CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: THE WRONG BABY

“That’s not my son.”

The memory tore through Elena’s mind with such force that she staggered.

A nurse stood beneath harsh hospital lights.

Two newborn babies lay in separate bassinets.

One was crying.

The other was strangely quiet.

Elena was weak, barely conscious, but she remembered the panic in her own voice.

“That’s not my son!”

Then a man had stepped between her and the bassinets.

Her grandfather.

“Calm down, Elena.”

“That isn't him!”

The memory fractured.

A needle.

A sharp sting.

Darkness.

Elena gasped and returned to the present.

Damien caught her before she fell.

“What did you remember?”

She looked at him, terrified.

“I saw them.”

“Who?”

“The babies.”

Her eyes moved between Caleb and Alexander.

“There were two babies.”

Damien frowned.

“The twins.”

“No.”

Elena shook her head.

“Not Daniel and Caleb.”

Her grandfather watched her carefully.

“There were three.”

Silence fell.

Elena stared at him.

“You knew.”

“Yes.”

“You knew I remembered.”

“I knew you eventually would.”

Damien stepped forward.

“What did you do to her children?”

His father answered before the old man could.

“Everything necessary to keep the Foundation from finding them.”

Damien turned sharply.

“You're still defending him?”

“No.”

His father looked at Elena.

“I’m trying to finish what I started.”

Elena's mother suddenly cried out.

“Stop!”

Everyone turned.

She stepped forward.

“Enough lies.”

Her voice trembled.

“I can't watch this anymore.”

Elena stared at her.

“Then tell me the truth.”

Her mother wiped her tears.

“Your grandfather wasn't the only one who changed those records.”

Elena's stomach tightened.

“Who else?”

Her mother looked at Damien.

“His father.”

Damien went still.

“My father?”

“He helped move the children.”

“Why?”

“Because he believed the Foundation would kill them.”

Damien's father lowered his eyes.

“I made terrible choices.”

“You let me believe my child was dead.”

“I thought it was the only way.”

Elena's voice broke.

“You all keep saying that.”

She looked around at them.

“The only way.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“But none of you ever asked what it did to me.”

No one answered.

---

Alexander moved closer to Elena.

“Mommy.”

She immediately pulled him against her.

Her grandfather watched them.

“You finally remember.”

Elena glared at him.

“I remember enough.”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“You remember the wrong part.”

Her anger sharpened.

“What does that mean?”

He pointed toward Caleb.

“The memory you just recovered wasn't about Alexander.”

Elena frowned.

“It was about the twins.”

“No.”

He looked at Caleb.

“It was about him.”

Elena's heart pounded.

“Caleb?”

Her grandfather nodded.

“Caleb was the baby you rejected.”

The world seemed to tilt.

“No.”

“You knew something was wrong.”

“I didn't.”

“You did.”

He stepped closer.

“You told the nurse that wasn't your son.”

Elena looked down at Caleb.

His little face was wet with tears.

“No.”

She shook her head.

“I would never—”

“You didn't recognize him.”

Damien stepped between them.

“Enough.”

His father looked at him.

“You don't know what happened that night.”

“Neither do you.”

“I was there.”

“So was I.”

“No.”

Damien's father stared at him.

“You weren't.”

Damien froze.

“What?”

“You were unconscious before the babies were born.”

Elena looked at him.

“Then who was there?”

His father didn't answer.

Her mother whispered:

“I was.”

Elena turned.

“What did you see?”

Her mother closed her eyes.

“The babies were switched.”

Silence.

Damien's face hardened.

“By whom?”

Her mother looked at Elena.

“By me.”

Elena stopped breathing.

“You?”

“I was trying to save you.”

“From what?”

“Your grandfather had already decided which child would be taken.”

Elena's voice shook.

“Which child?”

“Caleb.”

Damien's expression changed.

“Why?”

“Because the Foundation believed he carried the complete sequence.”

Elena stared at her son.

“So you switched him?”

“No.”

Her mother shook her head.

“I switched the records.”

Elena's breath caught.

“The babies themselves were never switched.”

Her mother looked at Caleb.

“Your grandfather took the wrong baby.”

Elena's eyes widened.

“What?”

“He thought he was taking Caleb.”

Her mother swallowed.

“But he wasn't.”

Elena stared at her.

“Then who did he take?”

Her mother's gaze moved toward Alexander.

“That's what we've been trying to find out.”

---

Victor suddenly stepped forward.

“That's enough.”

Everyone turned.

His face had gone pale.

He looked at Elena.

“Your mother is telling the truth.”

Elena stared at him.

“You knew too.”

“Yes.”

“You knew all these years.”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn't you tell me?”

“Because Alexander was still alive.”

“That isn't an answer.”

“It is when you know what they would do if they discovered him.”

Elena's voice became colder.

“You keep using my children as an excuse for your lies.”

Victor flinched.

“I deserve that.”

“Yes, you do.”

He nodded.

“But there is something you don't know.”

“What?”

Victor looked at Damien.

“The baby your grandfather took wasn't Caleb.”

Damien's face hardened.

“Then who was it?”

Victor didn't answer.

Instead, he looked at Alexander.

The boy's expression changed.

“No.”

Elena immediately noticed.

“Alexander?”

He stepped backward.

Victor's eyes filled with regret.

“They took him.”

Elena's heart stopped.

“Who?”

“Your grandfather.”

Alexander shook his head.

“He told me he didn't.”

Victor knelt before him.

“He lied.”

Alexander looked at Elena.

“You said you didn't leave me.”

Elena's eyes filled with tears.

“I didn't.”

“But he said you gave me to him.”

“I never did.”

Alexander's face crumpled.

Victor stood.

“Your grandfather took Alexander when he was a baby.”

Elena looked at the old man.

“Why?”

He finally answered.

“Because Alexander was the only child who could survive the procedure.”

Elena's blood ran cold.

“What procedure?”

He didn't respond.

Damien grabbed his father's arm.

“You know.”

His father looked at Elena.

“I know.”

“Then tell us.”

He hesitated.

“The Foundation wasn't trying to create an heir.”

Elena's heart hammered.

“Then what were they creating?”

His father looked at Alexander.

“A biological key.”

Alexander stared at him.

“For what?”

No one answered.

Then Elena's mother spoke.

“To unlock the original vault.”

Elena frowned.

“What vault?”

Her mother looked toward the old hospital.

“The place where the Foundation kept its first genetic archive.”

Victor shook his head.

“That archive was destroyed.”

“No.”

Her grandfather smiled faintly.

“It wasn't.”

Elena looked at him.

“Where is it?”

He pointed toward Alexander.

“Inside him.”

Everyone froze.

Alexander's eyes widened.

“What?”

The old man continued.

“The Foundation implanted the access sequence into his genetic profile.”

Elena pulled Alexander closer.

“You experimented on my child.”

“We made him valuable.”

“You made him a prisoner.”

Her grandfather's expression remained cold.

“And now they will come for him.”

As if summoned by his words, several vehicles appeared beyond the gates.

Black.

Unmarked.

One after another.

Damien looked toward them.

“How many?”

Gabriel counted.

“Six.”

Victor's expression changed.

“That's not Helix.”

Damien turned.

“Then who?”

Victor stared at the vehicles.

“I don't know.”

The first car stopped.

The rear door opened.

A man stepped out.

He was tall, dressed in black, and completely unfamiliar.

Except to Elena.

The moment she saw his face, another memory surfaced.

A hospital room.

A newborn baby.

Her own hand gripping his.

And her whispered words:

“If anything happens to me, protect my son.”

Elena gasped.

The man looked directly at her.

“It's been seven years.”

Damien stepped in front of her.

“Who are you?”

The man ignored him.

His eyes remained on Elena.

“You finally remembered.”

Elena's heart raced.

“Who are you?”

He smiled sadly.

“I'm the man you trusted with your firstborn.”

Alexander looked at Elena.

“Mommy?”

The stranger's expression changed.

Then he said the words that made Elena's blood run cold.

“Alexander isn't your firstborn.”

He pointed toward Caleb.

“He is.”

Elena stared at Caleb.

Then at the stranger.

“No.”

The man opened the car door.

Inside was another child.

A boy.

Around seven years old.

With Elena's eyes.

And Damien's face.

The boy looked directly at her.

“Mom?”

Elena couldn't move.

The stranger smiled.

“Meet your real firstborn.”

And the boy whispered:

“Why did you forget me?”