PART 2: Echoes of the Past
The room went completely silent.
The only sound left was the steady, rhythmic beep of the heart monitor.
Nora dropped her hand from her face, her fingers shaking uncontrollably.
“What did you just say?” she whispered.
The boy wiped his nose with the back of his uninjured hand, his big brown eyes locked onto hers.
“Mom… Rachel… she told me,” he sobbed. “She said you gave me to her to protect me. But now the bad men took her, and she said only you could keep me safe.”
Nora felt the room spin.
She had to grip the edge of the rolling tray table to keep her knees from buckling.
The doctor and nurse exchanged a worried, heavy glance.
“Ms. Nora,” the doctor said gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Is this true? Do you have a biological connection to this child?”
“No!” Nora choked out, her voice cracking. “No, that’s impossible! I’ve never given birth! I’ve never been pregnant!”
She looked back at the boy.
He looked to be about six or seven years old.
Ten years ago, Nora and Rachel had been inseparable roomies at Stanford.
They were best friends, sharing dreams of changing the world.
But then, Rachel had vanished without a trace, leaving behind a ruined apartment and a mountain of unanswered questions.
Nora had spent years looking for her, eventually moving to Portland to start over.
And now, Rachel’s name was being dragged back into the light by a child who claimed Nora was his mother.
“What is your name, sweetheart?” Nora asked, stepping closer to the bed despite the terror screaming inside her.
“Leo,” the boy whispered.
“Leo… I need you to understand something,” Nora said, her voice soft but desperate. “I knew Rachel. She was my friend. But I am not your mother.”
Leo shook his head violently, his tears starting all over again.
“You are! She showed me your picture every night! She said you have the same scar on your wrist!”
Nora gasped, automatically covering the small, star-shaped scar on her left wrist.
How did Rachel know about that?
Nora had gotten that scar in a car accident after Rachel disappeared.
Before Nora could process this terrifying realization, the heavy wooden door to Room 12 burst open.
Two men in dark, expensive suits stepped inside.
They didn’t look like doctors, and they certainly didn't look like worried relatives.
“Step away from the child, Ms. Nora,” the taller man said, his voice cold and devoid of any emotion.
The nurse immediately stepped between the men and the bed. “Excuse me, this is a restricted area. Who are you?”
The shorter man flashed a silver badge, but it wasn't the police.
It was the emblem of Vanguard International—the massive biotech conglomerate where Rachel had worked right before she vanished.
“We are here to claim custody of the boy on behalf of his legal guardian,” the tall man said.
Leo let out a terrified shriek and scrambled to the far corner of the bed, pulling the sheets over his head.
“No! Don't let them take me! They’re the ones who took Mom!” Leo screamed from beneath the blankets.
Nora’s protective instincts, buried deep beneath her shock, suddenly flared to life.
She stepped directly in front of the two men, her heels clicking loudly on the linoleum floor.
“He is staying right here,” Nora said, her voice hardening. “And you are going to leave this room before I call the real police.”
The tall man smiled, a chilling, empty expression.
“You don’t understand the situation you’re inserting yourself into, Nora,” he murmured, using her name without introduction.
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“Rachel Vance stole something priceless from our firm seven years ago. And we have reason to believe it is currently sitting right in front of us.”
He pointed a gloved finger directly at Leo.
