Chapter 8 - The Ghost of the Past
By midday, the sun had burned through the storm clouds, casting a blinding, brilliant white light across the snow-covered grounds of the Mercer estate.
In the subterranean library beneath the west wing, Prescott slid a thick manila folder across the mahogany desk toward Lawson.
“You were right to be suspicious, boss,” Prescott said, his voice grim. “I dug deeper into that clinic in Portland where Aveline worked before it got raided.”
Lawson didn't open the folder immediately. He was staring at a security camera feed on his secondary monitor—showing Aveline in the kitchen, carefully boiling ginger root and fresh water while Odessa watched her with a mixture of awe and fierce protectiveness.
“Tell me,” Lawson commanded.
“It wasn't a standard pharmaceutical lab,” Prescott said. “They were working on cellular regeneration therapies using bone marrow chimeras—derived from rare genetic markers found in only one in ten million people.”
Lawson’s eyes flicked to Prescott. “Go on.”
“Genevieve wasn't just a normal woman you met at a charity gala in Chicago, Lawson,” Prescott said quietly, dropping the bombshell. “Before she ran away to marry you, she was a lead researcher at that exact facility. Her father was the lead geneticist. And Aveline... Aveline wasn't just her lab partner. She was her younger sister.”
The room went dead silent.
Lawson stood up slowly, his chair scraping against the floorboards. “Genevieve told me her family died in a fire.”
“They didn't die in a fire,” Prescott said grimly. “The clinic was burned down by federal agents to cover up illegal human trials—trials that Genevieve and Aveline were running to cure a hereditary blood disorder that ran in their family. A blood disorder that affects children around the age of six.”
Lawson felt the floor drop out from under him.
The leukemia. It wasn't random. It wasn't just bad luck or environmental toxins. It was a genetic bomb ticking inside his children’s DNA—a bomb Genevieve had tried to outrun by hiding in his world, only for the shrapnel to catch up with them anyway.
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“And Aveline?” Lawson asked, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper. “Why is she here now?”
“Because she thinks you killed Genevieve,” Prescott said bluntly. “She thinks the stress of living in your world, the constant fear of rival syndicates, and the lack of proper medical access inside this fortified prison is what accelerated her sister's decline. She didn't come here to save your kids out of the goodness of her heart, Lawson. She came here because she believes this house is a slaughterhouse—and she’s here to rescue the last pieces of her sister before you bury them too.”
