Chapter 3 - THE DOCTOR WHO NEVER EXISTEDDr. Evelyn Voss had no official employment record at Montferrand Correctional Facility.
Lucie discovered that forty minutes later, while hiding inside an abandoned maintenance office with Mara and Valois.
Mara's shoulder had been bandaged using supplies from an emergency cabinet. The bullet had passed through soft tissue, but she was losing strength.
Valois stood near the doorway, listening for approaching footsteps.
Lucie had taken his gun.
He hadn't resisted.
That disturbed her.
"Tell me who Evelyn Voss is."
Valois looked toward Mara.
"She was a physician attached to a government research program."
"What kind of program?"
"Medical identification. Emergency response. Biological profiling."
"You're avoiding the question."
He rubbed his face.
"The original project was designed to identify missing people after disasters. DNA matching, biometric records, and medical databases."
Lucie frowned.
"That doesn't explain secret prison cells."
"No," Valois admitted. "It doesn't."
Mara spoke from the chair.
"The program changed when private contractors realized what they could sell."
Lucie turned.
"Sell to whom?"
"Anyone willing to pay for information that could destroy a person."
The research program had begun with legitimate intentions. Scientists wanted to reunite families separated by disasters, identify unidentified bodies, and help investigators locate missing persons.
Then a private company called Helix Meridian acquired the technology.
The company's executives discovered that the system could connect biological samples with personal records from multiple databases.
Health histories.
Family relationships.
Identity information.
Private medical details.
Data that could be exploited for blackmail, fraud, and coercion.
The company needed a place where illegal testing could continue without public scrutiny.
Montferrand provided that place.
Building D was officially closed for renovations.
In reality, it became a hidden research center.
"And Julien found the system?" Lucie asked.
Valois nodded.
"He discovered the camera outages. Then he found evidence that medical shipments were being moved without proper authorization."
"Why didn't he go to the police?"
"He did."
Lucie felt her stomach tighten.
"To you?"
Valois looked away.
"To someone above me."
"Who?"
"I don't know who received his report."
Lucie didn't believe him.
She stepped closer.
"You told me he was dead."
"I believed he would be killed if anyone knew he was alive."
"That isn't an answer."
"No," he said quietly. "It's an excuse."
Mara shifted painfully.
"Julien tried to shut down their database. He almost succeeded."
"What happened?"
"They caught him before he could transmit the evidence."
Lucie closed her eyes.
For three years, she had imagined Julien trapped in a dark room, waiting for rescue.
Now she was learning that he had fought back.
He hadn't simply disappeared.
He had refused to surrender.
A faint sound came from the computer on the maintenance desk.
The screen flickered to life.
Lucie approached.
A single message appeared.
LUCIE. IF YOU CAN READ THIS, I'M STILL FIGHTING.
Her breath caught.
She touched the keyboard.
"Julien?"
Another message appeared.
DON'T TRUST THE CAMERAS. THEY CAN SEE EVERYTHING.
Lucie glanced toward the ceiling.
A small security camera watched the room.
She covered it with a maintenance jacket.
The screen changed.
BETTER.
For the first time in three years, Lucie almost smiled.
"Where are you?"
MOVING. THEY'RE SEARCHING THE LOWER LEVELS.
"How do I find you?"
ROOM 146.
Lucie looked toward Mara.
"What's in that room?"
Julien's next message appeared before anyone could answer.
THE REASON THEY CHOSE OUR FAMILY.
A file opened.
It contained a photograph taken twenty-nine years earlier.
A young woman stood outside a medical clinic, holding a baby.
Lucie recognized the woman immediately.
Her mother.
Beside her stood a man in a white coat.
The photograph was blurry, but the man's face was unmistakable.
Étienne Valois.
Lucie turned slowly.
Valois stared at the screen.
"That photograph shouldn't exist."
Lucie's voice was barely audible.
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"WHY WERE YOU WITH MY MOTHER BEFORE I WAS BORN?"
End of Chapter 3 — Cliffhanger: Valois's connection to the Serrano family began decades before Julien disappeared.
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