Chapter 8: The Doctor’s Confession
Nobody moved.
The words didn't make sense.
Not at first.
Because sometimes the human mind protects itself.
It rejects things too painful to understand.
It creates a moment of disbelief.
A tiny space where reality hasn't fully entered yet.
The doctor stood in the doorway.
The same man who had smiled at me every morning.
The same man who checked Luna's heartbeat.
The same man who told me:
“Your babies are stronger than expected.”
Now he stood there like a stranger.
Chief Mike immediately stepped between him and us.
“Doctor, step away from the door.”
The doctor raised both hands.
“I don't have a weapon.”
“That wasn't my question.”
His face was tired.
Not evil.
Not proud.
Just exhausted.
Like a man who had been carrying a secret too heavy for too long.
I held onto the bassinet.
“Explain.”
My voice was barely steady.
“Explain why you just said my children were never supposed to leave this hospital alive.”
The doctor looked at me.
And for a moment...
I saw regret.
Real regret.
“My name is Dr. Adrian Cole.”
Daniel frowned.
“Cole?”
The doctor nodded.
“You don't remember me.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“No…”
A pause.
“You were involved in Genesis.”
Everyone looked at him.
The doctor lowered his head.
“Yes.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“You were part of this?”
Dr. Cole looked at him.
“I was.”
The betrayal hit harder because it was familiar.
Another person.
Another secret.
Another lie.
“How long?”
Ethan asked.
The doctor answered:
“Since the beginning.”
I looked down at my children.
Since the beginning.
Meaning before they were born.
Before I knew.
Before I could protect them.
“You monitored my pregnancy.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
My eyes filled.
Not with sadness.
With anger.
“You touched my children.”
His face broke.
“I saved them.”
The sentence stunned everyone.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“Victoria told you part of the truth.”
A pause.
“But not all of it.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“What are you saying?”
Dr. Cole looked at the security cameras.
Then at Chief Mike.
“Because if the people behind Genesis know I am here…”
He stopped.
“They will come.”
Chief Mike immediately raised his radio.
“Lock down the building.”
Too late.
The lights flickered again.
This time harder.
The backup generators struggled.
Dr. Cole looked terrified.
Not of us.
Of someone else.
“Who?”
I asked.
He whispered:
“The people who funded it.”
Nobody spoke.
“The Sterlings weren't the only ones involved.”
Daniel's face darkened.
“Who else?”
Dr. Cole looked at Ethan.
Then at me.
“The people who created Genesis didn't want a family.”
A pause.
“They wanted ownership.”
My stomach turned.
“They wanted children born with selected traits.”
“Children they could study.”
“Children they could control.”
I looked at my twins.
And suddenly the room felt smaller.
“Why my babies?”
The doctor answered:
“Because of you.”
My heart stopped.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
He took a breath.
“Your genetic history.”
“My history?”
“You don't know?”
I shook my head.
“No.”
Dr. Cole looked at Daniel.
“Tell her.”
Daniel was silent.
Then:
“Judge Sterling's mother was a medical researcher.”
I froze.
My mother.
The woman who died when I was young.
The woman I barely remembered.
“She worked on early genetic research.”
Daniel continued.
“But she left the program.”
Dr. Cole nodded.
“She discovered what Genesis really was.”
I felt cold.
“And they came after her.”
Nobody answered.
Because the silence was enough.
“My mother died because of this.”
Dr. Cole looked down.
“Yes.”
The room spun.
All these years.
I thought my mother was gone because of an accident.
Because of fate.
Because life was cruel.
But maybe...
Someone made a choice.
Ethan reached for my hand.
This time I didn't pull away.
Not because everything was fixed.
Because I was too shocked.
“What about the twins?”
Ethan asked.
His voice was different.
A father's voice.
Protective.
Terrified.
Dr. Cole looked at him.
“The twins are unique.”
I hated that word.
Unique.
Because people used it when they wanted to turn human beings into something else.
“Unique how?”
“The treatment during pregnancy changed their development.”
I felt sick.
“What treatment?”
He hesitated.
Then:
“The supplements.”
My mind flashed back.
The vitamins.
The pills.
The things the fertility specialist recommended.
The things I trusted.
“No.”
I whispered.
“No.”
Dr. Cole nodded.
“The supplements were modified.”
I couldn't breathe.
“I took them every day.”
His eyes filled.
“I know.”
I looked at him.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you let me?”
He looked broken.
“I was trying to stop it.”
I laughed bitterly.
“By watching?”
He accepted the anger.
“I was trapped.”
Daniel interrupted.
“How?”
Dr. Cole looked toward the door.
“Because my daughter was part of Genesis too.”
Silence.
“My daughter was one of the first children.”
He swallowed.
“She didn't survive.”
Everyone became quiet.
“I joined the program because I thought I could prevent it.”
“I thought I could control the damage.”
“But I was wrong.”
The doctor looked at Leo and Luna.
“They wanted to study your children after birth.”
My blood ran cold.
“Study?”
He nodded.
“Observe development.”
“Test responses.”
“Collect data.”
Chief Mike's hand tightened.
“That is criminal.”
Dr. Cole nodded.
“Yes.”
Then he looked at me.
“And when I realized they planned to remove the babies…”
He stopped.
“You changed their plan.”
I frowned.
“How?”
He said:
“You loved them.”
The answer confused me.
“They expected you to be ambitious.”
“They expected you to value your career.”
“They expected you to see the children as part of a bigger purpose.”
His voice softened.
“But every time you held them…”
“You proved they were wrong.”
My eyes burned.
“Then why tell me now?”
Dr. Cole looked at the door.
Because before he answered…
The hallway lights went out completely.
A sound came from outside.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Coming closer.
Everyone turned.
The maternity door handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Then stopped.
A woman's voice came from the other side.
Soft.
Familiar.
“Doctor Cole.”
Nobody breathed.
Victoria.
“You were always weak.”
Dr. Cole closed his eyes.
Because he knew.
She wasn't alone.
The door opened.
And behind Victoria stood three people.
One of them made Ethan go completely still.
His father.
Alive.
Standing there.
William Sterling looked at his son.
Then at the twins.
And said:
“I suppose introductions are overdue.”
My blood ran cold.
Because the man who had supposedly died five years ago...
May you like
Had just walked into the room.
And he was smiling.
