Chapter 4 - My Mother Had Known Elena, and the Family Secret Went Back to a Hospital File Dated Before I Was BornAdrian's father had kept records.
My mother had been one of the names inside them.
Sarah Bell.
A nurse.
But not an ordinary nurse.
She had worked in the same hospital as Margaret.
She had helped Elena escape surveillance.
She had discovered that Meridian Medical was using stolen medical data from children.
Then she disappeared.
I had been six years old.
My father told me she died.
Another lie.
My entire childhood was beginning to look like a carefully constructed story.
Adrian found my mother's old employment records.
They showed that she worked directly under Elena.
For three years.
That meant our families had been connected before I knew Adrian existed.
Then we found the hospital file.
Project Grace.
The title made my stomach turn.
Inside was a list of genetic samples.
Lucas.
Grace.
And me.
I stared.
“My blood?”
Adrian looked at the document.
“You were tested.”
“I never gave anyone blood.”
“You were hospitalized when you were seventeen.”
I remembered.
A minor surgery.
Routine bloodwork.
My mother had been alive then.
Someone had taken samples.
The report showed a match.
My genetic markers were compatible with Grace's mutation.
That was why someone had poisoned me.
They needed to determine if I carried the same genetic response.
If I did, I could be part of the treatment.
Or the key to creating it.
Suddenly, I understood why they were so interested in me.
I wasn't merely Adrian's wife.
I was genetically valuable.
But there was another line.
Potential carrier for hereditary marker.
I looked at Adrian.
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Margaret did.
“It means Hannah may be the missing link.”
“The missing link to what?”
“The cure.”
The room became silent.
Meridian had spent years studying Grace because her genetic mutation could help create a treatment for a rare pediatric disease.
They had taken her because they wanted an unwilling research subject.
But if Hannah carried the same marker, they could use her as a donor.
That meant I wasn't being targeted to be killed.
I was being targeted to be captured.
But the poison complicated things.
Someone wanted to see how my body reacted.
And then eliminate me before I could expose them.
I asked:
“Who is running Meridian now?”
Adrian answered:
“My uncle.”
“Your father's brother?”
“Yes.”
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
His name was Richard Mercer.
He had been missing for years.
Apparently, he had been building Meridian in secret.
Then an alarm sounded.
Guards rushed into the room.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found another contaminated bottle.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“Where?”
“My wife's bedroom.”
I froze.
Someone had planted another bottle.
This time, beside my bed.
Attached to it was a note.
ONE MOTHER ALREADY LOST HER CHILD. DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE.
I looked at the message.
Then at Lucas.
And something inside me broke.
May you like
I wasn't going to wait for another attack.
We were going to find Grace.
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