Chapter 15 - The Man Who Ordered Genevieve Silenced
Genevieve refused to enter the twins’ room immediately.
That surprised me.
We returned before dawn.
She stood outside the medical suite, staring through the glass.
Jonah and Blythe slept.
Alive.
Stable.
Improving.
“Go in,” I said.
She shook her head.
“I can’t.”
“What?”
“What if they hate me?”
I stared at her.
“You disappeared for two years and this is the first thing you’re afraid of?”
“I’ve been afraid every day.”
“Then go be afraid inside.”
She almost laughed.
Almost.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“The truth.”
“That didn’t work very well for us.”
“No.”
We stood in silence.
Then Blythe woke.
Her eyes moved toward the window.
Saw Genevieve.
For several seconds, she didn’t react.
Then her lips moved.
“Mommy?”
Genevieve collapsed into the nearest chair.
I opened the door.
She entered slowly.
Blythe stared.
Genevieve knelt beside her bed.
“Hi, baby.”
Blythe reached out and touched her face.
“Are you real?”
Genevieve began crying.
“Yes.”
“Daddy said you were in heaven.”
“I know.”
“Were you?”
Genevieve laughed through tears.
“No.”
Blythe thought about that.
“Okay.”
Children.
Sometimes mercy is six years old and too tired to demand explanations.
Then Jonah woke.
He looked at her.
Said nothing.
His face changed.
He turned away.
“Jonah,” Genevieve whispered.
“No.”
Her face broke.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
He pulled the blanket up.
“You left.”
“I know.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Okay.”
“Everybody says ‘I know.’”
He was angry.
He deserved to be.
Genevieve sat beside him.
“I don’t know how you feel.”
He looked at her.
“No.”
“You’re right.”
“You missed my birthday.”
“Yes.”
“And Blythe’s.”
“Yes.”
“And Christmas.”
“Yes.”
His lower lip trembled.
“Two Christmases.”
Genevieve cried silently.
“Yes.”
Then Jonah whispered:
“You owe me presents.”
I closed my eyes.
Genevieve laughed.
A broken little laugh.
“Every single one.”
He turned toward her.
“Big ones.”
“Ridiculously big.”
He finally reached for her.
She held him.
And for a few minutes the room contained no conspiracies.
No companies.
No billion-dollar medicine.
Just a mother holding the children she had been forced to watch from a distance.
Later, Genevieve told me everything.
After the second attempt on her life, she fled the country using documents Miriam arranged.
She worked with physicians in Europe and South America.
Tracked the Lark children.
Helped develop the rescue protocol.
She stayed away because Victor and Vane both monitored me.
“If I came back,” she said, “they would know I had the evidence.”
“You could have trusted me.”
“I did.”
“No. You trusted what you thought I would do.”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
“And what did you think?”
“That you would burn Novagen to the ground the moment you knew.”
“I almost did.”
“I know.”
“That doesn’t make you right.”
“No.”
“Do you understand what you did to us?”
She cried.
“Yes.”
“I mourned you.”
“I know.”
“Jonah stopped talking for almost a month.”
Her face crumpled.
“Please.”
“No. You need to hear this.”
“I know.”
“Blythe slept with one of your sweaters for a year.”
Genevieve covered her face.
I stopped.
Anger felt cruel now.
But love did not erase consequences.
“I’m glad you’re alive,” I said.
She looked at me.
“I love you.”
Her tears returned.
“But I don’t know what happens to us.”
“I don’t expect you to.”
“We rebuild with the truth.”
“Yes.”
“No disappearing.”
“Never.”
“No secret plans.”
“Never.”
“If you think I’m making a mistake, you tell me.”
“I will.”
“And if you ever fake your death again—”
She laughed through tears.
“I assume that ends badly.”
“Very.”
The investigation against Elias Vane and Victor Sloane expanded.
Documents showed Vane had authorized the highway attack intended to frighten Genevieve into stopping her investigation.
The crash became more severe than planned.
Victor then exploited the chaos, hiding Genevieve because he wanted her evidence before Vane found it.
Neither man could claim innocence.
Both had treated people like assets.
Vane had built the unethical research machine.
Victor had tried to steal it.
Prescott’s role remained complicated.
He had hidden information.
Followed unethical orders years earlier.
Helped Genevieve disappear.
Saved her life.
Saved mine.
Helped save the twins.
Human beings, I discovered, were rarely clean enough for simple labels.
He offered his resignation.
I refused it.
“For now.”
He nodded.
“I understand.”
“You’re not forgiven.”
“I know.”
“But you’re going to testify.”
“Yes.”
“Everything.”
“Yes.”
“And every family connected to Lark learns the truth.”
“Yes.”
Then Genevieve entered carrying another folder.
“Lawson.”
“What?”
“We found four more children.”
I looked at her.
“Project Lark?”
She nodded.
“Different code series.”
“How many total?”
“Fifteen.”
My stomach dropped.
“Any sick?”
“Two.”
The story was not over.
Not remotely.
Saving Jonah and Blythe had only opened the door.
May you like
Now we had to save children whose parents did not yet know someone had gambled with their futures.
And one of those families was closer to me than I ever expected.
