CHAPTER 4 — “The Man Who Walked In Knew Lily’s Real Name.”
Ethan grabbed Lily and stepped backward.
The door opened.
A gray-haired man in a black coat entered with two armed guards behind him.
He smiled like he owned the room.
“Hello, Ethan.”
Ethan shielded Lily.
“Who are you?”
The man’s eyes moved to the little girl.
“There she is.”
Lily woke up and instantly began shaking.
“No…”
The man smiled wider.
“Hello, Sophia.”
Ethan froze.
Sophia?
“My daughter’s name is Lily.”
The man chuckled softly.
“That’s the name Evelyn gave her after she stole her.”
Ethan felt the room tilt.
“What did you just say?”
The man pulled a photo from his coat and tossed it onto the bed.
It showed Evelyn, five years younger, holding a baby outside a burning research center.
On the back was written:
SUBJECT S-17 — SOPHIA VALE
The man leaned closer.
“She belongs to us.”
Lily suddenly screamed.
“No! Mommy saved me!”
The words shattered everything.
Ethan turned toward the bed.
Evelyn’s eyes were open.
Weakly, she whispered,
“Run…”
Then the heart monitor began to beep violently.
The guards stepped forward.
And Ethan realized the worst truth of all:
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His wife had not been hiding an affair.
She had been hiding a child the world was never supposed to know existed.
