Chapter 2 - THE FIRST BABY
The crying came from beneath the east wing.
The two false paramedics were private medical contractors hired by Carter Family Trust Services.
Ethan’s live stream alerted actual police and emergency services before they could move Clara.
The contractors surrendered when officers surrounded the hall.
Clara was taken to County General under police protection.
The baby did not come immediately.
Doctors stabilized her labor.
The hospital bracelet was genuine.
It belonged to another child born two years earlier.
A girl named Lily Carter.
Mother listed: Margaret Carter.
Father listed: Julian Carter.
I had never heard of Lily.
Margaret claimed the record was a trust placeholder.
Ethan’s footage showed her visiting a hidden nursery beneath the mansion.
Police opened the east-wing floor.
Inside they found a fully equipped infant room, medical freezer, cameras, and adoption files.
No baby.
Only a recording of crying played through speakers.
The sound had been designed to trigger panic.
Then investigators found Lily’s photograph.
She looked like me.
And like Clara.
The file said she had been created from stored genetic material collected before our marriage.
Clara stared at the picture.
“I never agreed to this.”
Neither had I.
The family trust had created a child before we were ready and assigned Margaret legal control.
Then one final note appeared in the file.
May you like
SECOND HEIR DUE TODAY.
Read Chapter 3 to learn why Clara’s pregnancy had been scheduled before she met Julian.
