My legs buckled beneath me, my head still spinning. “Where… where are you taking me?” I gasped, struggling to regain my balance.
“You’ll know soon enough,” he said cryptically, dragging me toward the exit. I barely had time to react before he pulled me down the dim hallway, his pace relentless.
Distant footsteps thundered through the corridor, making my heart pound. I instinctively tried to pull back.
Calvin abruptly stopped, his grip tightening. “You have to trust me, Kelsey. This is the only way.”
I hesitated, glancing behind us as voices grew louder. A sickening knot twisted in my stomach.
Without another word, Calvin yanked me through a narrow passage and into the dense forest outside the abandoned facility. The crisp night air hit my face like a slap, forcing me to gasp as my senses reeled.
But there was no time to stop. Calvin pressed forward, pulling me through the tangled undergrowth. The uneven ground made every step a struggle, but I pushed on, desperate for answers.
“Let go of me!” I yelled, wrenching my arm. “Tell me what’s going on!”
I stumbled as Calvin abruptly halted, turning to face me with an unreadable expression.
Then his eyes landed on it—the faint birthmark just behind my ear, something I had never paid much attention to. A mark no one had ever mentioned. But in the silver glow of the moonlight, it stood out.
HE HAD KNOWN ABOUT IT.
Calvin stiffened, his breath catching. “It’s real… It’s there,” he murmured under his breath. “The mark…”
A cold wave of panic washed over me. “What mark? What are you talking about?” I demanded, my voice barely above a whisper.
His expression darkened as though everything had suddenly fallen into place. “Kelsey… you’re Dr. Chelsea’s real daughter,” he confessed, disbelief laced in his tone.
Time seemed to freeze. My mind struggled to grasp the weight of his words. “That’s not possible.”
“You’re her biological child,” Calvin continued, his voice tinged with guilt. “Kristie… she was adopted. She was never supposed to be in your place.” He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “I was the one who switched you two at birth. It was the only way to keep you safe.”
My entire world tilted as I tried to comprehend the revelation. “Why? Why would you do that?!”