“Dad, That’s Mommy!”—But He Had Buried Her Three Years Ago

Daniel’s fists came down like hammers.

Years of betrayal, the fake funeral, the agonizing nights holding a crying child—all of it channeled into his knuckles. He struck Arthur’s jaw, his nose, his ribs.

Arthur grunted, struggling to fight back, but Daniel was younger and fueled by absolute fury. He grabbed Arthur by the lapels of his expensive suit and slammed his head against the floorboards.

“You ruined my life!” Daniel roared.

Arthur coughed up blood, but incredibly, a dark smile spread across his teeth. “I gave you a life, you ungrateful child.”

“Daniel!”

Sophie burst from the cellar, covered in soot, dragging Dr. Aris behind her. “The fire is spreading to the walls! We have to go!”

Daniel looked down at Arthur. He wanted to kill him. He wanted to leave him to burn in the house he had defiled.

But Daniel was not a murderer. He was a father.

He grabbed the gun Arthur had dropped, then patted down Arthur’s coat. He found a set of car keys and a thick, leather-bound phone.

“Enjoy the fire, Arthur,” Daniel spat.

He grabbed Sophie’s hand and they ran out the door. Noah was waiting in the grass. Daniel scooped him up, and the four of them sprinted toward the dirt driveway.

Parked behind the trees was a black Mercedes SUV.

Daniel unlocked it, throwing Dr. Aris and Noah into the back, and Sophie into the passenger seat. He jumped behind the wheel and slammed on the gas. The heavy vehicle tore out of the woods, fishtailing onto the wet pavement of Route 114.

Behind them, the A-frame cabin glowed like a beacon in the night.

Inside the car, the silence was heavy, broken only by Noah’s ragged breathing.

Sophie turned in her seat. “Is everyone okay? Noah?”

“I’m okay, Mommy,” Noah sniffled.

Dr. Aris was clutching the manila folder. “We have the evidence. We have to get it to the FBI. Not the local field office. The Director in Washington. It’s the only way to bypass Arthur’s people.”

“How?” Daniel asked, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles were white. “We’re running for our lives in his car.”

Suddenly, the leather-bound phone Daniel had taken from Arthur’s pocket buzzed in the center console.

Daniel stared at it. It buzzed again.

He reached over and hit the speaker button.

“Did you really think a fire would stop me, Daniel?” Arthur’s voice filled the car, slightly raspy but completely calm.

Daniel’s blood ran cold. “You’re alive.”

“Of course I am. I’m already in another vehicle. And you are driving my car, which means I know exactly where you are.”

“Call the police, Arthur. Tell them to meet us. Because I’m giving them the folder.”

Arthur laughed. A dry, awful sound.

“You think that folder will save you? Listen to me very carefully, Daniel. If you hand that folder to the FBI, I will release my own files to the press.”

“Your lies mean nothing.”

“They aren't lies. They are heavily fabricated truths. Documents showing that you were the mastermind behind the foundation’s illicit activities. That you orchestrated the harvesting ring to fund your lavish lifestyle. That Sophie discovered it, and you arranged her murder.”

Sophie gasped. “They won't believe that!”

“I have bank transfers bearing Daniel’s signature,” Arthur said smoothly. “I have emails from his IP address ordering hits. I have spent three years building a digital cage around him, just in case he ever became a problem.”

Daniel felt the walls closing in. Arthur had anticipated everything.

“If you go to the FBI, Daniel,” Arthur said softly, “you will go to federal prison for the rest of your life. Noah will be placed into state custody. And my people will simply pluck him from the foster system the very next day.”

Arthur paused, letting the reality sink in.

“Bring the boy back to Boston. To the foundation headquarters. Bring him to the penthouse suite in one hour. If you do, I will destroy the fabricated files. You and Sophie can take the money I’ll give you and disappear. The boy fulfills his purpose, and you get your freedom.”

“He’s my son!” Daniel screamed.

“He is a cure,” Arthur corrected. “One hour, Daniel. Or I ruin you all.”

The line went dead.

Daniel pulled the car over onto the shoulder of the dark highway. He slammed his hands against the steering wheel.

They were trapped. If they ran, they were hunted. If they went to the police, Daniel went to prison and Noah was taken anyway.

Sophie reached across the console and took Daniel’s hand.

“Daniel. Look at me.”

He turned to her. Her eyes were fierce. The frightened woman in the rain was gone. In her place was the mother who had given up her life for three years to protect her child.

“We are not giving him our son,” Sophie said. “And we are not letting him frame you.”

“What do we do?” Daniel asked, completely lost.

Sophie looked at Dr. Aris in the back seat. “Doctor… Arthur’s server backups in that folder. Are the encryption keys in there?”

“Yes,” Dr. Aris said. “But they only work if they are authenticated on the main foundation server.”

Sophie looked back at Daniel.

“Arthur wants us to come to the penthouse,” she said, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper. “So we’re going to the penthouse. But we aren't bringing him a cure.”