LOGINJake sat in his car outside a small house in Oakland.The address came from Dr. Reid’s files. Another surrogate. Another woman who’d carried a baby for Viktor’s operation.Sarah Martinez. The first name on the list. Twenty-six years old now. She’d been the surrogate six years ago.Jake had called her yesterday. Explained who he was. What he was investigating. Asked if she would talk to him.She’d been silent for a long time. Then she’d said yes.Now Jake was here. Recorder in his bag. Questions prepared. Ready to hear another horror story.He got out of the car and walked to the front door. The house was small but well-maintained. Flowers in the window boxes. Fresh paint.He knocked.The door opened immediately. A young woman stood there. Petite. Dark hair pulled back. Tired eyes that had seen too much.“Sarah?” Jake asked.“Yes. Come in.”Jake stepped inside. The house was neat. Clean. But sparse. Like someone living carefully within a tight budget.Sarah led him to the living room.
Jake’s safe house had three occupants now.Dr. Reid was in the back bedroom. Barely speaking. Barely eating. Just sitting in silence with the weight of his confession.Kevin had video called from Canada yesterday. He was doing well. Margaret was taking good care of him. He asked about Mia constantly.And now Jake was expecting a fourth visitor.Patricia Moss.Jake had contacted her two days ago. Told her they were building a case against Viktor. Told her they needed her testimony. Asked if she would help.She’d said yes immediately.Now she was driving from Sacramento. Should arrive within the hour.Jake checked his watch. 2:47 PM. He went to the kitchen and made coffee. Strong. The way he’d been drinking it for weeks now.Damien was at the mansion. Playing his role. Pretending everything was normal. Victoria was watching him like a hawk but so far she hadn’t caught on.Mia was seven and a half months pregnant now. Getting bigger every day. The twins were active. Healthy. Strong.In t
Dr. Marcus Reid’s office was dark when Damien arrived.It was past eight PM. The medical building was closed. But Damien had a key. He’d gotten it months ago when he’d started suspecting Dr. Reid’s involvement in Viktor’s operation.He took the elevator to the third floor and walked down the empty hallway. His footsteps echoed against the tile.Dr. Reid’s door was unlocked. Damien pushed it open.The office was a mess. Papers scattered across the desk. Empty whiskey bottles in the trash. The smell of alcohol hung heavy in the air.Dr. Reid sat behind his desk in the dark. He didn’t look up when Damien entered.“I’ve been expecting you,” Dr. Reid said. His voice was slurred. Drunk.“Have you?” Damien asked. He closed the door behind him and locked it.“Viktor called me today,” Dr. Reid said. He finally looked up. His eyes were bloodshot. His face was pale and drawn. “Told me you’ve been asking questions. Told me you’re gathering evidence. Told me to be ready.”“Ready for what?” Damien
Jake drove to Mia’s apartment at dawn.The building looked the same as he remembered. Run-down. Cramped. The kind of place people lived when they had no other choice.He parked down the street and watched for twenty minutes. Looking for surveillance. For anyone who seemed out of place. For any sign that Viktor’s people were watching.Nothing. The street was quiet. Just early morning joggers and people walking dogs.Jake got out and walked to the building. Used the key Mia had given him last night. Climbed the stairs to the third floor.Her apartment door was exactly as she’d described. Third door on the left. Number 3B.He unlocked it and stepped inside.The apartment was small. One bedroom. Tiny kitchen. Living room that doubled as someone’s sleeping space. Probably Kevin’s before he got sick.Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. Nobody had been here in months.Jake moved quickly. He didn’t know how much time he had before someone noticed him.The bathroom was at the end o
Jake’s apartment was small and cluttered. Papers covered every surface. His laptop sat open on the coffee table surrounded by coffee cups and takeout containers.Mia sat on the couch, her pregnant belly making it difficult to get comfortable. Damien sat beside her. Jake was at his desk pulling files from a locked drawer.“Okay,” Jake said, carrying a stack of folders to the coffee table. “This is everything we have so far.”He spread the documents out. Mia leaned forward to look.“These are the photos you sent me before the accident,” Jake said, pointing to a folder. “You managed to text me a few of them before Viktor’s people caught up with you. Not all of them, but enough to give us a starting point.”Mia picked up the folder and opened it. Her hands trembled slightly as she looked at the images.There they were. The surrogate files. Sarah Martinez. Jessica Thornton. Patricia Moss. All seven names she’d found in Dr. Reid’s office.“I remember taking these,” Mia said quietly. “I was
Mia waited until midnight.The mansion was dark. Quiet. Everyone asleep. Or at least pretending to be.She slipped out of bed carefully. Her pregnant belly made everything awkward but she managed. She pulled on dark clothes. Leggings. An oversized black sweater. Shoes she could move quietly in.The hallway outside her room was empty. Mia moved slowly. Each step deliberate. Avoiding the floorboards that creaked.Down the back staircase. Through the kitchen. Out the side door that led to the garden.The night air was cold against her face. Mia pulled her sweater tighter and moved toward the gate at the back of the property.Damien was already there. Waiting in the shadows.“You made it,” he said quietly.“Where’s Jake?” Mia asked.“Outside the gate. Come on.”They slipped through. Jake’s car was parked on the narrow service road behind the property. Dark sedan. Engine off. Lights off.Jake got out when he saw them and pulled Mia into a quick hug.“Thank God,” Jake said. “When Damien tol
They walked through sterile hallways. Past other rooms full of patients fighting their own battles. Past nurses and doctors moving with purpose.Finally, they reached a room at the end of the hall.The doctor opened the door.And there she was.Mia.Lying in a hospital bed. Ey
The emergency room doors burst open at 4:47 PM.Paramedics rushed through pushing a gurney. A young woman. Unconscious. Blood matting her dark hair. Her clothes were torn and stained. An oxygen mask over her face.“Female, mid-twenties, approximately three months pregnant with twins,” one paramedic
Mia stared at Jake’s number on her screen.Unavailable.She tried once more. Same result.Her mind raced. Who else could she call? Who else knew where she was? Who else could help?Damien.Her fingers were shaking as she scrolled to his contact. She pr
Mia’s hands went up instinctively. “Wait. Please. It’s me. It’s Sarah. Sarah Martinez. We spoke on the phone.”She was using the fake name she’d given Lauren when they’d arranged the meeting. A borrowed identity. Protection in case Viktor was monitoring Lauren’s communications.







