Chapter 18 - THE DAY AFTER SEVEN
Grace refused to enter the birthday room when she saw the three identical cakes.
Sarah immediately asked the therapist to remove one.
Grace looked embarrassed.
"I don't want people to be mad."
Sarah knelt.
"Nobody's mad."
Grace looked toward the door.
"Grandpa Nathan said birthdays are for finishing things."
Sarah felt a chill.
"What things?"
"Tests."
Alexander approached from the hallway.
Grace stepped behind Sarah.
He stopped.
For several days, Grace had been living in a court-approved temporary placement with an independent caregiver while her relationship with the Cole family was introduced gradually.
She had visited the mansion twice.
She still did not trust Alexander.
He was a stranger who looked like the man in the photographs Nathan had shown her.
And every time she saw him, she seemed to expect another adult to start arguing about who owned her.
Alexander crouched several feet away.
"Grace, today's just your birthday."
She stared.
"No test?"
"No."
"Can I leave if I want?"
"Yes."
Grace looked toward the therapist.
The therapist nodded.
Grace entered.
Emily was waiting beside the table.
Lily held a paper crown.
"We made this for you!"
Grace looked uncertain.
Then Emily placed the crown on the table instead of putting it on her head.
"You can wear it if you want."
Grace smiled.
A little.
The girls sat together.
Three cakes became one shared cake after Grace said she did not want a separate one.
Sarah let them decide.
Alexander watched from the doorway.
His phone vibrated.
The independent investigator.
The sealed Morrow file had been recovered under the research-records preservation order.
Alexander stepped into the hall.
The investigator explained that Nathan planned to terminate the longitudinal study after the girls turned seven.
The final assessment was designed to compare the children's memory, emotional attachment, and responses to unfamiliar adults.
Afterward, Nathan intended to retain permanent access to their research profiles while placing the data inside a private Morrow archive.
The records also contained a proposed transfer of Grace's guardianship to another Morrow-connected entity once Nathan no longer needed to supervise her directly.
Alexander closed his eyes.
"Was he going to send her away?"
"The proposed transfer was not completed."
"Did he tell Grace?"
"We found no evidence that he did."
Alexander thought about the little girl who had asked whether birthdays meant finishing things.
Nathan had spent six years calling her his granddaughter.
Then he had prepared paperwork to move her elsewhere when the research was finished.
The investigator continued.
"The file also contains a retention schedule for the identities of Emily and Lily."
Alexander's voice hardened.
"Explain."
"Morrow intended to keep coded versions of their data and destroy selected links between the research records and their real identities."
"To conceal the unauthorized study."
"That appears to be part of the purpose."
Alexander looked through the doorway.
Emily was laughing.
Lily was trying to put a crown on her own head.
Grace was holding a piece of cake with both hands.
The girls did not know that a research institute had planned their lives around a deadline.
He intended to keep it that way today.
Then the investigator said:
"There's one more thing."
Nathan's records showed that Morrow's board had received regular reports claiming the Cole children were enrolled in a legally authorized family research partnership.
The consent documents were signed with Alexander's original corporate credential.
But the full protocol had never been provided to him or Sarah.
Theodore's legitimate screening approval had been attached to a later research plan he did not authorize.
Morrow's executives had continued funding the study without requiring independent verification of the children's consent or guardianship arrangements.
Nathan had created a system in which each participant could claim someone else had approved the decision.
Dr. Ward had approved the neonatal transfer because Morrow said the family had consented.
The Morrow board had funded the research because Dr. Ward said the hospital had obtained consent.
Richard had preserved the false birth record because Theodore had already taken Lily.
Theodore had continued hiding Lily because Nathan might take her.
Nora had continued hiding Lily because the foundation said Alexander could not protect her.
Everyone pointed toward another adult.
The children lived with the consequences.
Alexander ended the call.
Then he returned to the birthday room.
Grace was sitting beside Emily.
Lily had fallen asleep against Sarah.
Emily held out a paper crown.
"Daddy, you have to wear one too."
Alexander smiled.
"Do I?"
"Yes."
He put it on.
Grace stared.
Then she laughed.
A real laugh.
Alexander sat beside her.
He did not ask for a hug.
Did not ask her to call him Dad.
Did not tell her he was going to fix everything.
He simply ate cake.
Later, when Grace was leaving with her caregiver, she stopped beside Sarah.
"Can I come back?"
Sarah smiled.
"Yes."
Grace looked toward Alexander.
"Even if I don't do the memory test?"
Alexander crouched.
"Especially then."
Grace considered that.
May you like
Then she walked toward the car.
For the first time since arriving at the gate, she did not look back to see whether Nathan was watching.
