CHAPTER 5 — MY HUSBAND'S SECOND FACE
CHAPTER 5 — MY HUSBAND'S SECOND FACE
The first thing I heard beneath the Whitmore estate was crying.
Not one child.
Several.
Soft, frightened sobs echoed through the underground corridor.
I held Amelia tighter.
She buried her face against my neck.
"Mommy."
"I'm here."
Her little fingers curled into my dress.
"I'm not leaving you."
Behind me, Alexander descended the stairs.
Evelyn followed.
The police officers remained upstairs, securing the entrance.
Victoria was nowhere to be seen.
That frightened me more than if she had followed us.
Because Victoria Whitmore never disappeared without a plan.
We reached the bottom.
A long corridor stretched ahead.
There were doors on both sides.
Each one had a number.
01
02
03
My stomach twisted.
Sixteen children.
Sixteen rooms.
Sixteen lives.
I looked at Alexander.
"Open them."
He shook his head.
"Claire—"
"Open them."
"You don't know what's inside."
"I know enough."
He pulled out a key.
The first door opened.
Inside was a small bedroom.
A bed.
A table.
A few toys.
And a little boy.
Maybe four years old.
He was sitting in the corner.
His knees were pressed against his chest.
When the door opened, he looked up.
His eyes widened.
He didn't run.
He didn't scream.
He simply stared.
Like he had learned that adults opening doors usually meant something bad.
I felt tears burning my eyes.
"Hello."
He didn't answer.
I crouched down.
"My name is Claire."
He stared at me.
"What's your name?"
Silence.
Then he whispered:
"Noah."
I smiled.
"Hi, Noah."
He looked at Amelia.
"Who's she?"
"My daughter."
Noah looked confused.
"She's pretty."
"Thank you."
Alexander stepped inside.
Noah immediately moved backward.
I noticed.
"You know him?"
Noah nodded.
"Is he one of the doctors?"
Alexander's face tightened.
"No."
Noah looked at me.
"He's the man who comes at night."
My blood ran cold.
"What does he do?"
Noah didn't answer.
Alexander closed his eyes.
I turned toward him.
"What does he do?"
"Claire."
"What does he do?"
"He checks the security."
I stared.
"That's all?"
He didn't answer.
I looked at Noah.
The little boy's hands were shaking.
"He doesn't hurt us."
I swallowed.
"But you're afraid of him."
Noah nodded.
I felt something inside me break.
I opened my arms.
"Come here."
He hesitated.
Then slowly walked toward me.
I hugged him.
He was freezing.
"How long have you been here?"
He whispered:
"Since I was a baby."
I looked at Alexander.
"Sixteen children."
"Yes."
"All kidnapped?"
"Not all."
"What does that mean?"
"Some were given away."
"By whom?"
"Their parents."
I stared.
"Why?"
"Money."
My stomach turned.
"Some families were desperate."
"Some were threatened."
"Some were deceived."
"And some..."
Alexander paused.
"Some never knew their children were taken."
I looked at Amelia.
Then at Noah.
The same story.
Different names.
Different families.
Same nightmare.
We opened the other rooms.
There were children everywhere.
A girl named Lily.
A boy named Samuel.
Twins named Emma and Sophie.
A quiet little girl named Grace.
Each had a file.
Each had a number.
Each had a story.
And every story ended with the same sentence:
TRANSFERRED TO WHITMORE PRIVATE CARE.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked:
"Where are their parents?"
Alexander looked at the floor.
"Most believe their children died."
My blood ran cold.
Just like me.
The same lie.
The same method.
The same family.
I turned to Evelyn.
"Get them out."
She nodded.
"I'll call the authorities."
"Now."
She pulled out her phone.
Then stopped.
"No signal."
Alexander pointed toward the ceiling.
"Jammers."
I looked at him.
"Can you disable them?"
"Yes."
"Then do it."
He disappeared down the corridor.
I stayed with the children.
Amelia sat beside Noah.
She was holding his hand.
"You're not scared," Noah said.
She shook her head.
"My mommy came."
I looked away.
I couldn't stop the tears.
Then I heard footsteps.
Heavy.
Fast.
Coming toward us.
I turned.
Ethan stood at the end of the corridor.
My husband.
His shirt was torn.
His face was bruised.
His hands were cuffed.
But the cuffs were open.
He was holding a gun.
I immediately moved in front of Amelia.
"Ethan."
He stopped.
His eyes went to Amelia.
Then to me.
For a second, he looked broken.
"Claire."
"Don't come closer."
"I need to talk to you."
"You have a gun."
"I won't hurt you."
"You already did."
His jaw tightened.
"I know."
"You pushed me."
"I know."
"You lied about my daughter."
"I know."
"You helped your family steal her."
He looked away.
"I didn't know she was alive."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
"Then tell me the truth."
He looked at the children.
His face changed.
"You found them."
"Yes."
He lowered the gun.
"I never wanted this."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
"Claire."
"Everyone says that."
"My mother."
"Alexander."
"Even you."
"You think I wanted any of this?"
I stared at him.
"I don't know what you want anymore."
He stepped forward.
I raised my voice.
"Stop."
He stopped.
"You lied to me for three years."
"I was afraid."
"Of your mother?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you leave?"
He didn't answer.
"Why didn't you help me?"
"I tried."
"When?"
"The night our daughter disappeared."
I froze.
"What did you do?"
Ethan looked at Amelia.
"I went after her."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"I followed my mother."
"To the private facility?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"I saw them take her."
My blood went cold.
"Then why did you tell me she died?"
He swallowed.
"Because my mother had a gun."
I stared.
"She pointed it at me."
"And you believed her?"
"No."
He looked at me.
"I believed she would kill you."
I shook my head.
"You could have told me."
"I couldn't."
"You could have called the police."
"She had people everywhere."
"You could have helped me."
"I did."
"When?"
He pulled something from his pocket.
A small silver bracelet.
The same bracelet Amelia had been wearing.
My heart stopped.
"She had this when she was transferred."
"You kept it?"
"I wanted proof."
"Then why didn't you give it to me?"
"Because I thought I could get her back."
I stared at him.
"What happened?"
"My mother found out."
"And?"
"She threatened to kill you."
"Again."
He nodded.
"So you chose her."
"No."
He looked at me.
"I chose you."
I shook my head.
"No."
"I chose to keep you alive."
"You chose to let me mourn my daughter."
"I know."
"You watched me fall apart."
"I know."
"You slept beside me while I cried."
"I know."
"You told me I needed therapy."
His eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
I stared at him.
"How could you?"
He whispered:
"Because every night, I hated myself."
I wanted to hate him.
But seeing him cry made something inside me uncomfortable.
Not pity.
Not forgiveness.
Something more complicated.
Because this was the man I had loved.
The man who had held my hand during our wedding.
The man who had promised me forever.
And the same man who had watched me believe our daughter was dead.
I couldn't reconcile the two.
"What happened to you?"
He looked at the floor.
"My mother."
"She changed you."
"No."
He looked at me.
"She showed me who I really was."
I stared.
"What does that mean?"
He stepped closer.
"I've been lying to you since before we met."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
He took a breath.
"I didn't meet you by accident."
The room went silent.
"What are you saying?"
"I was sent to you."
"By Victoria?"
He nodded.
My stomach turned.
"Why?"
"To marry you."
"Why me?"
"Because of your mother."
I felt cold.
"What did she want from my mother?"
"Access."
"To what?"
"Her genetic records."
I stared.
"Why?"
"Because your mother had something the Whitmore family needed."
I looked at Evelyn.
She was listening silently.
Ethan continued.
"Your mother was part of a study."
"I know."
"No."
He shook his head.
"You don't."
"What don't I know?"
"Your mother wasn't a subject."
She was a researcher."
I froze.
"What?"
"She helped create the program."
My heart stopped.
"No."
"She was one of the original scientists."
I looked at the files.
The photographs.
The children.
My mother.
Everything suddenly connected.
"She created this?"
"Not alone."
"Who else?"
"Alexander."
I turned toward him.
Alexander stood at the end of the corridor.
His face was grim.
"Your mother wanted to destroy it."
Ethan nodded.
"My mother wanted to control it."
I stared between them.
"And you?"
Ethan looked at me.
"I was supposed to monitor you."
My chest tightened.
"Monitor me?"
"Your health."
"Your pregnancy."
"Your DNA."
I felt sick.
"You knew."
"Yes."
"You knew I was carrying twins?"
"Yes."
"You knew Amelia was Alexander's?"
He hesitated.
"Yes."
My heart shattered.
"How long?"
"From the first ultrasound."
I couldn't breathe.
"You knew my daughter wasn't yours."
"Yes."
"And you stayed?"
"Because I loved you."
I laughed through my tears.
"You don't get to call that love."
"I know."
"You lied to me."
"I know."
"You watched your mother steal my daughter."
"I tried to stop her."
"Not hard enough."
He lowered his head.
"You're right."
I stared at him.
Then I saw something on his wrist.
A scar.
A strange symbol.
I had seen it before.
On the files.
W-17
I grabbed his arm.
"What is this?"
He tried to pull away.
"What?"
"This mark."
His face changed.
"Where did you get it?"
He looked at me.
"My mother."
"Why?"
"Because I was part of the program too."
I froze.
"What?"
"I was tested as a child."
"No."
"Yes."
"You were one of them?"
"Not exactly."
He pulled up his sleeve.
There were scars.
Dozens.
Tiny marks.
Injection sites.
My stomach turned.
"How old were you?"
"Seven."
I looked at him differently.
"Why?"
"Because my mother wanted to know whether the treatment worked."
"What treatment?"
He didn't answer.
Alexander did.
"Gene therapy."
I stared at him.
"They were experimenting on their own children."
Ethan nodded.
"My mother believed I was the future of the family."
I whispered:
"And Amelia?"
His face collapsed.
"She was the first child who proved the treatment worked."
I looked at my daughter.
She was playing quietly with the stuffed rabbit.
"That's why they took her."
"Yes."
"That's why they hid her."
"Yes."
"That's why they lied about her death."
"Yes."
I felt tears running down my face.
Then Ethan looked at me.
"There is something else."
I wiped my tears.
"What?"
He hesitated.
"The night you gave birth..."
My heart started pounding.
"What happened?"
"I wasn't the one who signed the death certificate."
"Who did?"
"My mother."
"And the doctor?"
"Dr. Reed."
"The same doctor?"
"Yes."
"Then why did Evelyn say she delivered my daughter?"
"Because Evelyn did."
I frowned.
"Then who signed the false report?"
"Dr. Reed."
I looked at Evelyn.
She nodded.
"I found out later."
"Why didn't you expose him?"
"I tried."
"He threatened you?"
"Yes."
"With what?"
Evelyn looked toward Ethan.
"He had proof that my husband was involved."
I froze.
"What?"
She looked down.
"My husband was one of the men who funded the program."
Silence.
Every person in this room had been connected.
Every family.
Every lie.
Every death.
Every child.
Then a loud alarm sounded.
Red lights flashed through the corridor.
Ethan looked up.
"What's happening?"
Alexander ran toward the control room.
I heard him shout:
"They've activated the lockdown."
The doors began closing one after another.
The children screamed.
Amelia grabbed my leg.
"Mommy!"
"I'm here."
Ethan looked at the ceiling.
"My mother."
I turned.
"What?"
"She's locking the facility."
"Why?"
"To destroy the evidence."
A mechanical voice echoed through the corridor.
"Emergency containment initiated."
The lights turned red.
Doors slammed shut.
The children began crying.
Evelyn rushed to the nearest control panel.
"She's going to seal the lower levels."
"Can you stop it?"
"I don't know."
Ethan ran toward her.
"I can."
I stared at him.
He looked at me.
"Claire."
"What?"
"I need you to trust me."
I almost laughed.
"After everything?"
"I know."
He looked at Amelia.
"Please."
I didn't answer.
He ran.
Alexander followed.
Then I heard a sound behind me.
A soft click.
I turned.
Victoria stood at the end of the corridor.
She was holding a gun.
Her face was calm.
She looked at Ethan.
Then at Alexander.
Then at me.
"You finally understand."
I held Amelia tighter.
"Understand what?"
Victoria smiled.
"Your husband wasn't my victim."
She raised the gun.
"He was my best student."
Ethan froze.
Victoria continued:
"And he has been helping me from the beginning."
My heart stopped.
I looked at Ethan.
He didn't move.
Victoria smiled wider.
"Ask him."
I turned toward my husband.
"Ethan?"
He closed his eyes.
And when he opened them again—
the expression on his face was different.
Cold.
Empty.
Almost unfamiliar.
Victoria whispered:
"Tell your wife the truth."
Ethan looked directly into my eyes.
Then he said the words that destroyed the last piece of trust I had left.
"Mom is right."
He raised his gun.
"I was never trying to save you."
My blood froze.
"I was trying to keep you under control."
The hallway went silent.
Amelia began crying.
I stepped backward.
Ethan took one step toward me.
And for the first time since I had met him—
I saw the man my husband had been hiding all along.
Not the frightened son.
Not the guilty husband.
Not the broken father.
Something much darker.
May you like
His second face.
And now it was looking directly at me.
