If she knew I was having more than one baby, she would go to great lengths to throw me in that dungeon Carly had just spoken of until I gave birth.
“Cure?” Carly asked, her eyebrows squishing together.
Wearing an arrogant grin as if she’d already won, Harriet marched out.
Once the door snicked shut, Carly helped me to the bed.
“Please tell me I’m not about to become something like Noah,” I said. The excruciating chest pains that caused me to black out were on the precipice of returning.
Carly stood in front of me, slipping her hands in the pockets of her lab coat much like Dr. Vieira did when he was about to explain something or answer a question. “The good news is—the bag isn’t empty. To alter human DNA, you’ll need a thousand milliliters or more of what I’ve developed. From my calculations, you only consumed less than five percent of the SS2. It shouldn’t have any ill effects on you or the baby.”
“SS2?” I asked.
She curled shorts strands of her dark hair around her ear. “Supernatural Serum. Anyway, my bigger worry is your heart. You almost coded when Barnes brought you to me.” She glanced at my belly. “You look like you’re four months pregnant, and I know that’s not true, since I saw you five weeks ago. I’m guessing you were pregnant when you showed up at Intech in Chicago.”
“I was about month along then. But that isn’t my concern. What’s wrong with my heart?” I rubbed my chest as if that would help lessen the panic.
“I don’t mean to scare you. I’m sure the stress of what you’ve gone through the last few days contributed to your low blood pressure and dehydration, which led to you passing out. But… I understand the genetic makeup of the vampire species. They’re human until they reach puberty and activate their recessive gene. Which means that mothers of those babies go through a normal human pregnancy. Unless you’re carrying twins, which runs in your family—then the size of your belly would make sense.” She paused as if she was waiting for me to confirm or deny twins.
“And?” I tangled my hands in my lap.
She removed the stethoscope from around her neck. “A body of a pregnant woman undergoes dramatic changes. Blood volume increases forty to fifty percent, heart rate goes up ten to fifteen beats per minute, and the amount of blood pumped by the heart each minute can jump thirty to forty percent. In essence, gestational stress on the body.” She rubbed her lips together. “Say, for example, your fetus is nonhuman and is growing fast, which I believe is the case. That means those numbers I just explained go up greatly, and your human body will struggle.”
“What you said makes sense. But I also haven’t eaten, except for a bowl of soup. I’ve hardly had any fluids, and you’re right about the stress.” I took a breath. “It’s your fault, Carly. You’re the mastermind behind this fucked-up scheme to create monsters like Noah. Is that what you want the world to come to?”
She swallowed, licking her lips. “I didn’t sign up to test or alter a pregnant woman’s DNA. In fact, I didn’t recommend any of the Aberdeens as subjects. If I had my way, I would send your family packing.” She sneered. “For me, this is all about the science, Layla.”
I snorted out a laugh. “But you’re okay with killing humans for the sake of what? A mission that will only erase humanity? All you’re doing is creating monsters that you’ll never be able to control.”
She opened her mouth to speak.
I held up my hand. “The chip won’t work, Carly. You’re in over your head. Once my sister turns, you’ll be her first victim unless Noah gets to you before Rianne.”
She shuddered. “I know you’re right. And I didn’t inject Noah. He and Rianne stole a batch of the SS2. She did that to Noah.”
My jaw dropped. “What about all the blood on those beds?Youdid that?”
She nodded. “I’m not innocent, Layla. I accept that. I’m a scientist who is after something far greater than I’d ever imagined.” She was sounding like Dr. Frankenstein. “Ever since I began studying Patrick Mason’s notes and learned of vampires and the like, my one purpose has been and continues to be to find a way to erase the sickness that plagues humans. Think about it. What if we could find a cure for cancer or any disease? Vampires don’t get sick.”
My eyebrows pinched together. “That’s what your motive is? I gather you know that Harriet has a rare form of blood cancer.”
Her mouth parted. “I didn’t know. I knew she’d collapsed, but her blood pressure had been low.”
“Harriet tends to keep things to herself, although she was quite giddy about finding out I’m carrying Sam’s baby. Anyway, I’m confused about one thing. If you want to find cures for diseases, why are you helping to build armies?”
She glanced around as though she was making sure no one was listening. “I don’t have the money or resources. Adam does. If I help him, he helps me.”
“But you were the one who set up the deal to capture Sam,” I said.
“I admit that. From his uncle’s notes, I understood that Sam’s DNA is the key. I don’t care about the chip. I was only doing what I was told. Adam knows what I’m trying to do.” She pointed at the bloody sheets. “Those patients I tested were dying from cancer or another type of disease. They accepted the risks and knew what they signed up for. I have contracts to prove it.”
I was blown away. Maybe she was redeemable. Sam believed she was.
“How does a shifter play into your scheme?”
“Again, from what I’ve learned, shifters hardly succumb to sickness. They heal quickly but not as fast as vampires. It’s worth looking at their DNA makeup.”
“If what you say you’re doing here is true and you don’t want to use me for testing, then let me go. I need Sam, Carly.” Given what she’d just spilled, I figured I could share something with her that wasn’t that big of a deal. She’d already put two and two together about my pregnancy—or partly anyway. “The baby needs his blood. That might be another reason I passed out.”
