“And that’s supposed to mean something?” Jet said dryly.
“I’ll start at the beginning,” Conroy said.
Jacinda clasped her hands and leaned forward. “Please do.”
“I’ve known all of you since you were young children.” Conroy addressed Di. “We found you and your brother,” he nodded toward Flint, “when you were around eighteen months old, and Flint was about two and a half. Your mother never knew when we took you. She’d leave you by yourself for days at a time.”
Di’s head snapped back. Neither she nor Flint had time to respond before Conroy turned to Jacinda.
“We took you and Galena when you were around eighteen months, and Galena a few months old. The next day, your mother died from a drug overdose.”
Jacinda and I glanced at one another, both of us frowning. Took us? Our mother?
“Jacinda and I are sisters?” I blurted.
“Yes, partly,” Conroy replied. “Same mother but different fathers, so technically you’re half-sisters.”
“And you, Mica,” Conroy said. “You were maybe seven months old, your mother a prostitute, afflicted with horrible mental illness and addicted to meth. And the twins,” Conroy said to Jet and Jasper. “You were both around twelve months, often left for days by your mother without anything to eat or drink. And lastly, Amber. You were just a month old when we took you from an alleyway. You were frequently left there when your mother worked. She was a homeless prostitute and would do anything for her next hit. Once, she tried to sell you.”
Amber’s mouth dropped.
“So, that’s how it all began,” Conroy continued. “When you were infants or small children, O’Brien Pharmaceuticals stole you from the monstrous homes you were born into. We rescued you from parents who abused you horribly and cared more about their next hit than their own child.”
“You kidnapped us?” Jasper said.
“Yes,” Conroy replied. “Our job was to locate children in different areas of the U.S. who were born into horribly abusive circumstances. From there, we transferred you to O’Brien Pharmaceuticals. We called you the lost children.”
Lost Children?
“But why would you do that?” Amber asked.
“To experiment on you,” Conroy said.
A few of us gasped.
Mica crossed her arms and leaned away from him. “Why would you experiment on us?”
Conroy hung his head. “I can’t believe I ever thought anything good would come from what we did.”
“Which was?” Mica raised her eyebrows.
“I used to belong to a powerful group that conducted legitimate business in the pharmaceutical world. We also had a secret division that very few in O’Brien Pharmaceuticals knew about.” Conroy shook his head. Guilt laced his words. “Our group decided thirty years ago to experiment on children. The ultimate goal was to create a drug that resulted in the perfect specimen. A perfect human being. One capable of so much more than nature created. At the time, I dreamed of endless possibilities. Drugs that would give us the ability to cure blindness and deafness, while also enhancing aspects of the brain that controlled strength and speed, or tapping into dormant areas of the mind we do not use. Areas that create psychic connections. It was incredibly powerful.” He paused. A pained expression crossed his features. “Ultimately, however, this group was not what I expected. When it became apparent that the experiments would be undertaken at all costs, I got out. And I took all eight of you with me.”
My mouth dropped. Was this guy serious? We were taken from parents who didn’t care if we lived or died, and then brought to some drug company that experimented on us like lab rats? It seemed too monstrous and entirely too preposterous to believe.
“Is that why we can do special things?” Amber asked.
“Yes,” Conroy replied. “Our drugs gave you your abilities.”
“Is this a joke?” Jet said.
Conroy shook his head. “I wish it were.”
At least a full minute passed in which no one said a thing. My heart pounded. We were drugged? Kidnapped? Some pharmaceutical company gave us these abilities?
My head spun. It couldn’t be true.
“Do you have proof you did this?” Di broke the quiet. “How do we know we can believe you?”
“No, I don’t have proof,” Conroy replied. “I understand if you don’t believe me.”
“But how could something like that happen?” Jasper demanded. “How can you steal kids off the streets and experiment on them? Surely, someone looked for us after you took us? If not our parents, than the authorities or child services? Wouldn’t someone catch you?”
Conroy shook his head. “Sadly, no. Part of the reason you were all chosen was because we knew nobody would ever look for you. All of you were born at home, if you can call filthy apartments or under bridges, homes. None of you have birth certificates. None of you have social security numbers. None of you exist according to the U.S. government. No trace of you will ever be found in a Social Service database, because the only people who ever knew you existed were your mothers and fathers, and all of them are long dead.”
“You’re saying that our parents never contacted the authorities after we went missing?” Di said. Disbelief lined her words.
“That’s right,” Conroy replied.
It seemed everyone else was processing this faster than me. I was still trying to get my head around Jacinda and me being sisters, and that all of us had once had families, real relations. Although, I’m not sure family would be the right term if what Conroy said was true. Families protected one another. I had no idea where that moral came from, but I felt it to my inner core. However, according to Conroy, our blood families did everything but protect us.
“How do you know our parents never looked for us?” Mica asked.
“We monitored all police activity. And one parent, Jacinth and Galena’s mother, died from an overdose before she knew we took you. Since your fathers were never in your lives, there was nobody to contact the authorities in your case.”
Coldness swept through me. Had my mother really cared so little for me?
Flint put his hand on my thigh. He’d been suspiciously quiet. “How do you know her mother died?”
“Surveillance. We needed to make sure our group wasn’t compromised.”
“But how do you know all of our parents are dead?” Amber asked.
“Again, surveillance,” Conroy replied. “We followed them all until their deaths.”
“But why would you ever do such a thing in the first place?” Jacinda demanded. “To take children and experiment on them . . . That’s horrific!”
“I know,” Conroy said quietly. “Believe me, I know that now. However, at the time, I truly believed we were giving you a better life full of gifts and abilities, but I mistook the ambition of my colleagues. It was too late to stop them by the time I realized their intentions.”
“What were their intentions?” Flint asked. Power rolled off him. It was hot, but I inched closer to him anyway. My body felt chilled.
Conroy’s gaze clouded over. “To experiment on you at all costs.”
Mica swallowed audibly. “What costs?”
“To the death.”
My eyes widened.
A heavy sigh raised Conroy’s shoulders. He wouldn’t meet our questioning gazes. “Originally, there were three groups of ten children. However, two children in your group died. They were too old when I administered their drug. That’s why there are only eight of you now.”
Jacinda gasped. “They died because of what you did to them?”
Conroy gave the barest hint of a nod. “We didn’t know then that over the age of three, the human brain is too developed to adapt to the alterations the drugs demanded. Those older than three usually died from encephalopathy. If I had known that would happen, I never would have done it.”
Silence followed that revelation. All I could do was stare.
“That’s why you took us from our mothers and fathers
when we were so young,” Di said quietly.
“Yes.” Tears clouded Conroy’s eyes. He blinked them back and cleared his throat. In a shaky voice, he said, “If I could take back everything I did . . .” He paused. “I can’t undo what I’ve done, and I can’t take back the contributions I’ve given to O’Brien, but I can try to make it right. That’s why I took all of you away from there many years ago. If I’d been able to take the other two groups, I would have, but transporting eight children as it was without being detected was almost impossible.”
“Where did you take us?” Amber asked. Her voice was so small and frightened. Jasper tightened his grip around her.
“Here, to this cabin,” Conroy answered.
I remembered last night. How we’d all climbed into beds as if we knew which one was ours.
“I’d heard about the Forbidden Hills and how people rarely ventured into them,” Conroy explained. “It seemed like the perfect place to hide, so I bought this land and had this cabin built specifically for us. We all lived here together in hiding until six months ago.”
“We did?” Mica exclaimed.
“Yes.” Conroy nodded. “It was too risky to live in the normal world. O’Brien has searched for us since we disappeared over fifteen years ago. Hiding was our only option.”
“Fifteen years?” I gaped. “We lived in this cabin in hiding for fifteen years?”
“Yes, it was the only safe option.”
“How old were we when you took us from O’Brien?” I asked.
“You were five, Galena. And you, Flint.” Conroy’s gaze shifted. “You were eight. Being the oldest in the group, you had the hardest time adjusting. You had seen and been through so much by the time I got you out of there.”
Flint stared at Conroy, not saying a word. His energy, however, picked up a notch.
“How old are we now?” I asked.
“Your ages? You’re twenty-one, Galena, and Flint you’re twenty-four. Diamond, Jacinth and the twins you’re all twenty-three, Mica you’re twenty-one but will be twenty-two next month, and Amber you’re nineteen. You’re the youngest in the group.”
So the ages on the driver licenses were correct. However, I’d never had a license. I’d never known my age. Until now.
I’m twenty-one.
A huge sense of relief flowed through me. I had no idea how much not knowing my age had bothered me until that very moment.
Jasper leaned forward, his brow furrowed. “But why can’t we remember any of this? How come everything past six months ago is blank?”
“Because my drug failed,” Conroy said.
“Your drug?” Amber’s head cocked.
Conroy nodded. “Did you use your tattoos to find this place?”
Amber’s eyes widened. “You know about our tattoos too?”
“Yes. I tattooed them on all of you—six months ago, just in case.”
Confused expressions sprouted on all of our faces. “Just in case what?” Di asked.
“In case my plan failed,” Conroy replied. “Tell me, how did you all meet one another?” A keen interest lit his eyes.
“We all woke up in various cities but inevitably felt a pull to this area,” Di said. “After several weeks to months, everyone arrived in Colorado in more or less the same place. I was able to see everyone and pull us together.”
“So you all eventually arrived close to this cabin?” Conroy asked.
“Yes,” Di replied.
“Yet none of you remembered your identities or that you once lived here?”
Di nodded. “Correct.”
Conroy leaned back. “So your identities never returned, but something in your subconscious was triggered that led you back here.” He paused. “I knew it was possible the drug wouldn’t work, that memories might surface or something could trigger your subconscious. The fact that you’re all here verifies that’s exactly what happened. How interesting.”
“Really?” Flint cut in. His energy grew hot again. “You call that interesting? Eight people left on their own in unfamiliar cities with no sense of who they are, and you call that interesting?”
Jacinda leaned forward and clasped her hands. “You keep mentioning a drug, Conroy. What drug are you referring to?”
Guilt flashed across Conroy’s eyes. He wouldn’t meet our gazes when he said quietly, “The drug I administered to all of you six months ago. The drug that made you forget.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
“You drugged us?” Jet gaped. “Again?”
I thought about the lab downstairs. Conroy’s lab? Where he created this drug?
“I know that sounds awful, but it was the only way I could see a safe future for all of you,” Conroy said. “You have to understand, with Amber being nineteen you were all well into adulthood. And over the years, all of you voiced wanting to leave to start a real life. Only a few of you,” he eyed Di and Flint, “were content to stay living in hiding. The rest of you wanted to live in and explore the world. But it was too dangerous to let you leave together. I knew I’d have to find a way to make it safe. After all, what right did I have to keep you any longer? And there was an incident last year, that made me reconsider staying—”
“But why drug us?” Flint interjected. “What was so dangerous that made you do that?”
Fear entered Conroy’s eyes. “O’Brien.”
Jacinda’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“They’re still looking for you. If O’Brien ever spotted one of you, you’d unwittingly lead them to the others. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“What would they do if they found us?” I asked hesitantly.
“I honestly don’t know,” Conroy said. “I’m not sure I want to know.”
“So you drugged us so we wouldn’t remember each other and then you split us up?” Di said. “And you did all of this simply so we could live in the normal world?”
“Yes,” Conroy replied. “Individually, you stood a better chance at not drawing attention. Even if one of you was spotted, there’s no way you’d be able to lead them to the others if you couldn’t remember anything. Especially, if you didn’t know one another existed.”
I leaned into Flint. “Which is why you took our memories away.”
“Yes, it was the safest option I had.”
“Did we agree to be drugged and split up?” Flint asked.
“You never would have agreed to be split up. You’re family, even though you’re not related,” Conroy replied quietly.
Flint’s grip tightened on my thigh. “So you obviously didn’t ask our permission before you drugged us again.” His jaw clenched. Once again, heat and that powerful feeling rolled off him.
Conroy clasped his hands together. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.” Flint put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closely to him. “So I suppose you don’t know that something went wrong with whatever you did to Lena. She was homeless in Rapid City. Did you know that? That she had to hitch rides to Colorado when she felt the urge to return to this place?”
Conroy’s head whipped up. “Homeless? But how? I gave you all money and homes.”
“Well, you must have forgotten Lena,” Flint seethed. “She had nothing.”
Conroy shook his head. “No, no I didn’t. She was left in her condo, just like the rest of you.”
“That’s not where she woke up,” Flint persisted.
“Where did you wake up?” Anxiety laced Conroy’s words.
“An alleyway, outside,” I replied.
“Without anything, except the clothes on her back,” Flint added.
A horrified expression crossed Conroy’s features.
“So that wasn’t where I was supposed to wake up?”
“No!” Conroy exclaimed. “I never would have left you somewhere like that. Never!”
“Then why did she wake up there?” Flint demanded, his voice tight. “Another one of your experiments failed?”
Conroy shook his head, appearing lost in t
hought for a minute. “The only explanation I have is that you sleepwalked out of your condo. You have a history of sleepwalking, Galena. That’s the only way I can explain it. You must have left your home in your sleep, and since you didn’t know it existed, you wouldn’t have known to return to it.” He covered his face with his hands. He looked almost sick. “No wonder I was never able to track you.”
“You tracked us?” Di asked.
“Yes, with the cell phones I left all of you. I was able to follow all of you until your signals abruptly vanished. From the directions you were moving, I knew most of you were coming back here.”
Di eyed Flint. “We were right.” She glanced back at Conroy. “We destroyed them. We knew it was a way to be tracked.”
Conroy smiled humorlessly. “Then I taught you well.”
I was still reeling that I’d sleepwalked out of the home I’d owned in South Dakota. I thought about all of the times during the summer where I sleepwalked from ditches or rest stops. Usually, I woke up within a block of where I’d gone to bed. I remembered that alleyway in Rapid City. A condominium complex had been on the other side of it. Is that where Conroy had left me?
Di’s next question pulled me back into the conversation. “But how did you do it all? How could one man drug eight individuals, and deposit them in eight different cities all over the country, without anybody seeing or knowing about it? It doesn’t seem feasible.”
“I had help,” Conroy replied.
“From who?” Mica asked.
“My lawyer and pilot.”
“What?” Mica said.
“They helped me carry each of you when you were drugged and unconscious,” Conroy explained.
Silence again hung for at least a minute.
“But that still looks kind of suspicious, don’t you think?” Jet remarked. “To be carried into a condo or brought up in the elevator? What’d you do, chopper us to our condo’s rooftops?” he said sarcastically.
Conroy nodded. “Yes, in the bigger cities, that’s exactly what I did.”
My eyes bulged. “What? You helicoptered us around the country?” I remembered the faint sound of a helicopter this afternoon. Is that how Conroy had returned to the Forbidden Hills?
The Complete Lost Children Series Page 26
