Chapter 6 - THE CHIEF
Malcolm Hayes admitted copying my badge.
He claimed he used it to infiltrate Vale servers after Noah disappeared.
He had worked with Sarah before her death.
They built the recording hidden in Colton’s toy box.
Why did he not tell me?
He distrusted the federal task force.
Some officials wanted the same research.
Malcolm created his own investigation.
Another private protector.
Another person assigning risk to everyone else.
He knew Marcus was alive.
He knew Emma might be.
He did not know Colton would be targeted at the lake.
Or claimed not to.
Detective Hayes—Lena, Malcolm’s daughter—was furious.
Her father had concealed evidence from her case.
He surrendered his devices and stepped aside as chief.
The hospital board discovered Vale Medical Trust owned a hidden share of Saint Catherine through shell companies.
Evelyn’s influence extended into staffing, labs, and security.
Then Colton’s blood sample disappeared from the independent lab.
Security footage showed Dr. Hayes entering.
He was with us at the time.
A trained double wearing his face took it.
Identity replacement had entered the medical network.
The stolen sample could identify whether Colton carried the strongest regenerative marker.
If yes, they would not stop.
The lab retained a backup aliquot.
Testing confirmed he did.
So did Noah.
And according to old records, Emma had the strongest expression ever measured.
Vale raised her because her blood made the research possible.
My sister was not only a doctor in the system.
She was its first living donor.
Then Dr. Jenkins found scars along Noah’s spine from repeated marrow extraction.
Noah asked whether Colton would receive the same scars.
“No,” I said.
Not a promise based on hope.
A commitment backed by action.
Then Marcus Vale called Ryan.
He said Emma wanted to meet her brother, not me.
Ryan agreed secretly.
We intercepted him before he left the hospital.
He shouted that everyone kept using secrecy except him.
He was right.
Still, the meeting was a trap.
We arranged it under supervision.
Emma appeared through video only.
She looked at Ryan for a long time.
“You have Dad’s mouth.”
Ryan cried.
She did not.
Then she said Linda had chosen to keep Ryan and Piper while leaving her inside Vale custody.
Linda denied it.
Emma produced a signed surrender form.
Our mother’s signature.
Real.
But collected hours after birth while she was sedated.
May you like
A familiar pattern.
Emma had built her identity around a consent that never existed.
