The park had three entrances.<\/p>\n
Federal agents controlled all of them.<\/p>\n
Daniel did not know that.<\/p>\n
At least, Reyes hoped he did not.<\/p>\n
Lily wore a recording device beneath her jacket.<\/p>\n
I watched from a surveillance van with Michael and Reyes.<\/p>\n
Harris remained at the warehouse with Samuel and Evelyn.<\/p>\n
Leonard had been detained for further questioning about the hotel incident.<\/p>\n
For the first time since this began, one person involved in our history was exactly where authorities could see him.<\/p>\n
Daniel arrived at 6:12 p.m.<\/p>\n
He came alone.<\/p>\n
Dark coat.<\/p>\n
No visible bag.<\/p>\n
He walked toward a bench near the river and sat.<\/p>\n
Lily approached from the east path.<\/p>\n
My hands tightened in my lap.<\/p>\n
Michael noticed.<\/p>\n
He placed his hand over mine.<\/p>\n
The contact startled both of us.<\/p>\n
He almost withdrew.<\/p>\n
I turned my palm upward.<\/p>\n
He stayed.<\/p>\n
On the monitor, Lily stopped six feet from Daniel.<\/p>\n
He stood.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me to.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes moved behind her.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said nothing.<\/p>\n
He gave a tired smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n
He did.<\/p>\n
Lily remained standing.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked older than in the photographs.<\/p>\n
Not dramatically.<\/p>\n
But tiredness had settled into him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know about Harris,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
His face changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo he finally told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Susan was your sister?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen did you find out?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou keep saying that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause it is true.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father told me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked toward the river.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tried to kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at the monitor.<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s voice remained level.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMargaret stopped me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause she said if I went to prison, Keene would have one less obstacle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily sat now.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know Keene manipulated the pregnancy?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked sharply at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes leaned closer to the audio.<\/p>\n
Lily said, \u201cThe donor code doesn\u2019t match you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stopped breathing for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat isn\u2019t possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Keene told me it worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat worked?\u201d<\/p>\n
His jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting you conceived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaniel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI tampered with contraception.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you give Susan fertility medication?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cArrange a procedure?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cProvide biological material to Keene?\u201d<\/p>\n
Silence.<\/p>\n
My skin chilled.<\/p>\n
Lily leaned forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel finally nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I approached Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
Lily asked, \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene said he needed samples to verify the trust requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat kind of sample?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSperm.\u201d<\/p>\n
The van went silent.<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you gave it to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you know what he planned to do with it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you expect me to believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI expected to father a child.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough sex.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why give him a sample?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he said the trust required genetic validation before activation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily laughed without humor.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe lied to you too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat donor code?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCH-17M.\u201d<\/p>\n
All color left his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou recognize it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stood.<\/p>\n
Agents shifted outside.<\/p>\n
Lily remained still.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked around now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere did you get that code?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnswer me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLily.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel lowered himself slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWilliam Carter.\u201d<\/p>\n
That confirmed Harris and Samuel.<\/p>\n
Lily\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Keene use William\u2019s stored material?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWilliam\u2019s samples were destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c1993.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho told you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trap closed again.<\/p>\n
Harris.<\/p>\n
Another unverifiable statement.<\/p>\n
Lily said, \u201cMaybe they weren\u2019t destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel rubbed both hands over his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Keene used William\u2019s material\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt changes why he wanted you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause a Carter-line child conceived through Susan would satisfy a different clause.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat clause?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at the river.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe succession clause.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf a direct Carter descendant existed through preserved genetic material, the trust could recognize the child as William\u2019s biological descendant.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat would make Lily\u2014\u201d Michael began.<\/p>\n
I finished.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenetically William\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
And mine.<\/p>\n
The man who raised me as my father could biologically be the father of my daughter.<\/p>\n
Not incest by blood between William and me, because he was not my biological father.<\/p>\n
But emotionally grotesque.<\/p>\n
Lily asked the question herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo Susan\u2019s father could be my biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe man who raised her. Not her biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The distinction did nothing to soften it.<\/p>\n
Lily looked down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWas that Keene\u2019s plan?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel said, \u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou worked with him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a while.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil you were born.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s convenient.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked at her.<\/p>\n
\u201cI learned there was a second plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene did not intend to let Susan raise you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. I mean he never intended to let Margaret raise you either.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily went still.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere was I supposed to go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA family in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI never got the names.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor money?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were connected to one of the original investors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did they want me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s face twisted.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of the genetics.\u201d<\/p>\n
The phrase sickened me.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat genetics?\u201d Lily demanded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe combined Carter-Harris research lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if William was my father, I wouldn\u2019t be Harris.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe is Harris\u2019s daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The structure became clear.<\/p>\n
Lily could carry Harris blood through me and Carter blood through William.<\/p>\n
Both founding families.<\/p>\n
No incest genetically between parents.<\/p>\n
A deliberately engineered child carrying both lineages.<\/p>\n
My skin crawled.<\/p>\n
Lily realized it too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was designed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shut his eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t say possibly if you knew.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI did not know Keene planned artificial conception.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you knew he wanted a child from both lines.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew Susan was Harris\u2019s daughter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen how could you think I would carry both?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked confused.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Susan was William\u2019s biological daughter.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mattered.<\/p>\n
Daniel had believed Susan was Carter.<\/p>\n
He believed himself Harris.<\/p>\n
Their child would combine both families.<\/p>\n
Keene knew Susan was actually Harris\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n
That would not work.<\/p>\n
Unless William\u2019s stored material was used.<\/p>\n
Keene had corrected for the secret Daniel did not know.<\/p>\n
Lily said, \u201cKeene knew Susan\u2019s real father.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d Daniel whispered.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen he knew a child between you and Susan would be Harris-Harris, not Carter-Harris.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared at her.<\/p>\n
The horror arrived slowly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never intended me to be the biological father.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily said nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used me to get close to Susan.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe used the affair to create the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLooks that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel covered his face.<\/p>\n
I felt no sympathy.<\/p>\n
Then I did.<\/p>\n
Only a little.<\/p>\n
Enough to make me angry at myself.<\/p>\n
He had victimized me.<\/p>\n
Keene may have victimized him.<\/p>\n
Both could be true.<\/p>\n
Lily removed a sterile DNA kit from her bag.<\/p>\n
Daniel looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTruth.\u201d<\/p>\n
She placed it beside him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou give a supervised sample.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked toward the trees.<\/p>\n
He knew now.<\/p>\n
Agents.<\/p>\n
Surveillance.<\/p>\n
No privacy.<\/p>\n
No control.<\/p>\n
\u201cFederal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
He almost smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
That surprised everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou agree?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I need to know too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if you\u2019re not my father?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n
Something unguarded appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould that make you feel relieved?\u201d<\/p>\n
He answered after a long pause.<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWould it make you stop caring?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked away.<\/p>\n
Daniel swabbed his cheek under the observation of an agent who approached after Lily signaled.<\/p>\n
Chain of custody began properly this time.<\/p>\n
Before agents led him away for questioning, Lily asked one final question.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is Keene?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel shook his head.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere would he go?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he thinks Samuel has the ledger?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel considered.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the foundation archive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reyes spoke through Lily\u2019s earpiece.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsk where.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel looked directly toward the surveillance van.<\/p>\n
He knew we were listening.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeneath the old Carter-Harris clinic.\u201d<\/p>\n
I felt cold.<\/p>\n
The clinic.<\/p>\n
A place from fragmented memory.<\/p>\n
White hallway.<\/p>\n
My mother driving me home.<\/p>\n
Procedures I never understood.<\/p>\n
Daniel continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cKeene kept physical records there long after the clinic closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAddress.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave it.<\/p>\n
Reyes immediately dispatched a team.<\/p>\n
Daniel added, \u201cIf Keene goes there, don\u2019t let Susan inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lily frowned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause there\u2019s a room she remembers.\u201d<\/p>\n
My pulse jumped.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat room?\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel stared toward the van.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe one they used in 1990.\u201d<\/p>\n
I could feel him speaking to me now.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell Susan the red door was real.\u201d<\/p>\n
The memory hit before he finished.<\/p>\n
A red door at the end of a clinic hallway.<\/p>\n
A nurse opening it.<\/p>\n
My mother telling me not to be afraid.<\/p>\n
A mask descending toward my face.<\/p>\n
I gasped.<\/p>\n
Michael turned.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
I could not answer.<\/p>\n
Because beneath that memory came another.<\/p>\n
A man standing behind the red door.<\/p>\n
Younger.<\/p>\n
Thomas Keene.<\/p>\n
Not an attorney.<\/p>\n
Not merely my father\u2019s legal adviser.<\/p>\n
Wearing a white coat.<\/p>\n
The park had three entrances. Federal agents controlled all of them. Daniel did not know that. At least, Reyes hoped he did not. Lily wore a recording device beneath her … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feel-one-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9507"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9550,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9507\/revisions\/9550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feelonestory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}