Chapter 13 - The Impossible Result
Ethan stared at Luka.
I stared at both of them.
“No.”
My voice barely existed.
Luka looked as shocked as I felt.
“That’s fabricated.”
Ethan scrolled.
The report was dated months before Emma’s conception.
That made even less sense.
“How could they have her DNA before she existed?”
Mara whispered.
“They didn’t.”
She enlarged the heading.
PREDICTED EMBRYO PROFILE.
My stomach twisted.
“This was planned.”
Elise entered behind us.
When she saw the report, she stopped.
“Oh God.”
Luka turned.
“You know what this is?”
Elise sat down.
“Meridian stored reproductive tissue from multiple carriers.”
My hands turned cold.
“What kind of tissue?”
“Eggs.”
“Sperm.”
“Embryos.”
I looked at Ethan.
Then Luka.
“No.”
Elise’s eyes filled with regret.
“Clara, do you remember the fertility procedure you had last year?”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked confused.
“What procedure?”
“My ovarian cyst surgery.”
Elise closed her eyes.
“That wasn’t only cyst surgery.”
I could barely speak.
“What did they do?”
“They harvested eggs.”
The room became completely silent.
I stood.
The chair fell behind me.
“They stole my eggs?”
“Yes.”
“Who authorized it?”
“Voss.”
Ethan looked horrified.
“How does Luka fit into this?”
Elise turned toward him.
“Meridian kept samples from everyone exposed to early trials.”
Luka’s face changed.
“My blood.”
“More than blood.”
His jaw clenched.
“No.”
“They stored reproductive material after your military medical screening.”
Luka swore.
I understood before anyone explained.
“Emma could have been created in a lab.”
Mara said slowly.
Elise nodded.
My knees buckled.
Ethan caught me.
I immediately pulled away.
“No.”
I pressed both hands against my face.
“I got pregnant naturally.”
Ethan stared at me.
“We were together.”
“Yes.”
“There was no IVF.”
“No.”
Elise looked at the report.
“That means the predicted embryo may not be Emma.”
Luka stepped closer.
“Then whose profile is it?”
Elise’s eyes widened.
“Another child.”
My blood froze.
Mara searched the server.
A second file appeared beneath Emma’s.
PROJECT EVE.
STATUS: VIABLE.
DATE OF CREATION: 2025.
Ethan whispered.
“What is Project Eve?”
Elise looked terrified.
“The embryo they created from Clara and Luka.”
I felt nauseated.
“Where is it?”
The file showed a transfer record.
GESTATIONAL SUBJECT: E-17.
STATUS: LIVE BIRTH.
LOCATION: REDACTED.
I stared at Luka.
Somewhere in the world, a child may have been created using stolen genetic material from both of us.
A child neither of us knew existed.
Then another line appeared.
SEX: FEMALE.
AGE: 4 MONTHS.
Luka’s face drained of color.
“There’s another baby.”
A message suddenly flashed across the screen.
LIVE VIDEO REQUEST.
Mara hesitated.
Then accepted.
Thomas Cole appeared.
Behind him stood a woman holding an infant.
My heart stopped.
The woman looked older.
Thin.
Silver streaks in her dark hair.
But I recognized her from photographs.
My mother.
Elena Carter.
Alive.
Thomas smiled.
“Now.”
May you like
He said.
“We can discuss an exchange.”
