{"id":12027,"date":"2026-10-02T15:22:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-02T15:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=12027"},"modified":"2026-10-02T15:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-02T15:22:22","slug":"part-16-sophies-first-mri-brought-the-news-everyone-had-been-afraid-to-hope-for-while-vale-used-her-stolen-blood-to-begin-another-experiment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=12027","title":{"rendered":"PART 16 \u2013 Sophie\u2019s First MRI Brought the News Everyone Had Been Afraid to Hope For, While Vale Used Her Stolen Blood to Begin Another Experiment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sophie slept for fourteen hours after the suicide switch was activated.<\/p>\n<p>Claire did not.<\/p>\n<p>Every time a monitor changed rhythm, she looked up.<\/p>\n<p>Every time Sophie moved, Claire touched her hand.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel finally dragged a second chair beside the bed and slept sitting upright.<\/p>\n<p>Eric dozed in the secure waiting room.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel remained in federal custody.<\/p>\n<p>Vale remained free.<\/p>\n<p>But Sophie was alive.<\/p>\n<p>For that night, Claire forced herself to let that fact be enough.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie woke shortly after nine.<\/p>\n<p>Her first words were, \u201cI\u2019m hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire laughed so suddenly she frightened herself.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel woke.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He stared at Sophie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re hungry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI literally just said that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stood and kissed the top of her head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBest sentence I\u2019ve ever heard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want pancakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah allowed half a pancake.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie called the restriction a human-rights violation.<\/p>\n<p>She ate three bites and fell asleep again.<\/p>\n<p>By afternoon, her fever had dropped below thirty-eight degrees.<\/p>\n<p>Blood pressure support was reduced.<\/p>\n<p>Liver tests began improving.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, the engineered immune cells were disappearing exactly as the safety switch intended.<\/p>\n<p>Eric\u2019s protective factors had also done their job.<\/p>\n<p>Healthy-tissue receptor expression remained low throughout the dangerous inflammatory period.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah showed Samuel the data.<\/p>\n<p>He studied it in silence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWell?\u201d Bell asked.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked toward Eric through the glass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son solved the problem I could not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric heard.<\/p>\n<p>His expression hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t solve anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour biology did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat isn\u2019t an achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked older.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is an inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Sophie is my inheritance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel seemed struck by the sentence.<\/p>\n<p>Eric continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot the mutation. Not your research. Not your name. Her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel lowered his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Claire watched without satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>No single statement could repair the family.<\/p>\n<p>But some statements could stop damage from moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie\u2019s MRI was scheduled the next morning.<\/p>\n<p>Claire dreaded it more than she expected.<\/p>\n<p>Laboratory markers were encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>Symptoms were improving.<\/p>\n<p>None of that guaranteed the brain tumor had disappeared.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie noticed her tension.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorried face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMine too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire climbed beside her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou want to talk about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a minute Sophie said, \u201cWhat if Kevin is still there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen Dr. Shah figures out what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if he\u2019s smaller?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat if he\u2019s gone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s throat tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe celebrate louder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I have a whole pancake?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven if Dr. Shah says half?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The MRI began at 8:15.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel waited beside Claire.<\/p>\n<p>Eric paced.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie disappeared into the machine.<\/p>\n<p>Forty minutes later she returned.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah did not immediately have the final interpretation.<\/p>\n<p>That meant more waiting.<\/p>\n<p>Claire began hating clocks.<\/p>\n<p>At 10:03, Shah entered with Dr. Chen, the neurosurgeon.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stood.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie sat upright.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust say it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Chen smiled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe lesion is much smaller.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire gripped Daniel\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow much?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApproximately seventy percent reduction in measurable volume.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric sat down abruptly.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie blinked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo Kevin is mostly dead?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is not the terminology in the radiology report.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut yes. The tumor has responded extremely well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie raised both arms.<\/p>\n<p>Then immediately winced because of the IV.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel laughed.<\/p>\n<p>Claire hugged her carefully.<\/p>\n<p>Eric leaned over the bed.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie grabbed his hand.<\/p>\n<p>For several seconds, nobody mentioned Vale.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody mentioned Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody mentioned experiments.<\/p>\n<p>They celebrated seventy percent.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah warned them that residual tumor remained.<\/p>\n<p>Treatment was not finished.<\/p>\n<p>More imaging.<\/p>\n<p>Possibly additional chemotherapy.<\/p>\n<p>Potentially another controlled cellular infusion depending on recovery and tumor behavior.<\/p>\n<p>But the immediate result was better than many specialists had dared predict.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie looked at Abigail on video.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeventy percent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Abigail grinned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShow-off.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou had one hundred.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m coming for your record.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire laughed.<\/p>\n<p>It was the first laughter in days that did not feel borrowed.<\/p>\n<p>Then Bell entered.<\/p>\n<p>He waited until Sophie finished talking to Abigail.<\/p>\n<p>Claire saw his expression.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVale.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell nodded.<\/p>\n<p>The stolen blood vial had surfaced.<\/p>\n<p>Not physically.<\/p>\n<p>Scientifically.<\/p>\n<p>A private laboratory received an anonymous urgent-testing request during the night.<\/p>\n<p>The sample identifier matched Sophie\u2019s stolen vial.<\/p>\n<p>The laboratory flagged it because federal alerts had been issued to research facilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat tests did he order?\u201d Dr. Shah asked.<\/p>\n<p>Bell handed her the request.<\/p>\n<p>She read it.<\/p>\n<p>Her expression tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s isolating Eric\u2019s protective signal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Sophie\u2019s blood?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>During treatment, Sophie\u2019s bloodstream contained both her engineered immune response and the protective molecules derived from Eric.<\/p>\n<p>Vale had stolen a snapshot of the entire working system.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel was brought in.<\/p>\n<p>He read the testing request.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe can reproduce it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow quickly?\u201d Bell asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow quickly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMonths.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire exhaled.<\/p>\n<p>That was better than days.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless he already has the other components.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhich he probably does.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale possessed vector-production equipment.<\/p>\n<p>NorthStar data.<\/p>\n<p>Active-subject records.<\/p>\n<p>Access to modified cell lines.<\/p>\n<p>Now he had Sophie\u2019s treatment-phase blood.<\/p>\n<p>He did not need Sophie anymore.<\/p>\n<p>That should have been reassuring.<\/p>\n<p>It was not.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he doesn\u2019t need her,\u201d Daniel said, \u201cwho does he need?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked at the rescued-subject list.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSomeone to test it on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The room went silent.<\/p>\n<p>Bell immediately contacted teams protecting every identified child.<\/p>\n<p>All accounted for.<\/p>\n<p>Noah remained in hospital care.<\/p>\n<p>Lily and the four recovered children were under federal protection.<\/p>\n<p>Abigail was secure.<\/p>\n<p>The remaining active subjects were being located.<\/p>\n<p>Then Bell received a message.<\/p>\n<p>One family was missing.<\/p>\n<p>Subject Fourteen.<\/p>\n<p>Eight-year-old Mateo Ruiz.<\/p>\n<p>No relation to Elena Ruiz, the surrogate.<\/p>\n<p>His parents had been contacted the previous evening.<\/p>\n<p>Agents were scheduled to bring him for evaluation that morning.<\/p>\n<p>When they arrived, the house was empty.<\/p>\n<p>No sign of forced entry.<\/p>\n<p>Family car gone.<\/p>\n<p>Phones off.<\/p>\n<p>A neighbor reported seeing Mateo\u2019s parents loading suitcases before dawn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMaybe they ran because they were scared,\u201d Claire said.<\/p>\n<p>Bell nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then a traffic camera image arrived.<\/p>\n<p>The family vehicle was traveling west.<\/p>\n<p>A second vehicle followed closely behind.<\/p>\n<p>Registered to a medical-supply company.<\/p>\n<p>NorthStar subsidiary.<\/p>\n<p>Bell mobilized agents.<\/p>\n<p>The cars were located at a rural gas station.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo\u2019s parents were found inside their vehicle.<\/p>\n<p>Alive.<\/p>\n<p>Drugged.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo was gone.<\/p>\n<p>Claire closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Vale had his test subject.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie heard.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe took a kid?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow old?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie looked furious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFind him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell nodded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo. Find him before Vale makes him sick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That became the entire investigation.<\/p>\n<p>Not catching Vale.<\/p>\n<p>Not proving conspiracy.<\/p>\n<p>Not preserving evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Finding Mateo before another child reached Sophie\u2019s hospital bed by the same terrible road.<\/p>\n<p>The parents recovered enough to describe what happened.<\/p>\n<p>A man posing as a federal medical officer arrived before dawn.<\/p>\n<p>He said Mateo had tested positive for an urgent complication.<\/p>\n<p>They followed him voluntarily.<\/p>\n<p>At a rest stop, both parents became dizzy after drinking bottled water he provided.<\/p>\n<p>The father remembered seeing Vale before losing consciousness.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo was awake when they were taken.<\/p>\n<p>He had been crying.<\/p>\n<p>The vehicle carrying him traveled west for another hour before cameras lost it.<\/p>\n<p>Samuel studied the route.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou recognize something?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToward what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel asked for a map.<\/p>\n<p>He traced the highway.<\/p>\n<p>Then a secondary road.<\/p>\n<p>Then another.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was a NorthStar animal-testing facility here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Eric frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve never heard of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt predates you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The facility officially closed seventeen years earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Property records showed it had been sold twice.<\/p>\n<p>Current owner: a holding company.<\/p>\n<p>Bell traced the holding company.<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Vale.<\/p>\n<p>Teams were sent immediately.<\/p>\n<p>The property consisted of three low buildings surrounded by woods.<\/p>\n<p>Thermal imaging showed heat in one.<\/p>\n<p>Agents moved in.<\/p>\n<p>No Vale.<\/p>\n<p>No Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>But the laboratory had been active minutes earlier.<\/p>\n<p>A centrifuge still spun.<\/p>\n<p>An incubator remained warm.<\/p>\n<p>On a stainless-steel table sat Sophie\u2019s stolen blood vial.<\/p>\n<p>Empty.<\/p>\n<p>Beside it were several newly prepared syringes.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah examined photographs remotely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is in those?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Field testing could not determine it.<\/p>\n<p>Samples were rushed to a federal laboratory.<\/p>\n<p>Bell found another clue.<\/p>\n<p>A child\u2019s backpack.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo\u2019s name written inside.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie saw the photograph.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen where did Vale take him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nobody knew.<\/p>\n<p>Security footage had been erased.<\/p>\n<p>But one camera survived because it operated independently.<\/p>\n<p>The recording showed Vale leaving through the rear entrance with Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>The boy was walking.<\/p>\n<p>Not unconscious.<\/p>\n<p>Vale held his hand.<\/p>\n<p>That image disturbed Claire more than if he had been carrying him.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo trusted him enough to walk beside him.<\/p>\n<p>Audio from the camera captured part of their conversation.<\/p>\n<p>Mateo asked, \u201cWill this make my mom stop being scared?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale answered, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire\u2019s hands curled into fists.<\/p>\n<p>Then Mateo asked, \u201cWill it hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale replied, \u201cNot for long.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie looked away.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel shut off the recording.<\/p>\n<p>Bell\u2019s team traced tire impressions from the rear road.<\/p>\n<p>They led toward a small regional airport.<\/p>\n<p>Flight records showed one private aircraft departing forty minutes earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Destination filed as Chicago.<\/p>\n<p>The aircraft changed course after takeoff.<\/p>\n<p>Transponder disabled.<\/p>\n<p>Military radar later detected a matching plane heading southeast.<\/p>\n<p>Bell stared at the route.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFlorida.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire immediately thought of Meridian.<\/p>\n<p>But Samuel shook his head.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVale won\u2019t go back there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen where?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked toward Price\u2019s hospital feed.<\/p>\n<p>Leonard Price was awake.<\/p>\n<p>When Bell asked, Price gave one answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrpheus.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel went pale.<\/p>\n<p>Eric saw it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat is Orpheus?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Price laughed weakly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAsk your father about the project he claims never existed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stepped toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo more secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel opened them again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrpheus was the contingency.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf the receptor system became uncontrollable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Shah leaned closer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA reversal vector?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel nodded.<\/p>\n<p>A second genetic therapy.<\/p>\n<p>Designed not to suppress the engineered receptor temporarily.<\/p>\n<p>Designed to remove its activity permanently.<\/p>\n<p>Claire stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou had a cure for what you did to Sophie?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA reversal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAn experimental one.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel looked at Bell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA private laboratory in Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVale knows about it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy take Mateo there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel\u2019s expression darkened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause if Vale can combine Sophie\u2019s protective response with Orpheus, he may be able to make the system safe enough for widespread use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy testing it on an eight-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell\u2019s teams began moving.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie looked at Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan Orpheus help me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The old man met her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire stiffened.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould it make Kevin never come back?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCould it hurt me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie nodded slowly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen we\u2019re not talking about me right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel seemed confused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re talking about Mateo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She pointed toward Bell.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGo get him first.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell nodded once.<\/p>\n<p>Then left.<\/p>\n<p>Claire watched her daughter settle back against the pillow.<\/p>\n<p>Ten years old.<\/p>\n<p>Exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>Bald.<\/p>\n<p>Still carrying a tumor.<\/p>\n<p>And somehow the clearest person in the room.<\/p>\n<p>Hours later, just before midnight, Bell called from Florida.<\/p>\n<p>They had found the Orpheus laboratory.<\/p>\n<p>Vale had been there.<\/p>\n<p>So had Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>But the building was empty.<\/p>\n<p>On a laboratory monitor, Vale had left a live video connection running.<\/p>\n<p>Bell activated it.<\/p>\n<p>Nathan Vale appeared.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, Claire saw him live.<\/p>\n<p>He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up.<\/p>\n<p>Behind him sat Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>Awake.<\/p>\n<p>Frightened.<\/p>\n<p>Alive.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie moved closer to the screen.<\/p>\n<p>Vale saw her.<\/p>\n<p>His expression softened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSophie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDon\u2019t say my name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale paused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have done something extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou made me sick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did not create your original condition.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou gave me the shot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale said nothing.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie looked at Mateo.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs he okay?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet him go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Samuel gives me the Orpheus activation key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone turned toward Samuel.<\/p>\n<p>Bell stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou said the reversal vector was experimental.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou did not mention a key.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel\u2019s face had gone gray.<\/p>\n<p>Vale smiled faintly from the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSamuel never mentions the part that makes him necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire looked at him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat key?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Samuel answered reluctantly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe final Orpheus sequence is encrypted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn my memory.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou memorized it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale leaned toward the camera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have until sunrise, Samuel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sophie interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re not talking to Grandpa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSophie\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re talking to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Claire held her breath.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie stared at the man who had turned her illness into proof.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want what\u2019s in my blood, you already stole it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you want his code, that\u2019s his problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She pointed toward Mateo on the screen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he\u2019s eight. He didn\u2019t agree to anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vale remained silent.<\/p>\n<p>Sophie\u2019s voice shook, but she continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo if you\u2019re really trying to save children, start with the one sitting next to you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, Nathan Vale had no immediate answer.<\/p>\n<p>Then the video went black.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/?p=12028\">Click here to continue reading: PART 17: Vale\u2019s Ultimatum Put Mateo\u2019s Life Against Samuel\u2019s Last Secret, Until Sophie Suggested a Choice None of the Adults Had Considered<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sophie slept for fourteen hours after the suicide switch was activated. Claire did not. Every time a monitor changed rhythm, she looked up. 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