isabella’s biological mother.”
“But the DNA report—”
“Celeste and Isabella share genetic material because Celeste was used as a mitochondrial donor.”
The room fell silent.
Isabella’s true biological mother remained unknown.
Khloe opened the final encrypted section.
A photograph appeared.
Evelyn Thorne stood in a laboratory beside several newborns.
Behind her was a younger woman wearing a doctor’s coat.
The woman’s face was partly turned away.
A badge identified her as:
DR. ELIZABETH MONARCH
Gabriel stared at the image.
“That’s impossible.”
“Who is she?” Khloe asked.
“Our mother.”
Khloe’s grandmother had supposedly died before Khloe was born.
Instead, she had directed HEIRLINE.
The Red Queen was not Evelyn.
It was Elizabeth Monarch Cole.
The matriarch who had controlled both families from the shadows.
A second file opened automatically.
It contained a live video feed.
Celeste was tied to a chair.
Isabella sat unconscious beside her.
An older woman stepped into view.
Her white hair was perfectly arranged.
Her face carried Khloe’s eyes.
May you like
“Hello, granddaughter,” Dr. Monarch said.
“Bring me Hope, and I will return your mother and sister alive.”
