Chapter 3 — The Locked Laboratory
The nursery door clicked shut.
Elena stared at it.
For three seconds, she couldn't move.
Then she grabbed the handle.
It wouldn't turn.
“Marcus!”
Her voice cracked through the room.
No answer.
She pulled harder.
Nothing.
“Marcus!”
The shadow beneath the door disappeared.
Elena stepped backward.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
The ultrasound photograph was still in her hand.
Victoria didn't poison you to kill your baby.
She poisoned you because she was afraid you would remember whose baby it really is.
Elena looked at the words again.
Her fingers trembled.
Then the lights went out.
She screamed.
Darkness swallowed the nursery.
Something moved beyond the wall.
A soft metallic sound.
Then silence.
Elena backed into the crib.
Her hand found the wooden rail.
She held it like a weapon.
“Who's there?”
Nothing.
She reached into her pocket for her phone.
No signal.
The screen showed one new message.
Unknown number.
Don't trust Marcus.
Another message arrived.
He already knows.
Elena's breath caught.
Then a third.
Ask him about the night your blood was tested.
The nursery door suddenly opened.
Elena stumbled backward.
Marcus stood outside.
“Why are you locked in here?”
Elena stared at him.
“Where were you?”
“Downstairs.”
“You didn't hear me?”
“I heard you.”
“Then why didn't you answer?”
Marcus looked confused.
“I just got here.”
Elena's face went pale.
“Someone locked the door.”
Marcus immediately entered.
“Did you see who?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
Elena held up the photograph.
Marcus took it.
The color drained from his face.
“Where did you get this?”
“In the crib.”
He looked at her.
“Who put it there?”
“I don't know.”
Marcus examined the ultrasound image.
His eyes stopped on the date.
Three months ago.
The same date as the confidential medical report.
“You knew about this,” Elena whispered.
Marcus looked up.
“About what?”
“My blood test.”
His expression changed.
“What blood test?”
Elena's eyes narrowed.
“You tell me.”
Marcus stared at her.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Victoria told me you knew.”
“Victoria says a lot of things.”
“She said you already knew who the father was.”
Marcus stepped closer.
“Elena, listen to me.”
“Don't.”
“You have to believe me.”
“I don't know what to believe anymore.”
Marcus stopped.
That sentence hurt him more than any accusation could have.
He slowly placed the photograph on the dresser.
“Then we'll find out together.”
Elena looked at him.
“How?”
“By finding whoever is doing this.”
He picked up the phone.
“I'm calling security.”
“No.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if someone can enter this room without being seen, I don't know who we can trust.”
Marcus stared at her.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
For the first time, he understood.
The estate wasn't simply unsafe.
It was compromised.
At 1:14 a.m., Marcus ordered every security guard in the mansion into the main hall.
There were six of them.
He stood in front of them.
“Someone entered the nursery tonight.”
The guards exchanged nervous looks.
“Who had access?”
No one answered.
Marcus repeated himself.
“Who had access?”
The head of security stepped forward.
“Only senior staff.”
“Names.”
He gave them.
Marcus listened.
Then asked:
“Where was everyone between eleven and midnight?”
The guards answered one by one.
All had alibis.
Except one.
A young guard named Daniel.
Marcus stared at him.
“You?”
“I was checking the east wing.”
“Why?”
“Motion sensor.”
“Which one?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Basement corridor.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“There are no motion sensors in the basement corridor.”
Daniel went pale.
“I…”
Marcus walked toward him.
“Who told you there were?”
Daniel looked around.
Then whispered:
“Mrs. Moretti.”
Silence.
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Victoria.”
Daniel nodded.
Marcus dismissed everyone except the head of security.
“Bring me every access log from the past six months.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And lock the basement.”
The security chief hesitated.
“The basement?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Because I think someone has been using it.”
The basement was older than the mansion.
The Moretti estate had been rebuilt twice, but the original foundation remained.
Stone walls.
Iron doors.
Narrow corridors.
Rooms that no longer appeared on architectural plans.
Marcus had never cared about them.
Until now.
He descended alone.
His flashlight cut through the darkness.
At the end of the corridor stood a door.
Black.
Heavy.
With an old brass lock.
Marcus tried the handle.
Locked.
He examined the lock.
No electronic mechanism.
No modern security.
Just a key.
Then he noticed scratches around the keyhole.
Recent.
Someone had been opening it.
Marcus stepped back.
He called the head of security.
“Bring bolt cutters.”
Ten minutes later, the lock was broken.
The door opened.
A chemical smell hit Marcus immediately.
He covered his nose.
Inside was a laboratory.
Not an old storage room.
Not a forgotten medical chamber.
A laboratory.
Stainless steel tables lined the walls.
Glass containers filled the shelves.
There were refrigeration units.
Medical equipment.
Computers.
And dozens of labeled bottles.
Marcus walked slowly inside.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
“This can't be here.”
The security chief stared.
“Should we call the police?”
“Not yet.”
“Sir…”
“Not yet.”
Marcus approached the nearest workstation.
The computer was still on.
A folder appeared on the screen.
PROJECT V.
Marcus clicked it.
Hundreds of files appeared.
He opened the first.
A medical report.
Then another.
And another.
All concerned women.
All connected to the Moretti family.
Marcus scrolled.
His hands became cold.
Some names belonged to women who had died years ago.
Others belonged to women who had disappeared.
Then he saw a familiar name.
ELENA MORETTI
Marcus stopped breathing.
He clicked.
A password prompt appeared.
He tried Elena's birthday.
Denied.
His own.
Denied.
The wedding date.
Denied.
Then he saw a folder beneath it.
EM — PHASE II
He clicked.
Password required.
Marcus slammed his fist against the table.
“Damn it.”
The security chief looked at him.
“Sir?”
“Find me every backup drive.”
They searched the room.
Behind a cabinet, they found a small metal case.
Inside were three hard drives.
Marcus connected one.
The computer recognized it.
A folder opened automatically.
PATERNITY / VIABILITY
Marcus's stomach dropped.
He opened the file.
A blood analysis appeared.
Patient: Elena Moretti.
Date: three months ago.
He read the results.
Then stopped.
The report stated:
Pregnancy confirmed.
Below it:
Paternity analysis inconclusive due to insufficient sample.
Marcus frowned.
Insufficient sample.
Then another line:
Additional biological material required.
He scrolled.
There was a second report.
The sample had been collected from Marcus.
His eyes widened.
Someone had taken his blood.
Without his knowledge.
He opened the analysis.
The results were incomplete.
Then a final note appeared:
DO NOT DISCLOSE TO SUBJECT.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Subject.
Not Elena.
Him.
He looked at the date.
The sample had been collected three months ago.
Exactly when Elena had begun experiencing symptoms.
Exactly when Victoria had started acting strangely.
Marcus whispered:
“Why would someone test my blood?”
The answer appeared on the screen.
Genetic compatibility assessment.
He stopped.
This wasn't just a paternity test.
Someone had been investigating the genetic relationship between Marcus and Elena's unborn child.
But why?
And why had Victoria hidden it?
Upstairs, Elena sat on the edge of the bed.
She couldn't sleep.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the nursery.
The shadow.
The message.
The photograph.
Then another memory surfaced.
Three months ago.
A hospital corridor.
She remembered sitting alone.
A nurse asking:
“Do you want your husband informed?”
Elena had said no.
Why?
She couldn't remember.
She pressed her hands against her temples.
Then the memory sharpened.
Victoria had been sitting beside her.
Holding her hand.
Whispering:
“You need to protect Marcus from the truth.”
Elena's eyes opened.
What truth?
She stood.
Walked toward the bathroom.
Opened the medicine cabinet.
There was nothing.
Then she noticed a loose panel behind the shelves.
She pulled it.
A small compartment opened.
Inside was a sealed envelope.
Elena stared at it.
She had never seen it before.
She opened it.
Inside was a hospital bracelet.
Her name.
The date.
And beneath it, written in black ink:
SECOND PREGNANCY.
Elena froze.
Second?
She dropped the bracelet.
A memory slammed into her.
A hospital bed.
Blood.
Crying.
Victoria's voice.
And a doctor saying:
“We need to talk about what happened to the first pregnancy.”
Elena staggered backward.
She covered her mouth.
“No…”
The door opened.
Marcus stood there.
“Elena?”
She turned toward him.
Her face was white.
“You lied to me.”
Marcus stared.
“What?”
“You said you didn't know.”
“Know what?”
“My first pregnancy.”
Marcus went completely still.
“What first pregnancy?”
Elena pointed toward the bracelet.
“This.”
Marcus picked it up.
His face changed.
“Elena…”
“You knew.”
“I didn't.”
“You were tested.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“Your blood.”
Silence.
He slowly lowered the bracelet.
“How do you know?”
“Because someone tested it.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Where did you find this?”
“In the wall.”
He walked toward her.
“Elena, listen to me.”
She stepped away.
“No.”
“I found a laboratory downstairs.”
Her expression changed.
“A laboratory?”
“Yes.”
“What kind?”
“Medical.”
Marcus showed her the hard drive.
“I found your name.”
Elena stared at it.
“What did it say?”
Marcus hesitated.
“It said your pregnancy was being investigated.”
“By whom?”
“I don't know.”
“And the father?”
Marcus looked at her.
“That's what they were trying to determine.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“I told you there was something wrong.”
“I know.”
“You didn't believe me.”
“I believe you now.”
She shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“What?”
“I remember the first pregnancy.”
Marcus stared at her.
“And?”
“I didn't lose the baby.”
The room became silent.
Marcus's face drained of color.
“What did you say?”
“I didn't lose the baby.”
“Elena…”
“I was told the pregnancy had ended.”
She pressed her hands against her stomach.
“But I remember hearing a heartbeat.”
Marcus couldn't speak.
“I remember Victoria being there.”
Elena's voice trembled.
“She told me the baby was dead.”
Marcus stared at her.
“When?”
“Three months before this pregnancy.”
He shook his head.
“That can't be.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't remember.”
Marcus looked at her.
“What?”
“I forgot.”
She began crying.
“I forgot the entire thing until tonight.”
The next morning, Marcus returned to the laboratory.
He brought no guards.
No staff.
Only Elena's medical file.
He sat before the computer and opened every document.
He found a folder titled:
CASE 17 — E.M.
Inside was a video.
He pressed play.
A woman appeared.
Dr. Eleanor Hayes.
The Moretti family's former physician.
Marcus recognized her immediately.
She had treated the family for twenty years.
In the recording, she looked terrified.
“If you're watching this,” she said, “then someone has accessed the archive.”
Marcus leaned closer.
The doctor continued.
“I don't know who will find this recording.”
She looked toward the door.
“But I need to document what happened to Elena.”
Marcus's pulse accelerated.
“Her first pregnancy was viable.”
He froze.
“Victoria told the family the pregnancy ended because she wanted control of the estate.”
Marcus whispered:
“No.”
The doctor continued.
“She arranged for Elena to receive medication that induced symptoms resembling pregnancy loss.”
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“But the pregnancy did not end.”
He stared at the screen.
“The fetus survived.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
The doctor looked directly into the camera.
“And if Elena is pregnant again…”
A pause.
“…then there is a possibility that the first child was never lost.”
The recording suddenly distorted.
Static.
Then a final sentence appeared:
FIND THE CHILD BEFORE VICTORIA DOES.
The screen went black.
Marcus sat motionless.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
No one spoke.
“Who is this?”
Silence.
Then a child's voice whispered:
“Is my daddy there?”
Marcus froze.
The call ended.
He stared at the phone.
A second message arrived.
A photograph.
A little boy stood in front of a school.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small scar above his eyebrow.
Marcus zoomed in.
His breath caught.
The boy had his eyes.
Exactly his eyes.
Beneath the photograph was a message:
You were never told he existed.
Another message appeared.
Victoria knows where he is.
Marcus stood so quickly that the chair crashed behind him.
He grabbed his jacket.
Then he noticed something else on the photograph.
The boy was wearing a small silver pendant.
Marcus recognized it.
He had given the exact same pendant to Elena on their wedding day.
His face went cold.
Someone had taken something from Elena's past.
Someone had hidden a child.
And now someone wanted Marcus to find him.
But before he could leave the laboratory, the lights flickered.
The door behind him slammed shut.
Marcus turned.
Victoria stood on the other side of the glass panel.
She was holding a small black case.
She smiled.
Then she raised one finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
Marcus stared at her.
Victoria mouthed two words through the glass.
You remember.
Then the lights went out.
May you like
And somewhere in the darkness beneath the estate, a child's voice whispered:
“Daddy?”
