The timer was still counting down. \u201cThe experiments. The medical records. Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n The room seemed to shrink around us.<\/p>\n \u201cYou said you thought Elena was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause that’s what your mother told me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother lied.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you believed her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was twenty-nine years old. I didn’t know what was happening. I was trying to protect you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou protected me by keeping my sister’s existence secret?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought she was dead!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou keep saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause it’s true.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen tell me what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n Julian looked at the timer.<\/p>\n 28:52.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t have much time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen talk while we drive.\u201d<\/p>\n We ran upstairs.<\/p>\n Patricia grabbed the files.<\/p>\n I grabbed the brass key.<\/p>\n Julian took the car keys.<\/p>\n Before we left, I stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n I ran upstairs to the girls’ room.<\/p>\n Their beds were empty.<\/p>\n Their blankets were still warm.<\/p>\n I touched Sophie’s pillow.<\/p>\n For one second, I imagined her lying there again, laughing about something stupid.<\/p>\n Ruby’s stuffed rabbit was on the floor.<\/p>\n I picked it up.<\/p>\n Then I saw something underneath it.<\/p>\n A tiny folded piece of paper.<\/p>\n My name was written on it.<\/p>\n Mom.<\/strong><\/p>\n I opened it.<\/p>\n There was only one sentence.<\/p>\n Don’t trust the man who looks like Dad.<\/strong><\/p>\n I froze.<\/p>\n Julian came into the doorway.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n I handed him the note.<\/p>\n He read it.<\/p>\n His face became pale.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n He shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJulian.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet’s go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n I stepped in front of him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re lying.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at me.<\/p>\n For a moment, neither of us spoke.<\/p>\n Then he said quietly,<\/p>\n \u201cSophie is smarter than we realize.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe may have seen something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething she wasn’t supposed to see.\u201d<\/p>\n I felt a chill.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore she was taken?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n Julian looked away.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Sophie was in the hospital, she once asked me why there were two men who looked like me.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was confusion from medication.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy didn’t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t want to frighten you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJulian.\u201d<\/p>\n He finally looked at me.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said one of them visited her room at night.\u201d<\/p>\n My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout two weeks before the kidnapping.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you didn’t tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was a hallucination.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid she describe him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did she say?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe said he had your eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n I stopped breathing.<\/p>\n \u201cMy eyes?\u201d<\/p>\n Julian nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cShe said he told her he was family.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked toward the stairs.<\/p>\n Then at the timer on my phone.<\/p>\n 27:48.<\/strong><\/p>\n We had less than half an hour.<\/p>\n I opened the front door.<\/p>\n Two police officers were waiting outside.<\/p>\n One stepped toward me.<\/p>\n \u201cMs. Hayes, we’re coming with you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe old Pierce house.\u201d<\/p>\n His expression changed.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy daughters are being held there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know who has them?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen you’re not going alone.\u201d<\/p>\n I nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n We got into two vehicles.<\/p>\n I drove with Julian.<\/p>\n Patricia sat in the passenger seat.<\/p>\n One police car followed.<\/p>\n The other went ahead.<\/p>\n The drive felt endless.<\/p>\n The city blurred around us.<\/p>\n I kept looking at the timer.<\/p>\n 24:16.<\/strong><\/p>\n 24:15.<\/strong><\/p>\n 24:14.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cJulian.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYeah?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell me everything.\u201d<\/p>\n He didn’t answer.<\/p>\n \u201cNow.\u201d<\/p>\n He stared through the windshield.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you were twenty, your mother brought you to the hospital after the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou don’t know the whole story.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou hadn’t been in a car accident.\u201d<\/p>\n I turned toward him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou were found unconscious near the old house.\u201d<\/p>\n My hands tightened around the steering wheel.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat old house?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Pierce house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy was I there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou do.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know what I was told.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTell me.\u201d<\/p>\n Julian swallowed.<\/p>\n \u201cYou had been there with your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe said you had discovered something.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe never told me.\u201d<\/p>\n I shook my head.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy were you there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe asked me to come.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe night before you disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at him.<\/p>\n \u201cYou were there?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI saw your mother arguing with Graham’s father.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout Elena?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t know who Elena was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat were they arguing about?\u201d<\/p>\n Julian’s voice dropped.<\/p>\n \u201cYour mother wanted to take you away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrom whom?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFrom Graham’s family.\u201d<\/p>\n I felt something cold move through me.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause they had found out you knew about the babies.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe babies?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot Sophie and Ruby.\u201d<\/p>\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cElena?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n Julian continued.<\/p>\n \u201cYour mother told me she had discovered a secret medical program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat program?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know the full name.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cJulian!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSomething called Project Hayes.\u201d<\/p>\n My grip tightened on the steering wheel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe found those words in the hidden room.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I saw them once.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at him.<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty years?\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou weren’t supposed to know any of this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cApparently neither was I.\u201d<\/p>\n Silence filled the car.<\/p>\n Then Patricia spoke from the passenger seat.<\/p>\n \u201cThere.\u201d<\/p>\n She pointed ahead.<\/p>\n The old house appeared at the end of the road.<\/p>\n My chest tightened.<\/p>\n I hadn’t seen it in eleven years.<\/p>\n The white paint had faded.<\/p>\n The windows were dark.<\/p>\n The garden had become overgrown.<\/p>\n The house looked abandoned.<\/p>\n But I knew better.<\/p>\n Someone was inside.<\/p>\n We stopped.<\/p>\n The police officers got out first.<\/p>\n I opened my door.<\/p>\n Julian grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n \u201cWait.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf that man is inside\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo. You don’t.\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at me.<\/p>\n \u201cHe isn’t just dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is he?\u201d<\/p>\n Julian’s face was pale.<\/p>\n \u201cHe’s obsessed with you.\u201d<\/p>\n I pulled my arm away.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t care.\u201d<\/p>\n I stepped toward the house.<\/p>\n \u201cI care about my daughters.\u201d<\/p>\n The front door was unlocked.<\/p>\n We entered.<\/p>\n The smell hit me first.<\/p>\n Dust.<\/p>\n Old wood.<\/p>\n Something metallic.<\/p>\n And beneath it all, a faint hospital smell.<\/p>\n Antiseptic.<\/p>\n My stomach turned.<\/p>\n \u201cStay behind us,\u201d one officer said.<\/p>\n We moved through the hallway.<\/p>\n Everything looked smaller than I remembered.<\/p>\n The staircase.<\/p>\n The dining room.<\/p>\n The kitchen.<\/p>\n Then I saw the blue door.<\/p>\n At the end of the hallway.<\/p>\n My heart began pounding.<\/p>\n It was exactly as I remembered it.<\/p>\n Except now I knew I had seen it before.<\/p>\n I walked toward it.<\/p>\n The brass key was still in my hand.<\/p>\n But the door was already open.<\/p>\n Inside was a child’s bedroom.<\/p>\n A crib.<\/p>\n Old toys.<\/p>\n A faded mobile.<\/p>\n And photographs.<\/p>\n Hundreds of them.<\/p>\n I picked one up.<\/p>\n It showed my mother holding a newborn baby.<\/p>\n Elena.<\/p>\n Another showed Graham’s father standing beside a medical bed.<\/p>\n Another showed me.<\/p>\n I was nineteen.<\/p>\n Unconscious.<\/p>\n Connected to machines.<\/p>\n I dropped it.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Patricia picked it up.<\/p>\n \u201cOh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at the photograph.<\/p>\n \u201cYou weren’t twenty when this happened.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at her.<\/p>\n \u201cHow old was I?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNineteen.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn’t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n She pointed at the date.<\/p>\n December 2008.<\/strong><\/p>\n I stared at it.<\/p>\n My entire understanding of my childhood collapsed.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought my accident happened in September.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt didn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happened in September?\u201d<\/p>\n Patricia flipped through the files.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen why do I remember it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause someone may have changed your memories.\u201d<\/p>\n The room became silent.<\/p>\n Then we heard something upstairs.<\/p>\n A child’s voice.<\/p>\n \u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n I ran.<\/p>\n \u201cSophie!\u201d<\/p>\n I sprinted up the stairs.<\/p>\n The officers followed.<\/p>\n We reached the second floor.<\/p>\n A door slammed.<\/p>\n I opened it.<\/p>\n Empty.<\/p>\n Another door.<\/p>\n Empty.<\/p>\n Then I heard crying.<\/p>\n Ruby.<\/p>\n I followed the sound.<\/p>\n It came from the attic.<\/p>\n We rushed up.<\/p>\n The attic door was locked.<\/p>\n I tried the key.<\/p>\n It didn’t fit.<\/p>\n One officer kicked the door.<\/p>\n It burst open.<\/p>\n Inside were dozens of boxes.<\/p>\n But no children.<\/p>\n Then a television turned on.<\/p>\n The screen showed Sophie and Ruby.<\/p>\n They were sitting in a room.<\/p>\n Sophie was holding Ruby’s hand.<\/p>\n A clock behind them showed:<\/p>\n 18:07<\/strong><\/p>\n I looked at my phone.<\/p>\n 18:07.<\/strong><\/p>\n The video was live.<\/p>\n Then the man appeared behind them.<\/p>\n The man who looked like Julian.<\/p>\n He smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cYou found the house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are my daughters?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSafe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet them go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot yet.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you haven’t found Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re standing in her room.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked around.<\/p>\n The attic.<\/p>\n The boxes.<\/p>\n The old furniture.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn’t her room.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re still thinking of rooms as places.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt means Elena is closer than you think.\u201d<\/p>\n The screen went black.<\/p>\n Then a second camera appeared.<\/p>\n It showed a hospital corridor.<\/p>\n I recognized it immediately.<\/p>\n Seattle Children’s Hospital.<\/p>\n My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n The camera moved.<\/p>\n Past the oncology unit.<\/p>\n Past the nurses’ station.<\/p>\n Then stopped at a door.<\/p>\n A patient room.<\/p>\n The name on the door was:<\/p>\n ELENA HAYES.<\/strong><\/p>\n I couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n \u201cShe’s in the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n Patricia stared at the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n The video changed.<\/p>\n A medical chart appeared.<\/p>\n PATIENT: ELENA HAYES<\/strong><\/p>\n AGE: 29<\/strong><\/p>\n ADMISSION: UNKNOWN<\/strong><\/p>\n NEXT OF KIN: REBECCA HAYES<\/strong><\/p>\n I stared at the name.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n Then the screen changed again.<\/p>\n A DNA report appeared.<\/p>\n BIOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP: 99.99%<\/strong><\/p>\n Underneath:<\/p>\n ELENA HAYES \u2014 ISABELLE HAYES<\/strong><\/p>\n I felt dizzy.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n Julian looked at the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n I turned toward him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat isn’t possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou knew she existed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut you didn’t know she was alive.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen how do you know this is impossible?\u201d<\/p>\n He stared at the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Elena wasn’t twenty-nine.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n Patricia looked between us.<\/p>\n \u201cThen whose medical record is this?\u201d<\/p>\n Nobody answered.<\/p>\n The screen went black.<\/p>\n A message appeared.<\/p>\n YOU HAVE 10 MINUTES.<\/strong><\/p>\n Then:<\/p>\n COME TO ROOM 417.<\/strong><\/p>\n I looked at Patricia.<\/p>\n \u201cRoom 417?\u201d<\/p>\n She nodded slowly.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s the room next to where Sophie was treated.\u201d<\/p>\n I suddenly remembered something.<\/p>\n Sophie had been in Room 412.<\/p>\n Room 417 had been empty.<\/p>\n Or so I thought.<\/p>\n We rushed out of the attic.<\/p>\n Back into the hallway.<\/p>\n Down the stairs.<\/p>\n Outside.<\/p>\n The police vehicles followed us toward the hospital.<\/p>\n I called Dr. Whitman.<\/p>\n She answered immediately.<\/p>\n \u201cIsabelle?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Whitman, do you have a patient named Elena Hayes?\u201d<\/p>\n Silence.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere did you hear that name?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnswer me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIsabelle, you need to come to the hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe’s there.\u201d<\/p>\n Another pause.<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwo weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTwo weeks?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy didn’t you tell me?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe requested privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe’s my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n The doctor became silent.<\/p>\n Then she said,<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s what she claims.\u201d<\/p>\n My blood went cold.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe says she knows you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDoes she?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Whitman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCome here.\u201d<\/p>\n The line ended.<\/p>\n We reached the hospital in minutes.<\/p>\n I ran through the entrance.<\/p>\n Nurses turned as I passed.<\/p>\n I reached Room 417.<\/p>\n The door was closed.<\/p>\n I opened it.<\/p>\n There was a woman sitting beside the window.<\/p>\n Her back was toward me.<\/p>\n She slowly turned.<\/p>\n I stopped.<\/p>\n She looked like my mother.<\/p>\n But younger.<\/p>\n Much younger.<\/p>\n Her eyes were the same.<\/p>\n Her face was the same.<\/p>\n Even the tiny scar above her eyebrow.<\/p>\n I whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cRebecca?\u201d<\/p>\n She smiled.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n Her voice trembled.<\/p>\n \u201cMy name is Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn’t move.<\/p>\n She stood.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve been waiting for you.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at her.<\/p>\n \u201cHow old are you?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cTwenty-nine.\u201d<\/p>\n My heart pounded.<\/p>\n \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n She didn’t answer.<\/p>\n \u201cWho are you?\u201d<\/p>\n She stepped closer.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m the daughter your mother gave away.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo Graham’s family.\u201d<\/p>\n My stomach turned.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Elena nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cThey raised me.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at her.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n She reached into a drawer.<\/p>\n She pulled out a photograph.<\/p>\n It showed three newborn babies.<\/p>\n Sophie.<\/p>\n Ruby.<\/p>\n And Elena.<\/p>\n But this photograph was different.<\/p>\n There was another person standing behind the babies.<\/p>\n Graham.<\/p>\n And he wasn’t smiling.<\/p>\n He was holding a document.<\/p>\n Elena pointed to it.<\/p>\n \u201cDo you know what that is?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYour consent form.\u201d<\/p>\n My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n \u201cMy consent?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor the experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat experiment?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at me.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one that changed all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn’t breathe.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did they do?\u201d<\/p>\n Elena’s eyes filled with tears.<\/p>\n \u201cThey didn’t just switch your birth control.\u201d<\/p>\n She whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cThey changed the embryos.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at her.<\/p>\n \u201cThey created us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey took eggs from your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n \u201cThey used your mother’s genetic material.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut how?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe was part of a fertility experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n I shook my head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe wasn’t supposed to tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause you were part of it too.\u201d<\/p>\n The room spun.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n Elena reached for my hand.<\/p>\n I almost pulled away.<\/p>\n She whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cYou weren’t their first daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cYou were their first experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n The door behind me suddenly slammed shut.<\/p>\n I turned.<\/p>\n The lock clicked.<\/p>\n Elena stepped backward.<\/p>\n A speaker crackled overhead.<\/p>\n The man’s voice returned.<\/p>\n \u201cCongratulations, Isabelle.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at the ceiling.<\/p>\n \u201cYou finally found her.\u201d<\/p>\n Then another voice came through.<\/p>\n A voice I hadn’t heard in years.<\/p>\n Graham.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we can begin.\u201d<\/p>\n My blood ran cold.<\/p>\n \u201cGraham?\u201d<\/p>\n Elena covered her mouth.<\/p>\n The speaker continued.<\/p>\n \u201cYou thought I wanted custody because I hated you.\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted custody because I needed to control the evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n Graham laughed softly.<\/p>\n \u201cThe girls.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at Elena.<\/p>\n He continued.<\/p>\n \u201cSophie.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cRuby.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n I stepped toward the speaker.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are my daughters?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou already know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re in the blue room.\u201d<\/p>\n My stomach dropped.<\/p>\n \u201cWhich blue room?\u201d<\/p>\n Graham laughed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe one you forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n The lights went out.<\/p>\n Elena screamed.<\/p>\n I grabbed her hand.<\/p>\n \u201cStay with me.\u201d<\/p>\n The emergency lights came on.<\/p>\n Red.<\/p>\n Flashing.<\/p>\n Then the hospital doors unlocked.<\/p>\n Someone ran down the corridor.<\/p>\n A nurse screamed.<\/p>\n \u201cSecurity!\u201d<\/p>\n I heard footsteps.<\/p>\n Fast.<\/p>\n Coming toward us.<\/p>\n Then the door opened.<\/p>\n Julian appeared.<\/p>\n \u201cIsabelle!\u201d<\/p>\n I ran to him.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are Sophie and Ruby?\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at Elena.<\/p>\n Then at me.<\/p>\n His face changed.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s not Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n I froze.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Julian pointed at the woman beside me.<\/p>\n \u201cThat isn’t your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n Elena stepped backward.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n Julian stared at her.<\/p>\n \u201cI know her.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou said you didn’t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t know her like this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at me.<\/p>\n \u201cHer name isn’t Elena.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman began crying.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Julian shook his head.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n He whispered another name.<\/p>\n A name that made the woman collapse against the wall.<\/p>\n \u201cRebecca.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked at her.<\/p>\n She looked at me.<\/p>\n Then she whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cI’m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n The room went silent.<\/p>\n Julian closed the door.<\/p>\n \u201cIsabelle, listen to me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe woman your mother told you about\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He looked at the stranger.<\/p>\n \u201cShe isn’t your sister.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen who is she?\u201d<\/p>\n Julian swallowed.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n My mind went blank.<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n He nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYour mother isn’t dead.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman looked at me with tears running down her face.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t know how to come back.\u201d<\/p>\n I stepped toward her.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’ve been pretending to be dead?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause Graham was going to kill me.\u201d<\/p>\n I couldn’t speak.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are my daughters?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at Julian.<\/p>\n Then at me.<\/p>\n And whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cGraham has them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don’t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn’t want to hurt them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen what does he want?\u201d<\/p>\n She closed her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cHe wants to use them to finish what he started with you.\u201d<\/p>\n My heart stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did he start?\u201d<\/p>\n She opened her eyes.<\/p>\n \u201cThe experiment.\u201d<\/p>\n A siren sounded in the hallway.<\/p>\n Then every light in the hospital flickered.<\/p>\n The speaker came alive one more time.<\/p>\n Graham’s voice filled the room.<\/p>\n \u201cIsabelle.\u201d<\/p>\n I looked up.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTo decide which daughter lives.\u201d<\/p>\n The line went dead.<\/p>\n I screamed.<\/p>\n \u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n Elena grabbed my arm.<\/p>\n \u201cDon’t listen to him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat did he mean?\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t know.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen who does?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked at my mother.<\/p>\n My mother looked at me.<\/p>\n And finally she said the words I had been waiting my entire life to hear.<\/p>\n \u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n I stared at her.<\/p>\n \u201cThen tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n She began crying.<\/p>\n \u201cThe girls aren’t his real target.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen who is?\u201d<\/p>\n She looked directly at me.<\/p>\n \u201cYou.\u201d<\/p>\n The hospital lights flickered again.<\/p>\n Somewhere in the building, an alarm began screaming.<\/p>\n And then my phone received one final photograph.<\/p>\n Sophie and Ruby were sitting in the same room.<\/p>\n But this time there was someone sitting between them.<\/p>\n A little girl.<\/p>\n Maybe four years old.<\/p>\n She had Sophie’s eyes.<\/p>\n Ruby’s smile.<\/p>\n And my face.<\/p>\n Underneath the photograph were three words:<\/p>\n THE FOURTH DAUGHTER.<\/strong><\/p>\n I stared at the image.<\/p>\n My mother whispered,<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n I turned toward her.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n She covered her face.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I thought she died.\u201d<\/p>\n The photograph disappeared from my screen.<\/p>\n A countdown appeared.<\/p>\n 04:59<\/strong><\/p>\n 04:58<\/strong><\/p>\n 04:57<\/strong><\/p>\n And I finally understood.<\/p>\n The secret wasn’t that there had been three babies.<\/p>\n There had been four.<\/p>\n And one of them was still alive.<\/p>\n Somewhere.<\/p>\n With my daughters.<\/p>\n And Graham had just given me five minutes to find her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" PART 5 The timer was still counting down. 29:41. 29:40. 29:39. I stood in the basement staring at the screen, unable to move. Sophie and Ruby were alive. That was … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4139,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4681"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4682,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions\/4682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nexttaleus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n29:41.
\n<\/strong>29:40.
\n<\/strong>29:39.
\n<\/strong>I stood in the basement staring at the screen, unable to move.
\nSophie and Ruby were alive.
\nThat was the only thing that mattered.
\nFor the moment.
\n\u201cWhere is the address?\u201d Julian asked.
\nI showed him my phone.
\nHis face changed when he saw it.
\n\u201cYou know this place?\u201d
\nHe nodded.
\n\u201cIt’s the old house.\u201d
\n\u201cI know.\u201d
\n\u201cNo, Isabelle. You don’t understand.\u201d
\n\u201cThen explain.\u201d
\nHe looked at Patricia.
\nThen at me.
\n\u201cThat house wasn’t just where you lived with Graham.\u201d
\nMy stomach tightened.
\n\u201cWhat was it?\u201d
\nJulian took a breath.
\n\u201cIt was where everything started.\u201d
\nI stared at him.
\n\u201cEverything?\u201d<\/p>\n