CHAPTER 4 — THE WRONG BABY
For several seconds, Alexander couldn't move.
He stood in the middle of the ruined laboratory with the photograph trembling between his fingers.
Elena.
Victoria.
A newborn baby.
And five words written on the back:
THE WRONG BABY CAME HOME.
Behind him, Lily was crying.
Emma was crying too.
Sophie stood completely still.
Nobody spoke.
The alarms had finally stopped.
Smoke drifted through the ceiling.
Broken glass covered the floor.
And somewhere above them, the old Blackwood estate groaned beneath the weight of the storm.
Alexander stared at the photograph again.
He hated it.
Not because it proved something.
Because it created a question he didn't know how to survive.
Which baby was his?
He looked at Lily.
She was five years old.
The first child he'd discovered.
The child who had walked into his wedding carrying her baby sister.
The child who had called him Daddy.
The child who had waited five years to meet him.
Then he looked at Emma.
Eight months old.
Tiny.
Helpless.
Sleeping against Lily's shoulder.
And finally...
Sophie.
Ten years old.
The girl who had spent years inside the nightmare beneath this house.
The girl who carried memories that didn't belong to her.
The girl Victoria had just claimed wasn't his.
Alexander closed his eyes.
"No."
Sophie looked at him.
"No what?"
He opened his eyes.
"I'm not going to let her divide us."
Sophie stared at him.
"But what if she's telling the truth?"
"She's a liar."
"What if she isn't?"
Alexander walked toward her.
"You're my daughter."
Sophie looked away.
"You don't know that."
"I know enough."
"How?"
"Because I remember."
Sophie looked at him.
"What do you remember?"
Alexander swallowed.
"Your birth."
Sophie froze.
"What?"
"I remember your mother."
"I remember the hospital."
"I remember holding you."
Sophie began crying.
"Do you remember my name?"
"Sophie."
She covered her mouth.
For the first time since they had met, the guarded expression disappeared from her face.
She looked like a little girl.
Just a little girl.
Not a weapon.
Not an experiment.
Not an archive.
Just a child who wanted her father.
Alexander opened his arms.
Sophie hesitated.
Then ran into them.
He held her tightly.
"I'm sorry."
She cried against his chest.
"I waited."
"I know."
"You never came."
"I know."
"I thought you hated me."
Alexander closed his eyes.
"Never."
She pulled back.
"Then why did you forget me?"
He couldn't answer.
Because the truth was complicated.
He had forgotten her to protect her.
He had sacrificed his own memories because someone had discovered how valuable his mind was.
But none of that changed what Sophie had experienced.
A childhood without her father.
Alexander wiped her tears.
"I'm here now."
Sophie nodded.
Then she looked at the photograph.
"What does that mean?"
Alexander's expression hardened.
"I don't know."
"We need to find out."
He nodded.
"We do."
Lily suddenly spoke.
"Don't test Emma."
Alexander turned.
"What?"
Lily hugged the baby.
"Please."
"I won't."
"Mommy said..."
She stopped.
Alexander crouched beside her.
"What did Mommy say?"
Lily looked at Sophie.
Then Alexander.
"She said the truth about Emma would make everyone hate each other."
Alexander's heart sank.
"Where did she hear that?"
"Mommy."
"When?"
"Before the wedding."
Alexander looked at Elena.
She was still unconscious.
He needed answers.
But he also knew something else.
If Victoria had gone to this much trouble to create confusion, the truth had to be dangerous.
The sound of approaching vehicles came from outside.
Alexander stood.
"Police."
His security chief appeared at the doorway.
"Sir, we've secured the perimeter."
"Anyone find Victoria?"
"No."
"Any sign of the man who attacked the hospital?"
"Nothing."
Alexander nodded.
"Get Elena upstairs."
"And the children?"
"With me."
They climbed out of the underground facility.
The mansion looked different now.
Not abandoned.
Not empty.
Alive with secrets.
Alexander carried Emma while Lily held his hand.
Sophie walked beside them.
When they reached the main hall, Elena was placed carefully on the sofa.
Her eyes slowly opened.
She looked around.
Then saw Alexander.
"You're alive."
He nodded.
"So are you."
Her eyes moved to the girls.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
Elena exhaled.
Then she noticed the photograph in his hand.
Her face changed.
"Where did you get that?"
"Victoria left it."
Elena stared at it.
"What did she tell you?"
"That the wrong baby came home."
Elena closed her eyes.
Alexander stepped closer.
"Tell me the truth."
She remained silent.
"Elena."
"I was afraid."
"Of what?"
"Of this moment."
"What happened five years ago?"
She looked toward Lily.
"She deserves to know."
Alexander frowned.
"Know what?"
Elena whispered:
"The hospital switched the babies."
The room became silent.
Alexander stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because someone paid them."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No."
"Then how do you know there was a switch?"
Elena looked at Emma.
"Because I saw the bracelet."
"What bracelet?"
"When Lily was born, she had a silver bracelet."
Alexander frowned.
"I never saw it."
"Because it disappeared."
"Where?"
"On the baby they took."
Alexander's mind raced.
"Who took her?"
Elena shook her head.
"That's what I never discovered."
"Then why does Victoria know?"
"Because she was there."
Alexander stared.
"At the hospital?"
Elena nodded.
"She came to see you."
"Why?"
"She said she was your friend."
"She wasn't."
"No."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"She was obsessed with you."
Alexander looked away.
"What happened after Lily was born?"
Elena took a breath.
"You were unconscious."
"Why?"
"The memory procedure."
"Who performed it?"
"Your father."
"Why?"
"Because he believed your mind was unstable."
Alexander frowned.
"I was protecting you."
"No."
Elena shook her head.
"He was protecting the project."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"What project?"
"Eden."
Silence.
"Your father believed the human brain could be used as a predictive engine."
Alexander remembered.
The screens.
The children.
Sophie.
"Why Sophie?"
"Because she was the first child whose brain could process the network."
"And Lily?"
Elena looked down.
"Lily was supposed to be the second."
Alexander's blood ran cold.
"Supposed to be?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Elena swallowed.
"I refused."
"You escaped."
"I tried."
"And Emma?"
Elena looked at her.
"Emma wasn't supposed to exist."
Alexander frowned.
"What?"
Elena's voice trembled.
"When I became pregnant again, they found me."
"Who?"
"Victoria."
Alexander stared.
"She knew about Emma?"
"She knew everything."
"Why?"
"Because she was working with your father."
Alexander looked at Victoria's photograph again.
Something wasn't right.
He turned it over.
There was a faint mark in the corner.
A hospital identification number.
He immediately recognized the format.
Saint Martha.
He called his security chief.
"Get me the birth records from Saint Martha Hospital."
"Sir?"
"Five years ago."
"Which date?"
Alexander gave him the date.
"Also the records from eight months ago."
The security chief hesitated.
"Sir, those records were sealed."
"Then break the seal."
"Understood."
He walked away.
Elena looked terrified.
"Alexander."
"What?"
"You shouldn't do this."
"Why?"
"Because whoever switched those babies doesn't want the truth found."
"I know."
"They'll come after the girls."
"They already have."
Elena grabbed his wrist.
"You don't understand."
"What?"
"If Lily isn't your biological daughter..."
Alexander looked at her.
"She's still my daughter."
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"But if Emma isn't..."
"I don't care."
She stared at him.
Alexander looked toward Lily.
"Blood doesn't decide who I protect."
Lily heard him.
Her eyes filled with tears.
She ran toward him.
He knelt.
She threw her arms around his neck.
"Daddy."
Alexander held her.
"I've got you."
"Even if I'm not your real daughter?"
His heart broke.
"Who told you that?"
"Victoria."
Alexander looked at Elena.
She closed her eyes.
Lily whispered:
"She said you would stop loving me."
Alexander pulled back and looked directly into her eyes.
"Listen to me."
Lily sniffled.
"You are my daughter."
"But—"
"I don't care what any test says."
She stared at him.
"You hear me?"
She nodded.
"Nobody gets to change that."
Lily hugged him again.
Across the room, Sophie watched.
She looked relieved.
Then a phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It wasn't Alexander's.
It was Elena's.
She looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
She answered.
"Hello?"
No one spoke.
Then a child's voice whispered:
"Mommy?"
Elena's face went white.
Alexander took the phone.
"Who is this?"
The child whispered:
"Please help me."
Alexander looked at Elena.
"Who is that?"
Elena's lips trembled.
"I don't know."
The voice continued.
"They found me."
"Who?"
"The people from the basement."
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
"Where are you?"
The child began crying.
"I don't know."
"Tell me what you see."
"A white room."
"Anything else?"
"A number."
"What number?"
The child whispered:
"Seven."
The call ended.
Alexander stared at the phone.
"Trace it."
His security chief grabbed another device.
"Working."
Ten seconds.
Twenty.
Then he looked up.
"Sir."
"What?"
"The call came from inside this house."
Everyone froze.
Alexander slowly turned.
The mansion.
The walls.
The hidden rooms.
The basement.
There were more secrets.
He looked toward the staircase.
"Search every room."
Security spread out.
Doors opened.
Cabinets were checked.
Walls were scanned.
Nothing.
Then Lily spoke.
"Daddy."
Alexander turned.
"What?"
"There's a room."
"Where?"
"Behind the kitchen."
He followed her.
She pointed toward a wall.
"I saw it before."
"How?"
"Mommy showed me."
Alexander searched the wall.
Nothing.
He remembered the hidden mechanisms in the house.
He pressed three stones.
A panel opened.
Behind it was another staircase.
This one descended even deeper.
Alexander stared.
"How many floors does this house have?"
Elena whispered:
"Seven."
They descended.
One level.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Five.
Six.
At the seventh level, they reached a steel door.
A number was painted across it.
07.
Alexander's stomach dropped.
The voice.
A white room.
Number seven.
He opened the door.
Inside was a small medical room.
White walls.
A bed.
A monitor.
And a child.
A little boy.
About six years old.
He was sitting on the bed.
A camera was pointed directly at him.
Alexander froze.
The boy looked up.
He had dark hair.
Brown eyes.
And an expression far too serious for a six-year-old.
"Are you Alexander?"
"Yes."
The boy nodded.
"Then you're late."
Alexander stepped closer.
"Who are you?"
The boy looked at Lily.
Then Emma.
Then Sophie.
"I know them."
"How?"
"We were all here."
Alexander's blood ran cold.
"All of you?"
The boy nodded.
"Before they took us away."
"Who are you?"
The boy hesitated.
"My name is Noah."
Alexander looked at Elena.
She was shaking.
"Do you know this child?"
"No."
Noah smiled sadly.
"She does."
He pointed toward Elena.
"She just doesn't remember me."
Alexander stared at Elena.
She looked confused.
Then frightened.
Noah continued:
"She used to come here."
"Every week."
"She used to bring us food."
"She used to tell us stories."
Elena covered her mouth.
"No."
Noah looked at her.
"You promised you'd save us."
"I don't remember."
"I know."
"Why?"
"Because they erased you too."
Alexander stepped closer.
"Who erased her?"
Noah pointed toward the ceiling.
"Your father."
Alexander's blood ran cold.
"But why?"
Noah answered:
"Because your mother tried to expose Eden."
Alexander froze.
"My mother?"
Noah nodded.
"She was the one who found the children."
Alexander stared.
"My mother is dead."
"No."
The boy shook his head.
"She's alive."
Elena whispered:
"That's impossible."
Noah looked toward a monitor.
"She sent me a message."
The screen turned on.
A woman's face appeared.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakably familiar.
Alexander's heart stopped.
His mother.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you're seeing this..."
She paused.
"...then Alexander has finally come home."
Alexander couldn't breathe.
Her message continued.
"I know what they did to you."
"I know what they did to Elena."
"And I know what they did to your daughters."
Alexander stepped toward the screen.
"Mom?"
The recording continued.
"The baby switch was not an accident."
Alexander's hands clenched.
"It was deliberate."
"One child was meant to be taken."
"One child was meant to replace her."
"But someone made a mistake."
Alexander stared.
His mother continued:
"That mistake created the family you have today."
"The child they wanted..."
"was Sophie."
"The child they replaced her with..."
"Lily."
Alexander froze.
Lily looked at him.
His mother's voice continued:
"And the baby you believe is Emma..."
The screen flickered.
Alexander's heart stopped.
"...is not Elena's biological child."
Silence.
Emma began crying upstairs.
Alexander stared at the screen.
"No."
His mother looked directly into the camera.
"Alexander, listen carefully."
"The baby was switched again."
"The child you are holding is the daughter of the woman who destroyed your family."
The recording ended.
Alexander slowly turned toward Elena.
She was crying.
He looked at Emma.
Then Lily.
Then Sophie.
The truth had become more complicated than any lie.
But one thing remained unchanged.
He was their father.
Or at least...
he had become one.
And no blood test could change that.
Suddenly, every light in the room turned red.
A siren began screaming.
The steel door slammed shut.
The monitor flashed one final message:
EDEN PROTOCOL — PHASE TWO ACTIVATED.
Then another line appeared.
TARGET: EMMA BLACKWOOD.
Alexander grabbed the baby.
"Everyone behind me."
The walls began locking.
One after another.
Sophie grabbed Lily's hand.
Elena stood beside Alexander.
"What do we do?"
Alexander looked at the screen.
His expression hardened.
"We find out who Emma really is."
"And then?"
He looked toward the sealed door.
"We burn Eden to the ground."
But somewhere inside the mansion...
a phone began ringing.
Victoria answered.
A man's voice said:
"Phase Two has begun."
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Did he find the room?"
"Yes."
"And the message?"
"He saw it."
Victoria whispered:
"Good."
The man asked:
"Why?"
Victoria looked toward the mansion.
"Because now Alexander will do exactly what we need."
"What?"
"Protect Emma."
"And then?"
Victoria smiled.
"He'll lead us straight to the final archive."
She ended the call.
Then looked at a photograph on her desk.
A newborn baby.
A silver bracelet.
And underneath it, a handwritten note:
THE WRONG BABY WAS NEVER THE MISTAKE.
Victoria touched the photograph.
"It was the plan."
May you like
And for the first time...
the real mastermind behind Eden finally stepped out of the shadows.
