Chapter 32 - The Vault at Lake Geneva
The Swiss countryside was blanketed in a heavy grey fog as our armored sedan wound up the narrow mountain roads toward a private medical repository overlooking Lake Geneva.
Marcus guided us through the rain-slicked courtyard of the vintage stone estate. The building was heavily fortified, surrounded by high iron gates and private security cameras.
"Dr. Thorne’s private vault is on the sub-basement level," Marcus explained, holding an electronic keycard he had retrieved from Thorne’s estate executors. "The security system is isolated. No external network access."
We descended the spiral stone staircase into the chilly air of the underground vault. Row after row of cold-storage metal lockers and archived paper ledgers stretched into the shadows.
Ethan used Thorne’s master keycode to open locker #408. Inside rested a thick, leather-bound journal and a sealed glass drive containing cryogenic laboratory logs from ten years ago.
I opened the journal to the date of my pregnancy test: October 14th, ten years ago.
Dr. Thorne’s handwritten notes were precise and elegant:
“Subject: Clara Moretti. Pregnancy confirmed (Twins).
Order received from Edward Vance (Senior) to replace embryo implantation with donor line #884-B (Vivian Moretti).
May you like
Action taken: ORDER REFUSED IN SECRET. Implanted Clara Moretti's natural ovum using Ethan Vance’s direct sample. Donor line #884-B was destroyed per ethics protocol.”
I gasped, pressing the leather journal against my chest as hysterical laughter mixed with tears erupted from my throat. "She lied! Vivian lied! The egg was mine!"
