Page 63 of 1st Shock
I take the paper from Ethan’s hand. A few days after he was born, he was kidnapped by his babysitter. I’m the FBI agent who returned him to his parents seven years later, after tracking down the woman. Meg did, indeed, create an age progression of what Ethan looked like at seven, and it led to me finding him. “What is it, Ethan?”
But I know what the problem is before he even answers. The DNA markers of Carl, Lily, and Ethan dance before my eyes. Meg studies them over my shoulder.
“They don’t match,” the kid says softly. His voice is rough, almost as if he’s about to cry. “My DNA didn’t come from my mom and…fromthem.”
“Holy shit,” Meg says.
Holy shit is right.
I look up and meet Ethan’s eyes, speechless. My stomach bottoms out.
“You returned me to the wrong parents, Charlie,” he whispers. “I’m not Ethan Havers.”
