Chapter 5 - Leo Mercer Knew My Father's Name, and He Had Been Keeping One Secret From MeI confronted him.
“You know my father.”
Leo didn't answer.
“Tell me.”
He looked away.
“My father knew yours.”
“How?”
“Business.”
“What kind?”
“Private security.”
“That isn't enough.”
“No.”
He sighed.
“Your father worked with mine.”
“Doing what?”
“Investigations.”
“Against whom?”
“People who threatened our companies.”
I stared.
“Michael said our families were connected.”
“They were.”
“How?”
“Your father helped my family.”
“How?”
“He saved my mother.”
I froze.
“When?”
“Twenty-eight years ago.”
“What happened?”
“A kidnapping.”
“Your mother?”
“Yes.”
“Your father stopped it.”
I swallowed.
“My father was a hero.”
Leo looked at me.
“He made mistakes too.”
“What kind?”
“He disappeared.”
I frowned.
“Like mine.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he discovered something.”
“What?”
“The Mercer foundation had been used to fund illegal medical research.”
My stomach turned.
“The same research involving Lily?”
“Yes.”
I felt sick.
“Your family was involved.”
“My father was involved.”
“And you?”
“Not willingly.”
I stared.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know whether you were part of it.”
“You thought I was?”
“Yes.”
I stepped away.
“That hurts.”
“I know.”
“Why did you help me?”
“Because I saw you with Lily.”
“And?”
“And I believed you.”
He took a breath.
“I still do.”
I looked at him.
“What does Michael want?”
“The research.”
“And me?”
“Your blood.”
“And Lily?”
“Her immune response.”
I understood.
They wanted to develop a treatment.
A treatment worth billions.
Using people without consent.
I was furious.
“What about my children?”
Michael had them.
Leo nodded.
“They may be leverage.”
I looked at him.
“I need them.”
“We'll get them.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“I'm not asking.”
I stared.
“You can't control this.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“But I can stand beside you.”
That stopped me.
Then a call came.
Michael.
“Bring Nora to the old Mercer laboratory.”
“What happens if I don't?”
“You'll never see your children again.”
I froze.
Leo heard.
He moved closer.
“I'll go.”
Michael laughed through the speaker.
“You don't have a choice.”
The line died.
We traveled to the old laboratory.
It was abandoned.
Or so we thought.
Inside, we found files.
My children.
Photos.
Medical records.
School papers.
Michael had monitored them.
He knew everything.
Then we found my father's journal.
I opened it.
Nora is compatible.
I stopped breathing.
Another page.
If the Mercer project is reactivated, she must never know.
I stared.
My father had known about the research.
He had hidden it from me.
Why?
The next entry answered.
My daughter was exposed as an infant.
I dropped the journal.
I had been part of the experiment.
My blood had been studied since birth.
Lily's compatibility wasn't an accident.
It came from me.
My father had been trying to protect me.
Michael had found the records.
He had used them.
I couldn't breathe.
Leo stood beside me.
“Nora.”
I looked at him.
“I was one of them.”
“No.”
“You don't know that.”
“I know you.”
“That's not enough.”
“It is to me.”
We heard footsteps.
Michael entered.
He looked older.
Tired.
But confident.
“You finally understand.”
I stared.
“What did you do to my children?”
“Nothing.”
“Where are they?”
“Safe.”
“Bring them.”
“After the transfer.”
“What transfer?”
“Your blood.”
Leo stepped forward.
“Not happening.”
Michael smiled.
“You're the same as your father.”
“What does that mean?”
“He sacrificed everyone to protect you.”
I looked at Leo.
“What does he mean?”
Michael raised his gun.
“Ask him.”
Leo's face went pale.
I realized something.
May you like
Michael hadn't brought us here to negotiate.
He had brought us here to expose a secret.
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