Chapter 12 - The Price of a Stolen Son
# Chapter 12 - The Price of a Stolen Son
Alexander Sterling watched the video for the seventh time before he finally understood what frightened him most.
It wasn't Daniel Mercer's threat.
It wasn't the laboratory report identifying him as the likely biological father of Noah and Elias.
It was the little boy sitting beside Mercer.
The child had smiled when Mercer touched his shoulder. He had looked up at the man with complete trust and called him Daddy.
Three years.
For three years, Alexander had mourned a woman who was still alive.
For three years, Mia had raised Noah believing her other child had not survived.
And for three years, another man had been teaching Alexander's son to love him.
Alexander lowered the phone.
Outside his office windows, the city was awakening. Sunlight crept between glass towers, illuminating streets crowded with people who knew nothing of the nightmare unfolding inside the Sterling family.
His phone vibrated.
Another message from Mercer.
YOU HAVE SIX HOURS.
Then a second.
DON'T TELL THE POLICE. DON'T BRING JULIAN. AND MAKE SURE MIA UNDERSTANDS THAT ELIAS IS WATCHING.
Alexander stared at the screen.
Mercer wanted Mia frightened.
He wanted Alexander isolated.
Most importantly, he wanted them to believe that obeying him was the only way to protect Elias.
Alexander had made that mistake before.
Three years earlier, he'd trusted Eleanor when she told him to stay outside Room 417.
He had accepted a forged letter.
He had believed a false death notification.
And every time he had surrendered his judgment to someone claiming to protect the family, another person had suffered.
He picked up his phone and called Julian.
"Where are you?"
"At the lakeside house. Mia found something disturbing."
"I know."
Julian paused.
"You know about the twins?"
"Mercer sent me a video."
Silence.
Then Julian asked quietly, "Is the other boy alive?"
Alexander closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"With Mercer."
Julian swore under his breath.
Alexander continued.
"His name is Elias."
A long pause followed.
"And Mercer has been raising him?"
"Apparently."
"Alexander, we have to contact the authorities."
"We will."
"What does Mercer want?"
Alexander looked at the final message.
"Room 417."
Julian went silent.
Alexander continued.
"He wants Mia and me there."
"Then it's a trap."
"Almost certainly."
"Don't go alone."
Alexander's expression hardened.
"I don't intend to."
At the lakeside house, Mia stood before the bedroom mirror, staring at a photograph of two newborn boys.
Her hands trembled.
She had spent the previous hour examining every picture from Noah's birth.
Now that she knew what to look for, the evidence seemed impossible to miss.
Two bassinets.
Two hospital identification numbers.
Two tiny blankets.
In one photograph, Mrs. Bennett held a newborn against her chest.
In another, taken only minutes later, a second infant slept beside Mia's hospital bed.
She had assumed the pictures showed Noah at different moments.
But there were differences.
One baby had a faint reddish mark above his eyebrow.
The other did not.
Mia pressed her hand against her mouth.
"Two," she whispered.
She had carried two babies.
Given birth to two sons.
And someone had taken one away.
A quiet knock sounded.
Mrs. Bennett entered.
"Mia?"
Mia didn't turn.
"How old was Elias when he was taken?"
The older woman froze.
"Alexander told you?"
"Answer me."
Mrs. Bennett lowered her gaze.
"Less than a day."
Mia shut her eyes.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe.
Less than twenty-four hours.
She had never heard his first laugh.
Never watched him take his first steps.
Never held him through a fever.
Never seen him blow out birthday candles.
Someone had stolen an entire childhood from her.
"Did I hold him?"
Mrs. Bennett began crying.
"Yes."
Mia turned slowly.
"What?"
"You held both boys after the delivery."
A painful fragment surfaced.
Warm blankets.
Two small faces.
A nurse smiling.
Mia had always remembered holding Noah.
But now she recalled another sensation.
A baby's hand curling around her finger while another newborn cried nearby.
Her knees weakened.
Mrs. Bennett reached for her.
Mia stepped away.
"Don't."
"Mia—"
"Who decided which child I got to keep?"
Mrs. Bennett's expression crumpled.
"I didn't know what they were doing until afterward."
"Who?"
The older woman hesitated.
Mia's voice sharpened.
"Was it Eleanor?"
Mrs. Bennett shook her head.
"She authorized the transfer, but Daniel Mercer arranged it."
Mia stared at her.
"And you let him?"
"I was told Elias required specialized treatment."
"What treatment?"
"They said there was a problem with his breathing after birth."
Mia's expression hardened.
"Was there?"
Mrs. Bennett began trembling.
"I never saw evidence of a serious problem."
Mia looked back at the photograph.
For the first time, she understood the full horror.
Elias had not been taken because his mother couldn't care for him.
He had been taken because someone wanted him.
And Mercer had spent three years calling that theft fatherhood.
At 9:15 a.m., Alexander arrived at the lakeside house.
Mia was waiting in the living room.
The moment he entered, she stood.
"Where is he?"
Alexander stopped.
"Mia."
"Where is my son?"
His expression softened.
"Mercer has him."
"Is he hurt?"
"He looked physically unharmed in the video."
"Did he seem frightened?"
Alexander hesitated.
The question was harder than he expected.
"No," he answered quietly. "He seemed comfortable with Mercer."
Mia closed her eyes.
The answer hurt.
Not because she wanted Elias to be frightened.
Because he had learned to feel safe with the man who stole him.
"Show me."
Alexander slowly handed her his phone.
Mia pressed play.
The video began.
A small boy sat on a bed, holding a stuffed toy.
Brown hair.
Hazel-green eyes.
A faint cleft in his chin.
Noah's face.
Her face.
Alexander's face.
Mia made a small, broken sound.
"That's him."
Alexander stood silently beside her.
She touched the screen.
"Elias."
When the little boy looked toward the camera and called Mercer Daddy, Mia began crying.
Alexander reached toward her.
Then stopped.
He remembered how she had recoiled from his touch.
He had no right to assume she'd welcome his comfort.
But Mia surprised him.
She stepped forward and gripped his jacket.
"Bring him home."
Alexander felt his throat tighten.
"I will."
She looked up.
"Promise me."
He held her gaze.
"I promise I'll do everything I can to bring him back safely."
For the first time in three years, Mia allowed herself to lean against him.
Only for a moment.
Only because grief had exhausted her.
But Alexander wrapped his arms around her carefully, as though he were holding something fragile that he had already broken once.
Neither spoke.
They both knew that rescuing Elias would not erase their past.
But it might give them a future.
Julian entered the living room carrying a laptop and several printed documents.
"I've found something about Room 417."
Alexander released Mia.
"What?"
Julian placed the documents on the table.
"The hospital in Kauai renovated its fourth floor two years ago. Room 417 no longer exists under that number."
Mia frowned.
"Then where does Mercer want us to go?"
Julian opened a floor plan.
"There's another Room 417."
Alexander leaned forward.
"Where?"
"At an abandoned Sterling-funded medical research facility outside the city."
Mia felt cold.
"A research facility?"
Julian nodded.
"It operated under a private foundation for almost twenty years. The official purpose was hereditary disease research."
Alexander studied the documents.
"Who funded it?"
Julian hesitated.
"The Gabriel Children's Trust."
Silence fell.
The same trust that had transferred money through the family's secret financial network.
The same trust connected to altered identities, confidential hospital records, and the missing Sterling heir.
Mia looked toward Alexander.
"Mercer wants us there."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Julian opened another document.
"Because the facility's archives contain the original genetic profiles of the Sterling family."
Alexander's expression changed.
Julian continued.
"Not just Alexander, Adrian, and Gabriel."
He looked toward Mia.
"They also contain records for children born under the foundation's supervision."
Mia felt a chill.
"Noah and Elias."
Julian nodded.
"Possibly."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"Mercer wants us to see something."
Julian looked at him.
"Or he wants to destroy something while we're there."
At Sterling Holdings, Eleanor sat alone in her office.
She had received a copy of Mercer's message.
She knew exactly where Room 417 was.
And she knew why Daniel had chosen it.
Thirty years earlier, she had entered that facility carrying a newborn child.
The doctors had told her the baby might not survive.
Richard Sterling had stood beside her, listening as the medical director explained that a rare inherited condition could affect one of the boys.
Eleanor remembered asking whether the child would live.
The doctor had said he couldn't guarantee it.
Richard had asked a different question.
Would the condition make him unsuitable to inherit?
Eleanor had never forgiven her husband for asking that.
But she had eventually become complicit in something worse.
Because when the laboratory results contradicted Richard's assumptions, he ordered the records changed.
And Eleanor had signed the authorization.
She opened a locked drawer.
Inside lay an old photograph of three newborn boys.
She turned it over.
The names had been written in her own handwriting.
Alexander.
Adrian.
Gabriel.
But beneath Gabriel's name, another word had been added years later.
REASSIGNED.
Eleanor stared at it.
Then her phone rang.
Daniel Mercer.
She answered.
"Daniel."
"Mother."
Her expression tightened.
"You have Elias."
"He's safe."
"You have no right to keep him from Mia."
Mercer laughed softly.
"That's an interesting accusation coming from you."
"Daniel, listen to me."
"No. You listen."
His voice turned cold.
"Alexander is coming. Mia is coming. And when they arrive, you will finally tell them what you did."
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Please don't involve the children."
"You involved me when I was a child."
"That was different."
"Of course it was."
A bitter pause followed.
"You always had an explanation for what happened to your sons."
Eleanor whispered:
"I loved you."
Mercer said nothing.
Then he answered quietly.
"You loved the version of me that kept your secrets."
The call ended.
Eleanor remained motionless.
For the first time in decades, she wondered whether the truth would have been less destructive than all the lies she'd told to conceal it.
At the abandoned office building, Adrian had finally freed one hand.
Blood ran down his wrist where the restraints had cut into his skin.
He worked carefully, using the sharp edge of a broken metal clip to loosen the remaining binding.
The door outside remained closed.
He had heard footsteps earlier.
Two guards.
Mercer's men.
Adrian knew he couldn't fight both of them.
But he no longer intended to remain a prisoner.
He slipped the final restraint from his wrist and stood.
His legs ached.
He crossed the room and examined the steel cabinet Mercer had opened earlier.
It was locked.
Adrian searched the desk.
A drawer contained nothing useful.
Then he noticed a small black case beneath the chair.
Inside were several USB drives and a paper folder.
The folder was labeled:
STERLING PATERNITY PROJECT — ORIGINAL RESULTS.
Adrian opened it.
He read the first page.
Then the second.
His expression changed.
"No..."
He turned to the final report.
The document contained a note explaining that the genetic samples previously attributed to Daniel Mercer had been incorrectly labeled during a controlled identity verification procedure.
A handwritten annotation appeared beneath it.
PATERNITY ASSERTION UNSUPPORTED — SAMPLE CHAIN OF CUSTODY COMPROMISED.
Adrian stared at the words.
Mercer's claim that he was the twins' father had been based on a manipulated report.
Adrian continued reading.
The original analysis identified Alexander Sterling as the strongest paternal match among the tested individuals, although independent confirmation remained necessary.
Adrian laughed bitterly.
For three years, Mercer had manipulated everyone using selectively altered evidence.
Then he had shown Adrian another falsified report.
And Adrian had believed him.
But the next page disturbed him even more.
It contained two infant identification records.
Noah Bennett.
Elias Mercer.
Both were linked to the same delivery.
Both shared the same recorded mother.
Mia Bennett.
Yet the legal transfer documents for Elias listed a different maternal identity.
REGISTERED MOTHER: ELEANOR STERLING.
Adrian stared at the page.
Eleanor had claimed legal motherhood over a child born to Mia.
He understood immediately why Mercer had kept Elias.
The child's identity had been inserted into the same network of fraudulent records that had concealed the Sterling brothers for decades.
If the records were exposed, the entire trust arrangement could collapse.
And Mercer might lose everything he believed was his.
Adrian folded the documents.
Then he heard footsteps.
He slipped the papers into his jacket.
The door opened.
A guard entered.
Adrian struck him with the broken chair leg he'd concealed behind his back.
The man collapsed against the wall.
Adrian seized his access card and ran.
For the first time in years, he wasn't thinking about taking something from Alexander.
He was thinking about stopping Mercer.
By afternoon, Alexander, Mia, and Julian had prepared a plan.
They would not enter the facility blindly.
Julian had contacted an independent attorney and provided copies of the threatening messages, disputed medical records, and hospital footage.
Alexander had notified law enforcement about Mercer's apparent abduction of Elias and the threats against the child.
An officer familiar with the investigation had warned them not to enter the building without police assistance.
Alexander agreed.
Mia was less patient.
"Every minute we wait, Elias is still with him."
Alexander took her hand.
"I know."
"Then why aren't we moving?"
"Because Mercer wants us frightened enough to make a mistake."
Mia looked away.
He was right.
And she hated that he was right.
Julian approached.
"The police are coordinating a response. They're verifying the facility's access points."
Mia nodded reluctantly.
Alexander looked toward the hallway.
"Where's Noah?"
"With Mrs. Bennett."
"Good."
He turned toward Julian.
"Make sure neither of them leaves this property without protection."
Julian nodded.
"Already arranged."
Alexander studied him.
For eight years, Julian had been his most trusted assistant.
Now they were investigating whether Julian had been placed in that role deliberately.
The thought should have made their relationship impossible.
Instead, Alexander found himself remembering all the times Julian had chosen to protect him even when doing so offered no obvious benefit.
Perhaps their friendship had begun as a manipulation.
But that didn't mean it had remained one.
"Julian."
He looked up.
"Yes?"
Alexander hesitated.
Then said quietly:
"Whatever the records say about your birth, you're still my brother."
Julian stared at him.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
Then he nodded.
"Thank you."
Neither man knew whether they were biological brothers.
But for the first time, Alexander understood that family could mean more than genetics.
At 5:38 p.m., Daniel Mercer entered Room 417.
The research facility had been abandoned for years, but portions of the building still had electricity.
Old medical equipment stood beneath dust-covered sheets.
A large observation window divided the room from an adjoining laboratory.
Elias sat in a small chair beside a table, drawing with crayons.
Mercer approached.
"What are you making?"
The boy looked up.
"A dinosaur."
Mercer smiled.
"Another one?"
Elias nodded.
"Dinosaurs are strong."
Mercer crouched.
"Yes, they are."
The child studied him.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"When can we go home?"
Mercer's smile faded.
"Soon."
"You said that yesterday."
Mercer looked toward the door.
Elias continued.
"Can we call Mommy?"
Mercer went still.
"Who?"
The little boy looked confused.
"The lady in my dream."
Mercer's expression changed.
"What lady?"
Elias frowned.
"She sings."
He began humming softly.
A simple lullaby.
Mercer recognized it.
He had heard Mia sing that melody in the hospital after the twins were born.
For a moment, something resembling guilt crossed his face.
Then he stood.
"Keep drawing, Elias."
The child nodded.
Mercer stepped into the adjoining laboratory.
A technician waited beside a computer.
"The files are ready."
Mercer looked at the screen.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"Birth records?"
"Included."
"Original genetic profiles?"
"Included."
"Financial trust records?"
"Included."
Mercer nodded.
"Good."
The technician hesitated.
"Mr. Mercer, once these files are released, the trust could be frozen. There could be criminal investigations."
Mercer smiled faintly.
"That's the point."
"But your name appears throughout the records."
Mercer's expression hardened.
"Then remove my name from the index."
The technician went silent.
Mercer looked back through the observation window.
Elias was still drawing.
"Make sure the boy isn't harmed."
"Of course."
Mercer stared at the child.
Then whispered:
"He's the only innocent person in this entire family."
At 6:02 p.m., Alexander received another message.
ROOM 417. TWENTY MINUTES.
Attached was a live photograph of Elias.
The boy held a drawing.
Two dinosaurs stood beside each other.
One had been labeled Noah.
The other Elias.
Alexander's throat tightened.
Mia stared at the image.
"He's drawing his brother."
Alexander looked at her.
"Yes."
Tears filled her eyes.
"He knows Noah exists."
Julian examined the timestamp.
"The photograph was taken less than a minute ago."
Alexander immediately forwarded it to the police contact.
Then he received another message.
IF THE POLICE ENTER FIRST, THE ARCHIVE WILL BE DESTROYED.
Julian frowned.
"He's threatening the evidence."
Alexander looked at the screen.
"And using Elias to keep us close."
Mia grabbed her coat.
"I'm going."
Alexander turned.
"Mia—"
"He's my son."
"I know."
"Then don't ask me to stay."
Alexander looked at Julian.
The decision was impossible.
They could not risk a reckless confrontation.
But refusing to cooperate might provoke Mercer.
Julian spoke quietly.
"The police have the coordinates. We can approach the designated area while they position themselves."
Alexander nodded.
"All right."
He looked at Mia.
"But we follow their instructions. No improvising."
She held his gaze.
Then nodded.
"Agreed."
At 6:17 p.m., Eleanor Sterling arrived at the research facility.
She had come alone.
Mercer met her in the corridor outside Room 417.
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
"Mother."
Eleanor's expression was exhausted.
"Where is Elias?"
"Safe."
"Let me see him."
Mercer stepped aside.
Through the observation window, she saw the little boy sitting at the table.
He looked so much like Alexander at that age that Eleanor felt physically ill.
"He's innocent," she whispered.
Mercer nodded.
"Yes."
"Then let him go."
"Not yet."
Eleanor turned toward him.
"What do you want?"
"The truth."
"You already know it."
Mercer shook his head.
"I know what Richard told me. I know what Vale recorded. I know what you've admitted when you thought nobody was listening."
His expression hardened.
"But I don't know why you gave me away."
Eleanor's eyes filled.
"Daniel..."
"Why?"
She closed her eyes.
For thirty years, she had rehearsed explanations.
Protection.
Necessity.
Family survival.
But standing before her firstborn son, she realized every explanation sounded like another excuse.
"Richard discovered you weren't his."
Mercer stared at her.
"I know."
"He threatened to take everything from me."
"And you chose him."
Eleanor began crying.
"I was afraid."
Mercer laughed bitterly.
"Everyone in this family was afraid."
He stepped closer.
"Michael Bennett tried to protect me."
Eleanor went still.
Mercer continued.
"He found the records. He knew Richard wanted me erased."
"Daniel, please."
"And then Michael died."
Eleanor shook her head.
"I didn't order his death."
Mercer stared at her.
"Did you stop it?"
She couldn't answer.
His expression darkened.
"That's what I thought."
At 6:24 p.m., Alexander's car stopped outside the research facility.
Police vehicles waited beyond the main road, positioned out of direct sight.
An officer spoke to Alexander through a secure telephone connection.
"Maintain contact. Do not enter the building until we confirm the child is safe."
Alexander looked toward the entrance.
Mia gripped his hand.
Julian stood beside them.
Then the building's front doors opened.
Eleanor appeared.
She looked pale.
Older than Alexander remembered.
"Mother?"
She stopped.
For a moment, she seemed surprised to see him.
Then her gaze moved to Mia.
"I'm sorry," Eleanor whispered.
Mia stepped forward.
"Where's Elias?"
Eleanor looked toward the building.
"Inside."
"Is he safe?"
"Yes."
Mia moved toward the entrance.
Eleanor caught her arm.
"Wait."
Mia pulled away.
"Don't touch me."
Eleanor lowered her hand.
"You have every right to hate me."
"I don't care what you think I have a right to."
Mia's voice trembled.
"I want my son."
Eleanor nodded slowly.
Then she looked at Alexander.
"Before you go inside, there's something you must understand."
Alexander's expression hardened.
"Not now."
"Alex, please."
He stopped.
Eleanor took a trembling breath.
"Daniel didn't take Elias because he wanted to be a father."
Mia went still.
"Then why?"
Eleanor looked toward Julian.
"Because the trust required a living descendant from a documented Sterling bloodline to validate the disputed inheritance."
Julian frowned.
"That doesn't make sense. DNA alone doesn't determine legal inheritance."
"No," Eleanor whispered. "But Daniel believed the laboratory records could support his claim."
Alexander stared at her.
"And he used Elias?"
She nodded.
"For three years."
Mia covered her mouth.
Eleanor continued.
"Daniel needed a child connected to the family and a paper trail he could manipulate."
Alexander felt rage building.
"You allowed him to take Mia's baby?"
Tears streamed down Eleanor's face.
"I signed the transfer."
Mia stumbled backward.
Alexander caught her.
Eleanor looked directly at her.
"I told myself Elias would be safe. Daniel promised he would raise him well."
Mia's eyes burned with hatred.
"You stole my son."
Eleanor couldn't answer.
Mia stepped forward.
"You watched me grieve a baby you knew was alive."
The older woman began sobbing.
"I'm sorry."
Mia shook her head.
"Sorry doesn't give me back three years."
Inside Room 417, Mercer watched the security monitor.
Alexander.
Mia.
Julian.
Eleanor.
All four stood outside the building.
He smiled faintly.
"Finally."
The technician beside him looked nervous.
"Police communications have been detected nearby."
Mercer's smile disappeared.
"How many?"
"Unknown."
He looked toward Elias.
The boy was humming quietly while drawing another dinosaur.
Mercer turned back.
"Begin the upload."
The technician hesitated.
"Mr. Mercer—"
"Now."
A progress bar appeared on the screen.
ARCHIVE RELEASE INITIATED.
Mercer watched it climb.
12%.
24%.
37%.
He had spent decades waiting to expose the Sterling family.
Now every hidden document, financial transfer, and altered identity record was about to become public.
But then the technician frowned.
"Sir?"
Mercer turned.
"What?"
"There's a file in the archive that wasn't included in the original index."
"Which file?"
The technician opened it.
A video appeared.
Recorded in Room 417 three years earlier.
Mia lay unconscious in a hospital bed.
Alexander stood beside her.
Adrian stood near the door.
Eleanor sat in a chair.
Then a younger Daniel Mercer entered the room.
The technician froze.
Mercer stared at the footage.
He had believed the original recording was destroyed.
The video continued.
Eleanor spoke.
"Daniel, this has gone far enough."
Mercer answered.
"We can't let her remember."
Alexander turned sharply.
"What are you talking about?"
Adrian looked toward the hospital bed.
"She saw me."
Mercer stepped closer.
"And she knows about the documents."
Alexander's expression hardened.
"Then tell her the truth."
Eleanor shook her head.
"No."
Mercer looked toward the camera.
Then said something that made the older Mercer go pale.
"Fine. If nobody here has the courage to finish this, I'll do it myself."
The younger Mercer reached toward an intravenous medication line.
Alexander lunged forward.
"Don't touch her!"
The image shook.
A struggle followed.
Then the recording ended.
The technician stared at Mercer.
"Sir..."
Mercer said nothing.
The technician slowly backed away.
"That's evidence of a crime."
Mercer's expression turned cold.
"Continue the upload."
"But—"
"Continue."
The technician shook his head.
"No."
Mercer moved toward him.
Before he could reach the desk, an alarm sounded.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS DETECTED.
The archive upload stopped at 63%.
Mercer stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
REMOTE ADMINISTRATOR CONNECTED.
A username flashed beneath it.
ADRIAN STERLING.
Mercer froze.
Adrian had escaped.
And he had gained access to the archive.
Outside the facility, Alexander's phone vibrated.
A video call.
Adrian.
Alexander answered immediately.
"Where are you?"
Adrian's face appeared on the screen.
He was bleeding from a cut near his eyebrow.
"Somewhere Mercer can't reach me."
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"You shot Gabriel."
"I know."
"He's barely alive."
Adrian looked away.
For the first time, genuine regret crossed his face.
"I know."
Alexander stared at him.
"What do you want?"
Adrian swallowed.
"To stop Mercer."
Alexander almost laughed.
"After everything you've done?"
Adrian nodded.
"You don't have to forgive me."
"Good."
"But you need to listen."
Alexander looked toward the entrance.
Adrian continued.
"Mercer has altered every major document we've seen."
"We know."
"No. You don't understand."
His voice became urgent.
"The paternity results, the marriage records, the infant transfers. He used genuine records mixed with forged ones."
Alexander's expression sharpened.
"And?"
Adrian looked directly into the camera.
"The original genetic report names you as the father of both boys."
Alexander closed his eyes.
He had wanted to believe it.
But after so many forged documents, even the truth had become difficult to recognize.
"We'll verify it independently."
"Good."
Adrian nodded.
"Because Mercer has another reason to keep Elias."
"What reason?"
Adrian hesitated.
"He's not planning to give him back."
Alexander's blood turned cold.
"What?"
Adrian looked away.
"He arranged another transfer."
"Where?"
"Overseas."
Alexander's expression hardened.
"When?"
Adrian swallowed.
"Tonight."
Inside Room 417, Elias looked up from his drawing.
"Daddy?"
Mercer turned.
"Yes?"
"Can I go home now?"
For a moment, Mercer stared at him.
The boy's innocent expression seemed to unsettle him.
Then he crouched.
"Do you trust me, Elias?"
The child nodded.
"Yes."
Mercer smiled faintly.
"Then come with me."
He took the boy's hand.
At that moment, the facility's emergency lights flashed red.
A voice sounded over the intercom.
"Daniel Mercer, this is the police. The building is surrounded. Release the child and come out with your hands visible."
Mercer froze.
Elias tightened his grip.
"Daddy?"
Mercer looked toward the locked laboratory door.
Then toward the computer.
The archive upload remained frozen.
63%.
Adrian had interrupted it.
Mercer exhaled slowly.
Then he opened a concealed cabinet.
Inside lay a small metal case.
He removed it.
The case contained two syringes and a sealed medical vial.
Elias watched curiously.
"What's that?"
Mercer looked down at him.
"Something to help us get away."
Outside, Mia heard the police announcement.
Her heart hammered.
"He's inside with Elias!"
Alexander gripped her shoulders.
"Mia, stay here."
She shook her head.
"No!"
"Please."
"You promised you'd bring him home!"
"I will."
He turned toward the entrance.
Julian stepped beside him.
"We can't go in without police clearance."
Alexander nodded.
"I know."
Then the facility's intercom crackled.
Mercer's voice emerged.
"Alexander."
Everyone froze.
"Come to Room 417."
Alexander looked up.
Mercer continued.
"Alone."
Mia grabbed Alexander's arm.
"No."
Mercer's voice hardened.
"You have three minutes."
The intercom clicked.
Then a child's frightened voice sounded.
"Mommy?"
Mia stopped breathing.
"Elias?"
The little boy began crying.
"I want my mommy."
Mia rushed toward the entrance.
Alexander caught her before she reached the steps.
"Mia!"
She struggled against him.
"He's calling for me!"
Alexander held her tightly.
"I know."
Her voice broke.
"Please!"
He looked toward the building.
Then slowly released her.
He turned to Julian.
"Tell the police everything."
Julian nodded.
Alexander took a step toward the entrance.
Before he could move farther, the intercom activated again.
This time, Eleanor's voice filled the courtyard.
"Alexander, don't go inside."
He froze.
His mother sounded terrified.
"Why?"
A long silence followed.
Then Eleanor whispered:
"Because Daniel isn't planning to escape."
Alexander stared toward the dark entrance.
"What?"
Her voice broke.
"He's planning to destroy Room 417."
Mia felt her blood turn cold.
Alexander stepped forward.
"Where's Elias?"
Eleanor began sobbing.
"Inside."
Then she said the words that made everyone stop breathing.
"And Daniel has locked himself in with both boys."
Mia stared at the building.
Both boys?
Noah was supposed to be safely at the lakeside house with Mrs. Bennett.
Alexander turned sharply toward Julian.
"Call Mrs. Bennett."
Julian dialed immediately.
No answer.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Then his phone vibrated.
A photograph appeared.
Two identical little boys sat side by side on a hospital bed.
One wore a green dinosaur shirt.
The other held a stuffed toy.
Noah.
Elias.
Together.
Beneath the photograph was a message from Mercer.
NOW YOU UNDERSTAND, ALEXANDER.
THE STERLING FAMILY STOLE MY CHILDHOOD.
TONIGHT, I'M TAKING YOURS.