Michael stared at him. “Altered?”
“To eliminate your family’s congenital heart condition. Ethan carries the natural genome. The other two were modified—likely as a safeguard. An insurance policy.”
Michael felt sick.
There was only one person with the resources and obsession to do something like that.
His mother.
He drove straight to her estate.
Margaret Rivera sat in her manicured garden, sipping tea.
“Where are my sons?” Michael asked calmly, though fury simmered beneath his words.
“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied.
“I mean Noah and Owen. The boys you paid Claire to take away.”
Her teacup trembled.
“I did it for the family!” she snapped. “Your bloodline is fragile. We needed protection. The specialists said modification would strengthen them. Claire needed money. It was practical.”
“They are children,” Michael said, voice shaking. “Not spare parts.”
“We couldn’t risk losing everything,” she insisted.
“You already did.”
He stepped closer, looking at her as if seeing a stranger.
“You will never see them. Ever. And if I choose to pursue charges for illegal genetic experimentation and child abandonment, you’ll face that alone.”
He left her standing in the silent garden.