Chapter 5 - The Room Next to Leo’s Nursery Had Been Locked for Months—Inside Was a Crib With My Son’s Name Written on ItThe room was empty.
Dust covered everything.
Except one crib.
A tiny crib.
The same size as Leo's.
A hospital bracelet lay on the mattress.
BABY DAWSON.
My knees gave out.
Lorenzo caught me.
"He was here."
I touched the bracelet.
"I knew it."
A photograph sat beside it.
My baby.
Alive.
Sleeping.
I pressed the image to my chest.
"I held him."
"You will again."
Lorenzo's voice was steady.
But his hands were shaking.
The security team searched every room.
We found hidden cameras.
Records.
Feeding charts.
Medical notes.
My milk had been tested.
Leo's reactions recorded.
My son had been used as a donor subject.
But where was he now?
A note answered.
Transferred to primary facility after maternal exposure.
"Maternal exposure?"
Dr. Marquez read it.
"Your body began producing antibodies."
"Against what?"
"The treatment."
The project had gone wrong.
My immune system was interfering with the drug.
They wanted to see if my milk could stabilize Leo.
But they also wanted to study my blood.
My baby was the bridge.
I looked at Lorenzo.
"Your son is being treated with something derived from me."
"Yes."
"And my son?"
"We don't know."
A security officer entered.
"Boss."
"What?"
"We found a vehicle registered to Marco Rossi."
"Where?"
"Outside a private clinic in Jersey."
We went.
The clinic was guarded.
Too heavily for a children's facility.
Lorenzo's men entered.
Gunfire.
Shouting.
I stayed behind.
Then a nurse came running.
"Hunter?"
I turned.
"Where is my baby?"
She cried.
"Room six."
I ran.
My son was there.
Alive.
Tiny.
Attached to a monitor.
I lifted him.
He was weak but breathing.
His eyes opened.
I pressed my face against his.
"My baby."
He made a tiny sound.
I cried.
Lorenzo stood in the doorway.
For the first time, he looked genuinely happy.
"You found him."
I nodded.
He looked at both babies.
His son.
My son.
And something changed.
They had both been victims.
Not competitors.
Not experiments.
Children.
May you like
He whispered:
"No one takes another child from me."
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