LOGIN"Victoria?"Avery stared at the nurse."You're saying my aunt collected my baby?"Margaret Carter nodded."Yes."Avery turned toward her mother."Did you see her?"Her mother looked shaken."I went to the hospital that morning. I wanted to stop the transfer, but they wouldn't let me enter the children's ward."The nurse lowered her head."That was because we had already received instructions.""From whom?" Ethan asked."Dr. Reed."Avery stepped closer."What instructions?""Nobody was allowed to interfere with the child's release. We were told the transfer had been approved by the medical board.""Did you know I was the child's mother?""Yes. Your medical file showed the maternal link.""Then why did you let them take her?"The nurse's eyes filled with tears."I was afraid of losing my job. I had a sick husband and two children. Dr. Reed warned us that anyone who interfered would be reported for stealing medical property."Avery stared at her."Medical property?"The nurse nodded weak
"That is your signature."Avery's voice was quiet, but the pain behind it was clear.Her mother stared at the screen."I don't remember signing that document."Avery folded her arms."Then explain how your signature ended up on it.""I can't.""You told me you never saw the baby again after Dr. Vale moved her.""I know what I told you.""But this says you collected her on December third."Her mother shook her head."I would never lie about something like that."Avery looked at the document again."Then maybe someone is lying for you."Ethan stepped closer."Daniel, can you check whether the signature is genuine?"Daniel enlarged the scanned document."I can compare it with other documents signed by her, but that won't tell us whether she personally signed this one.""Do it," Avery said.Daniel opened several old records.One was a medical authorization signed by her mother. Another was a property document from the Vance estate.He placed the signatures side by side.After a few moment
Avery's words were still hanging in the room when Daniel's computer made a sharp sound.He looked at the screen."I have something."Ethan moved closer."Did you trace the call?""Partly. The call came through an old Vance Biological Systems line, but the signal was redirected through a private server.""Can you find the location?""Not yet. Whoever redirected it knew how to hide the connection."Avery folded her arms."Can you trace Jasper's phone instead?""I can try."Daniel opened another window and began searching.Margaret sat quietly, holding the old placement document.Avery turned toward her."You said you saw the baby once.""Yes.""Do you remember anything about her?"Margaret nodded."She was very small. She had dark hair, and she kept moving her little fingers whenever I held her."Avery's lips trembled."Did she cry?""Not much. She seemed tired.""Was there anything else?"Margaret thought for a moment."She had a small mark on her left shoulder. It looked like a birthm
"Jasper?"Avery stared at the name on the screen.For several seconds, she could not move.Jasper Vance.Her former husband.The man who had stolen her code, taken advantage of her trust, and demanded the original Artemis source files.Now his name was connected to the disappearance of a child."That's impossible," Margaret whispered.Avery slowly turned toward her."Do you recognize the signature?"Margaret leaned closer."I recognize the name. But I never saw him at the hospital."Daniel opened the document details."The signature was added digitally. It carries Jasper's old Vance Biological Systems authorization code."Ethan's expression darkened."Can you confirm he personally approved it?""Not yet. The account could have been used by someone else."Avery folded her arms."His account has been used too many times for us to keep calling everything a coincidence.""You're right," Daniel said. "But we need proof before we accuse him of signing it."Ethan turned toward his father."D
"Please don't let them take my baby."The words kept repeating in Avery's mind.She stood beside Ethan, staring at the frozen image of her seventeen-year-old self.She had been pregnant.She had been afraid.And after the fire, she had woken up asking for a baby.But nobody had told her what happened next."Daniel, how long will it take to search the medical archives?" she asked."Some of the files were moved after the fire. I can search the copies stored in Wright Medical's backup system, but I can't promise the original records are there.""Start with October nineteenth."Daniel nodded and returned to his computer.Avery turned toward her mother."You said I woke up in the hospital after the fire. How long was I unconscious?""Almost three weeks.""And when I woke up, I asked for a baby?""Yes.""Did you bring the baby to me?"Her mother looked down."No."Avery's face tightened."Why?""Because I was told the baby was no longer in the hospital.""Who told you?""Dr. Vale."Avery st
Nobody spoke.Ethan's question remained between them."Were you already pregnant when you created Artemis?"Avery stared at the screen.Her younger self was still standing beside her father in the recording. She looked calm, but her fingers were tightly locked together.Seventeen years old.Pregnant.And already making plans to protect children she had not even mentioned by name.Avery slowly shook her head."I don't remember."Ethan moved closer."Take your time.""No." She turned to him. "I don't want to take my time. I want to know why everyone seems to know something about my life except me."Her voice broke.She looked at her mother."You were there, weren't you?"Her mother lowered her eyes."Yes."Avery's chest tightened."You knew I was pregnant?"Her mother nodded slowly."Yes, Avery."Ethan's jaw tightened."Why didn't you tell her?""I thought she remembered.""She clearly doesn't.""I know that now."Avery stepped away from the screen."Was it Nina? Was I pregnant with Nin







