Detective Ruiz wanted control of the exchange.<\/p>\n
Price wanted control of everything else.<\/p>\n
He sent instructions at 2:03 a.m.<\/p>\n
No police.<\/p>\n
No tracking devices.<\/p>\n
No copies.<\/p>\n
Bring the original blue ledger to the abandoned St. Matthew\u2019s rehabilitation clinic at six.<\/p>\n
Come alone.<\/p>\n
If anyone follows, Evans dies.<\/p>\n
Ruiz read the message twice.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe expects us to ignore the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course he does.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe also expects you to insist on going.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou aren\u2019t going alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am walking in alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
We spent the next three hours building the closest thing possible to a controlled surrender.<\/p>\n
The original ledger remained in evidence.<\/p>\n
Ruiz refused to risk it.<\/p>\n
Instead, the department prepared a high-quality replica using the photographed pages and an identical blue cover.<\/p>\n
I objected.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he checks carefully\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need minutes, not hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stood near the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019ll know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he handled the original.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2008.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Price had the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it in his briefcase.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another detail.<\/p>\n
I stared at him until he looked away.<\/p>\n
Ruiz said, \u201cCan he identify paper age?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we plan for the possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jake wanted to come.<\/p>\n
No one permitted it.<\/p>\n
He became furious.<\/p>\n
\u201cLily is my sister. Emma may be my sister. Evans is Mom\u2019s doctor. You expect me to sit here?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I have already spent too much of your life letting other people put you in danger without telling you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That stopped him.<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
Michael approached me before dawn.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants you frightened.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has had that for eighteen years.\u201d<\/p>\n
I zipped my coat.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants me ignorant more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s face tightened.<\/p>\n
I noticed then that he had not slept.<\/p>\n
Neither had I.<\/p>\n
There were deep shadows beneath his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I get a chance to come in\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo what Ruiz says.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean if something goes wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped closer.<\/p>\n
For a second, I thought he would touch me.<\/p>\n
He stopped himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not stand outside while someone takes another person from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words settled between us.<\/p>\n
Not forgiveness.<\/p>\n
Not yet.<\/p>\n
But something moved.<\/p>\n
At 5:47, I parked two blocks from the abandoned clinic.<\/p>\n
The building had once housed rehabilitation services for accident victims. It had been closed for six years after flooding damaged the basement.<\/p>\n
Broken windows reflected the pale morning.<\/p>\n
I carried the replica ledger inside a canvas bag.<\/p>\n
A small transmitter had been sewn into my coat lining.<\/p>\n
Price had warned against trackers.<\/p>\n
Ruiz had decided my safety mattered more than obedience.<\/p>\n
The lobby smelled of mildew.<\/p>\n
Water stains climbed the walls.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Evans?\u201d<\/p>\n
My voice echoed.<\/p>\n
Nothing.<\/p>\n
I moved farther inside.<\/p>\n
A light switched on at the end of the corridor.<\/p>\n
Price stood beneath it.<\/p>\n
David Ellison.<\/p>\n
Benjamin Price.<\/p>\n
Paul Mercer.<\/p>\n
All one man.<\/p>\n
Without the white coat and reassuring physician\u2019s expression, he seemed smaller than I remembered.<\/p>\n
Older too.<\/p>\n
But his eyes were unchanged.<\/p>\n
Patient.<\/p>\n
Evaluating.<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hearing my first name in his voice after understanding who he was made my skin crawl.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Dr. Evans?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClose.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShow me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger first.\u201d<\/p>\n
I held up the bag.<\/p>\n
He laughed softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve become less trusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou trained me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something changed in his smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He tilted his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still think this began with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen tell me where it began.\u201d<\/p>\n
Price leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRobert Harris stole from him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did your father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t what the ledger says.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ledger says what the person holding the pen wanted it to say.\u201d<\/p>\n
I kept my face still.<\/p>\n
He wanted confusion.<\/p>\n
After eighteen years, confusion was no longer enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why do you want it?\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile faded.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause courts like handwriting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSeveral dead men.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
Price said nothing.<\/p>\n
That was answer enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes changed.<\/p>\n
Small.<\/p>\n
But visible.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do know where Emma is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire hid her from you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do to Claire?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked bored.<\/p>\n
\u201cClaire made emotional decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe threatened to expose the hospital records.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe left.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
Price smiled.<\/p>\n
I wanted to cross the distance and claw the answer from him.<\/p>\n
Instead, I remembered Ruiz\u2019s instructions.<\/p>\n
Keep him talking.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Emma see you kill her?\u201d<\/p>\n
The smile disappeared.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
He stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou always were more observant than Michael believed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma has always been imaginative.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSafe if she remains sensible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same word Daniel used.<\/p>\n
Safe.<\/p>\n
Everyone who imprisoned someone else seemed to love it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you become my doctor?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou monitored me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI ensured nothing unexpected surfaced.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike my memory?\u201d<\/p>\n
His gaze sharpened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou remembered very little.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was drugged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause you were unstable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anger rose so fast I nearly lost control.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou treated me for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou looked me in the face while knowing I had two daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The casualness of it was monstrous.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you enjoy that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you enjoy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOrder.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
Price\u2019s voice remained calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour father created chaos. Harris created more. Daniel became vindictive. Margaret became sentimental. Claire became self-righteous. Michael became afraid. You became guilty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept things contained.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stole children.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept institutions from collapsing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I almost laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is what you call it?\u201d<\/p>\n
He gestured toward the bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me the ledger.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvans first.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stared at me for several seconds.<\/p>\n
Then he opened a side door.<\/p>\n
Dr. Evans sat inside exactly as in the photograph.<\/p>\n
Bound.<\/p>\n
Alive.<\/p>\n
There was dried blood near her hairline.<\/p>\n
Her eyes met mine.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan, don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Price closed the door again.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe talks too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
I tightened my grip on the bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hurt her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe resisted.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone seems to resist you eventually.\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cLedger.\u201d<\/p>\n
I opened the bag.<\/p>\n
He stepped forward.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cPut it on the floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack away.\u201d<\/p>\n
I moved three steps.<\/p>\n
He picked it up.<\/p>\n
Opened the cover.<\/p>\n
Turned one page.<\/p>\n
Then another.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a copy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I ran.<\/p>\n
Not toward the exit.<\/p>\n
Toward Dr. Evans.<\/p>\n
Price shouted.<\/p>\n
A gunshot cracked through the corridor.<\/p>\n
Plaster exploded from the wall beside me.<\/p>\n
I hit the floor.<\/p>\n
Another shot.<\/p>\n
Then glass shattered somewhere outside.<\/p>\n
Ruiz\u2019s team moved in.<\/p>\n
Price grabbed my coat and pulled me backward.<\/p>\n
The transmitter wire tore.<\/p>\n
His arm locked around my neck.<\/p>\n
The gun pressed against my jaw.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack off!\u201d<\/p>\n
Police shouted from both ends of the corridor.<\/p>\n
Ruiz appeared behind a doorway.<\/p>\n
\u201cBenjamin, let her go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Price laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWrong name.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of several.\u201d<\/p>\n
He dragged me toward a stairwell.<\/p>\n
I could smell his aftershave.<\/p>\n
The same faint citrus scent Dr. Ellison had worn during appointments.<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou stayed near me for fourteen years,\u201d I whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cStop talking.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were afraid I remembered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cStop.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened at the conference?\u201d<\/p>\n
His grip tightened.<\/p>\n
I knew then.<\/p>\n
Something had happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou drugged me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQuiet.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used Michael\u2019s genetic material.\u201d<\/p>\n
He froze.<\/p>\n
Not enough for police to act.<\/p>\n
Enough for me to understand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
Price\u2019s breath touched my ear.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ask too many questions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy pregnancy was engineered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why is Michael Lily\u2019s father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Price said nothing.<\/p>\n
I continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had access to reproductive clinics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou made me pregnant without telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n
His arm tightened painfully.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The denial came too fast.<\/p>\n
Then Dr. Evans shouted from behind the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan, the scar pattern!\u201d<\/p>\n
Price jerked toward the sound.<\/p>\n
Ruiz moved.<\/p>\n
One shot.<\/p>\n
Price screamed.<\/p>\n
The gun dropped.<\/p>\n
I fell forward.<\/p>\n
Officers tackled him.<\/p>\n
I crawled toward the wall, coughing.<\/p>\n
Ruiz kicked the weapon away.<\/p>\n
Price was alive.<\/p>\n
The bullet had struck his shoulder.<\/p>\n
As officers restrained him, he stared at me with pure hatred.<\/p>\n
For the first time, the calm physician disappeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think Michael is innocent?\u201d he shouted.<\/p>\n
I stopped.<\/p>\n
Ruiz told him to be quiet.<\/p>\n
He ignored her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think he never knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael entered behind police despite every instruction.<\/p>\n
Price laughed when he saw him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael stopped.<\/p>\n
Price\u2019s face twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk him about the clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Michael.<\/p>\n
He went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat clinic?\u201d<\/p>\n
Price smiled through the pain.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one in Vermont.\u201d<\/p>\n
The summer conference.<\/p>\n
The night I had become sick.<\/p>\n
I stared at my husband.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were there?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael did not answer.<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n
\u201cMichael.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stepped toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Price laughed harder.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz ordered officers to remove him.<\/p>\n
He shouted over his shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe signed the fertility consent too!\u201d<\/p>\n
Everything went silent inside me.<\/p>\n
Michael\u2019s face answered before his mouth did.<\/p>\n
I stepped away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot what they were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou signed?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told it was treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat treatment?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked sick.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor infertility.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t trying to have another child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why would you sign fertility paperwork?\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes filled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I was.\u201d<\/p>\n
The words landed more heavily than the gunshot.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted another child.\u201d<\/p>\n
I backed away.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore Jake left for college.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered conversations about the empty house.<\/p>\n
Michael asking whether I ever imagined starting again.<\/p>\n
I had laughed.<\/p>\n
I thought he meant traveling.<\/p>\n
He had never said baby.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou went to a clinic without me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I wanted to know if it was still possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Price?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe approached me through the conference program. He said there was an experimental treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Evans had been freed.<\/p>\n
She stood in the doorway rubbing her wrists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of treatment?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said they could preserve embryos in case Susan changed her mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
My breath stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmbryos?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI gave a sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room tilted.<\/p>\n
Michael looked at me desperately.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never authorized implantation. I swear to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Price\u2019s laughter echoed from the stairwell as police dragged him away.<\/p>\n
Dr. Evans looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSusan.\u201d<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Price had access to Michael\u2019s genetic material and to you while you were sedated\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
She did not finish.<\/p>\n
She did not need to.<\/p>\n
My daughters had not been conceived through Daniel.<\/p>\n
They had not been an accident.<\/p>\n
Someone had created embryos.<\/p>\n
Then implanted them into me without my knowledge.<\/p>\n
Months later, Daniel had been sent into my life, giving everyone a convenient false father and giving me a reason to blame myself.<\/p>\n
The entire architecture of my guilt had been built deliberately.<\/p>\n
But one question remained.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
Ruiz\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n
She listened.<\/p>\n
Then looked toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey found Lily.\u201d<\/p>\n
My knees weakened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlive?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relief hit me so hard I grabbed the wall.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCounty General.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel was shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy Price?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd Lily?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUnhurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
I started toward the exit.<\/p>\n
Ruiz stopped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s more.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey weren\u2019t alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heartbeat changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ruiz nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both my daughters were alive.<\/p>\n
For one second, nothing else mattered.<\/p>\n
Then Ruiz added, \u201cEmma says she knows why Price implanted the embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe says the answer is in the part of your father\u2019s trust nobody has read yet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Detective Ruiz wanted control of the exchange. Price wanted control of everything else. He sent instructions at 2:03 a.m. No police. No tracking devices. No copies. Bring the original blue … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-readmore"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3127"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3142,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3127\/revisions\/3142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readstoryus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}