CHAPTER 9 — THE DOCTOR WHO KNEW THE TRUTH
Richard hit the floor before Claire could stop him.
"Richard!"
She dropped beside him.
Blood spread across his shirt, dark against the fabric.
Ethan stood frozen.
"Dad..."
Samuel grabbed a towel from the kitchen and pressed it against the wound.
"Claire, call 911."
"No."
Samuel looked at her.
"He's been shot."
"I know."
"Then call."
Claire stared at Richard.
Then at the shattered window.
"That bullet wasn't meant to kill him."
Samuel frowned.
"What?"
"If someone wanted Richard dead, they'd have made sure."
She pointed toward the wound.
"Look where it entered."
Samuel examined it.
Shoulder.
Not chest.
Not head.
"You're saying they wanted to scare him."
Claire nodded.
"Or silence him without killing him."
Ethan suddenly spoke.
"Mom."
She turned.
"What?"
"Grandpa said Dad would become like him."
Claire's face hardened.
"Don't listen to him."
"But Dad was protecting us."
Samuel looked at Richard.
"He was."
Claire stared at the unconscious man.
For years, she had blamed Richard.
For abandoning her.
For trusting his father.
For failing to protect Ethan.
But now she was beginning to understand something.
Richard hadn't been the architect of the nightmare.
He had been trapped inside it.
And perhaps...
he had finally decided to fight his way out.
The ambulance arrived twelve minutes later.
Paramedics carried Richard away.
Police sealed the apartment.
Detective Reed arrived shortly afterward.
He examined the broken window.
"No shell casing."
Samuel looked at him.
"So?"
"So whoever fired the shot took the casing."
"Professional?"
"Very."
Claire folded her arms.
"Edward."
Reed looked at her.
"You saw him?"
"Yes."
"Tonight?"
"Yes."
"You're certain?"
Claire nodded.
"He spoke to Richard."
Reed's expression changed.
"Then Edward Hawthorne is officially back on our list."
Samuel shook his head.
"He's not just back on the list."
"What do you mean?"
"He's behind everything."
Reed looked at him.
"Can you prove it?"
Samuel glanced toward Ethan.
"Not yet."
Reed sighed.
"Then we need Dr. Mason."
Claire nodded.
"Yes."
Reed pulled out his phone.
"I've got officers heading to Vermont."
"Don't."
Reed looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because if Edward knows we're looking for Mason..."
She paused.
"...Mason is already in danger."
At 2:17 A.M., Dr. Aaron Mason locked the door of his small clinic.
He had been expecting someone.
For eight years.
He had changed his name.
Moved three times.
Stopped practicing medicine.
But every night, he still dreamed about the hospital.
The newborn.
Claire.
Richard.
Victor.
Edward.
And the blood test.
The test that had started everything.
Mason opened a locked drawer.
Inside was an old folder.
He removed it.
On the front was a name.
ETHAN BENNETT.
Mason stared at it.
Then someone knocked.
Three times.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Mason froze.
The same pattern.
He slowly walked toward the door.
"Who is it?"
A voice answered.
"Doctor."
Mason's face went pale.
He recognized it.
Edward Hawthorne.
Mason stepped backward.
The doorknob began turning.
He grabbed the folder.
Then ran toward the back exit.
He opened it—
And stopped.
A man stood outside.
Jonathan Vale.
Mason whispered:
"You're dead."
Jonathan smiled.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Mason tried to close the door.
Jonathan caught it.
"You ran from the wrong man."
"What do you want?"
"The file."
Mason clutched it.
"No."
Jonathan's expression hardened.
"Give it to me."
Mason shook his head.
"I kept this secret for eight years."
"Then keep it."
Jonathan stepped closer.
"But you're going to tell me where the original is."
Mason stared.
"What original?"
Jonathan smiled.
"The one you thought Edward destroyed."
Mason's eyes widened.
"You know about it."
"I know everything."
"Then you know what happened to the baby."
Jonathan's face changed.
"I know exactly what happened."
At Boston General Hospital, Richard was taken into surgery.
Claire waited outside.
Ethan sat beside her.
Samuel paced the hallway.
Detective Reed stood near the elevators.
Finally, the surgeon emerged.
"Family?"
Claire stood.
"Yes."
The doctor removed his mask.
"The bullet passed through the shoulder."
Claire exhaled.
"Will he live?"
"Yes."
Her knees nearly gave way.
"But..."
"What?"
"He lost a lot of blood."
"Is he awake?"
"Not yet."
"When can we see him?"
"One at a time."
Claire nodded.
Ethan looked up.
"Can I see Dad?"
The surgeon hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Briefly."
Claire took his hand.
They entered.
Richard lay beneath the hospital lights.
Machines beeped steadily.
Ethan approached the bed.
"Dad?"
Richard's eyes slowly opened.
He looked at his son.
A faint smile appeared.
"Ethan."
The boy grabbed his hand.
"I was scared."
Richard squeezed his fingers.
"I'm sorry."
"You protected me."
Richard looked at Claire.
"Did he?"
Claire nodded.
"Yes."
Richard swallowed.
"Good."
Ethan leaned closer.
"Grandpa is bad."
Richard's eyes hardened.
"Don't call him Grandpa."
"Why?"
"Because he's not the man you think he is."
Ethan frowned.
"Who is he?"
Richard looked at Claire.
She nodded.
"Tell him."
Richard closed his eyes.
"Edward Hawthorne wasn't my biological father."
Claire's eyes widened.
"What?"
Richard opened his eyes.
"I found the records."
Samuel stepped into the room.
"What records?"
Richard looked at him.
"The original adoption papers."
Claire stared.
"You were adopted?"
Richard nodded.
"Edward took me from another family."
"Why?"
"Because my mother worked for him."
Samuel frowned.
"What did she know?"
Richard's voice became weak.
"She knew about the trust."
Claire stepped closer.
"What trust?"
Richard looked at Ethan.
"The one your grandfather has been trying to control since before I was born."
At 3:04 A.M., Detective Reed received a message.
MASON IS GONE.
He immediately called the officer.
"What happened?"
"We arrived at the clinic."
"And?"
"Door was open."
"Blood?"
"No."
"Signs of struggle?"
"Yes."
"Body?"
"None."
Reed closed his eyes.
Another disappearance.
Another missing witness.
He turned toward Samuel.
"Mason is gone."
Samuel nodded.
"I knew it."
Reed frowned.
"How?"
"Because this entire operation is designed around witnesses."
"What witnesses?"
"Anyone who knows the truth."
Reed looked at Claire.
"Then we need to know exactly what Mason knew."
Claire shook her head.
"I don't know everything."
"Tell me what you do know."
She hesitated.
Then:
"Eight years ago, Edward ordered Mason to perform a genetic test."
"On Ethan?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Edward believed the baby carried a rare genetic marker."
Reed frowned.
"What kind?"
"I don't know."
"Was it medical?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Claire looked toward Richard's hospital room.
"It was financial."
Reed stared.
"How can genetics determine finances?"
Claire answered:
"Because the Hawthorne Trust wasn't tied to a name."
She paused.
"It was tied to blood."
Back inside Richard's room, Samuel asked:
"What exactly did Mason test?"
Richard shook his head.
"I don't know."
Claire looked at him.
"You must know something."
Richard closed his eyes.
"My father told me Ethan was the only person who could inherit the original trust."
"Why?"
"Because Edward designed it that way."
Samuel frowned.
"That doesn't explain the DNA test."
Richard stared at him.
"It does if the trust was created using a genetic clause."
Silence.
"Genetic clause?"
Richard nodded.
"My father didn't trust lawyers."
Claire whispered:
"So he trusted biology."
"Yes."
Richard looked at Ethan.
"The trust would only activate for a direct descendant carrying a specific genetic sequence."
Samuel stared.
"Then Ethan..."
"Has it."
Claire's face tightened.
"And that's why Edward wants him."
Richard nodded.
"Not for the money."
"Then what?"
"Because whoever controls Ethan controls the trust."
Samuel asked:
"How much is it worth?"
Richard gave a bitter smile.
"Enough to destroy governments."
Silence.
Claire looked at Ethan.
The boy was listening.
She immediately knelt.
"Ethan, don't worry."
"I'm not scared."
"You should never be involved in adult problems."
"But everyone is fighting over me."
Claire swallowed.
"No one is taking you."
Richard looked at her.
"Promise him."
Claire held Ethan tightly.
"I promise."
At dawn, Mason woke in a dark room.
His wrists were tied.
He looked around.
A basement.
Concrete walls.
One chair.
One table.
And a camera.
Then the door opened.
Jonathan entered.
Mason stared.
"Where is Edward?"
Jonathan smiled.
"You still think Edward is the one in charge."
Mason's eyes narrowed.
"Isn't he?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Jonathan placed a file on the table.
Mason looked at it.
PROJECT EIGHT.
His face changed.
"No."
Jonathan sat down.
"You remember."
Mason whispered:
"That project was terminated."
"Not terminated."
"Destroyed."
"Not destroyed."
"Edward burned every record."
Jonathan smiled.
"Copies survive."
Mason looked at the camera.
"Why bring me here?"
"Because you're the only doctor who knows the original sequence."
Mason shook his head.
"I won't tell you."
Jonathan leaned forward.
"You will."
"No."
Jonathan smiled.
"Because Claire is alive."
Mason froze.
"What?"
"Richard is alive."
Mason stared.
"And Ethan?"
"Safe."
Mason's eyes filled with tears.
"Then leave them alone."
Jonathan's voice became cold.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because the people above me want the boy."
Mason whispered:
"Who?"
Jonathan didn't answer.
Instead, he opened another folder.
Inside was a photograph.
Mason stared at it.
His face went white.
"No."
Jonathan watched him.
"Recognize him?"
Mason nodded.
"That's..."
He couldn't finish.
Jonathan smiled.
"The real Chairman."
Mason stared at the photograph.
It showed a man standing beside Edward.
Not Victor.
Not Richard.
Not Jonathan.
Someone else.
Someone much younger.
Someone who looked disturbingly familiar.
Mason whispered:
"That's impossible."
Jonathan asked:
"Why?"
"Because he's Ethan's father."
At Boston General, Richard woke again.
Claire sat beside him.
"Richard."
He looked at her.
"You stayed."
"Yes."
"I don't deserve that."
She shook her head.
"We don't have time for old guilt."
Richard smiled faintly.
"You always were better at surviving than me."
Claire took his hand.
"I need to ask you something."
"What?"
"Did you know Ethan wasn't your biological son?"
Richard hesitated.
"Not at first."
"When did you find out?"
"The night Claire disappeared."
She stared.
"What?"
Richard looked at her.
"Edward told me."
"Why?"
"To make me believe you had betrayed me."
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
"And you believed him?"
"I was angry."
"You let me disappear."
"I know."
"Why didn't you find me?"
"I did."
Claire froze.
"What?"
"I spent five years looking for you."
"Then why didn't you find me?"
Richard's eyes filled with regret.
"Because every time I got close..."
He paused.
"...someone threatened Ethan."
Claire stared.
"Edward."
Richard nodded.
"I couldn't risk him."
Claire whispered:
"So you protected him."
"Yes."
"By pretending not to care."
Richard looked away.
"I thought if Edward believed I hated you..."
Claire finished the sentence.
"...he would leave Ethan alone."
Richard nodded.
Claire began crying.
"Richard..."
He squeezed her hand.
"I'm sorry."
She leaned forward.
For the first time in five years, neither of them blamed the other.
Because both finally understood.
They had been manipulated by the same man.
Edward Hawthorne.
At 6:30 A.M., Samuel received an encrypted message.
No sender.
One file.
He opened it.
A photograph appeared.
Ethan.
Sleeping in the hospital room.
Taken only minutes earlier.
Samuel's blood ran cold.
Someone was inside.
He looked around.
The hallway was empty.
He immediately ran toward Richard's room.
Claire was standing at the window.
Ethan was asleep beside his father.
Samuel rushed in.
"Move Ethan."
Claire turned.
"What?"
"Now."
"Why?"
He showed her the photograph.
Her face went white.
"Someone took this."
"Yes."
"From where?"
"Inside this hospital."
Richard suddenly opened his eyes.
"Get him out."
Claire grabbed Ethan.
The hospital lights flickered.
Then every monitor in the room went black.
A voice came through the ceiling speaker.
"Good morning, Richard."
Richard froze.
He knew the voice.
Edward.
The speaker crackled again.
"Your son has something I need."
Claire held Ethan tighter.
Edward continued:
"And if you want to see the child alive..."
The lights went out completely.
"...bring me the original birth certificate."
The emergency lights came on.
Richard looked toward the bed.
Ethan was gone.
Claire screamed.
"No!"
The window was open.
The bed was empty.
Only one thing remained.
A small silver chain.
Without the pendant.
And beneath it, a note.
Richard picked it up.
Three words were written in black ink:
COME ALONE, SON.
He looked at Claire.
Then at Samuel.
His face hardened.
"I'm going after him."
Claire shook her head.
"You're injured."
Richard stood anyway.
"I don't care."
Samuel grabbed his arm.
"Where?"
Richard looked at the note.
"The Hawthorne estate."
Claire's expression changed.
"No."
Richard stared at her.
"What?"
She whispered:
"That's exactly where he wants you."
Then her eyes moved to the bottom of the note.
There was a second sentence.
One Richard hadn't noticed.
AND BRING CLAIRE.
Claire went completely still.
Because beneath those words was another name.
A name neither of them had seen in years.
VICTOR HAWTHORNE.
And for the first time, they realized the kidnapping wasn't about Ethan alone.
May you like
Edward was gathering the entire family in one place.
For the final confrontation.
