Cell Disease. By the time she was two years old, she
had been hospitalized over a hundred and seventy days with
complications from the disease. Doctors didn't expect her to live
past her sixth birthday and advised my parents of such. I was
bioengineered for the sole purpose of gene therapy, something only
Dr. Kappel was willing to do. When Alexandra was five, she had a
bone marrow transplant using my bone marrow, which contained an
anti-sickling, human beta-hemoglobin gene. She lived completely
disease free and died as the result of a car accident on her
twenty-fifth birthday. She was my best friend and I miss her every
single day. Had it not been for Dr. Kappel, I never would have had
the chance to know her," she finishes quietly, dabbing the corner
of her eyes with her napkin.
It's a pivotal moment for the Designer
family. No one utters a sound as we consider Alisha's confession.
As far as I know, she's the only one of us created for a purpose
other than to satisfy the whims of our wealthy parents. It brings a
whole new dimension to the realm of genetic engineering that most
of us hadn't considered.
"Elizabeth, what do you know about your
father's death?" Bernie asks out of the blue, changing the subject
and surprising everyone except Cat and me with the question. I half
expected Bernie to bring the topic up to the others today if she
did indeed have a concern. Now I hold my breath as I listen to
their reaction.
"How do you know my father's dead?" Liz
challenges, her body immediately tensing up.
"It's my job to know everything I can about
the agents working for me," Bernie replies unapologetically.
"Then you should already know how he died,"
Liz says in an unusually confrontational way. Just like with Jason,
she maintains a certain level of caution when interacting with any
government official.
"See that's the problem. I really don't know
how your dad died. I know how and when your mom died, but your
dad's death certificate just listed natural causes. Sixty-year old
men with no prior health problems don't typically die of natural
causes, Liz. And, when my investigators tried to locate his
hospital records, there were none. When they tried to locate the
physician who signed the death certificate, they found out that he
didn't exist," Bernie says, carefully studying Elizabeth's
reaction. Elizabeth's puzzled expression matches the other
Designers. The only one besides Cat and me who seems unsurprised by
Bernie's inquiry is Michael.
"Bernie, what are you trying to say," Alisha
says softly.
Bernie leans back in her chair and closes
her eyes. "I did an extensive background search on everyone sitting
at this table. Of the six Designers, four of you have lost your
parents. Ronan, your parents were supposedly murdered, but when we
pulled the file from the homicide division, all we could find
regarding their case, was a suspicious house fire, some blood
stains on the bedroom and bathroom floor, and their abandoned car
off Highway87. Alisha, your parents both died while on a diving
expedition down in Mexico. Their death was listed as an accidental
drowning due to a malfunction of their scuba gear. Their bodies
were never recovered. Claire's parents, the same thing, mysterious
boating accident and bodies never recovered," she says, taking a
deep breath, then opening her eyes to glance at each of us.
"Do you think there's a connection between
all of their parents' deaths?" Jason asks, tilting his head
curiously. I see Cat suck in a deep breath out of the corner of my
eye and I place my hand over hers, feeling it tremble beneath
mine.
"I don't know what to think, Jason," she
warily replies holding her hands up in the air. "In undercover
work, we would say where there's smoke there's fire. There are a
lot of similarities between the events to chalk it up to
coincidence. I guess you could say I have a hunch about it and if I
were you, I would just be careful." She looks directly at Cat when
she says this and I instinctively put my
had been hospitalized over a hundred and seventy days with
complications from the disease. Doctors didn't expect her to live
past her sixth birthday and advised my parents of such. I was
bioengineered for the sole purpose of gene therapy, something only
Dr. Kappel was willing to do. When Alexandra was five, she had a
bone marrow transplant using my bone marrow, which contained an
anti-sickling, human beta-hemoglobin gene. She lived completely
disease free and died as the result of a car accident on her
twenty-fifth birthday. She was my best friend and I miss her every
single day. Had it not been for Dr. Kappel, I never would have had
the chance to know her," she finishes quietly, dabbing the corner
of her eyes with her napkin.
It's a pivotal moment for the Designer
family. No one utters a sound as we consider Alisha's confession.
As far as I know, she's the only one of us created for a purpose
other than to satisfy the whims of our wealthy parents. It brings a
whole new dimension to the realm of genetic engineering that most
of us hadn't considered.
"Elizabeth, what do you know about your
father's death?" Bernie asks out of the blue, changing the subject
and surprising everyone except Cat and me with the question. I half
expected Bernie to bring the topic up to the others today if she
did indeed have a concern. Now I hold my breath as I listen to
their reaction.
"How do you know my father's dead?" Liz
challenges, her body immediately tensing up.
"It's my job to know everything I can about
the agents working for me," Bernie replies unapologetically.
"Then you should already know how he died,"
Liz says in an unusually confrontational way. Just like with Jason,
she maintains a certain level of caution when interacting with any
government official.
"See that's the problem. I really don't know
how your dad died. I know how and when your mom died, but your
dad's death certificate just listed natural causes. Sixty-year old
men with no prior health problems don't typically die of natural
causes, Liz. And, when my investigators tried to locate his
hospital records, there were none. When they tried to locate the
physician who signed the death certificate, they found out that he
didn't exist," Bernie says, carefully studying Elizabeth's
reaction. Elizabeth's puzzled expression matches the other
Designers. The only one besides Cat and me who seems unsurprised by
Bernie's inquiry is Michael.
"Bernie, what are you trying to say," Alisha
says softly.
Bernie leans back in her chair and closes
her eyes. "I did an extensive background search on everyone sitting
at this table. Of the six Designers, four of you have lost your
parents. Ronan, your parents were supposedly murdered, but when we
pulled the file from the homicide division, all we could find
regarding their case, was a suspicious house fire, some blood
stains on the bedroom and bathroom floor, and their abandoned car
off Highway87. Alisha, your parents both died while on a diving
expedition down in Mexico. Their death was listed as an accidental
drowning due to a malfunction of their scuba gear. Their bodies
were never recovered. Claire's parents, the same thing, mysterious
boating accident and bodies never recovered," she says, taking a
deep breath, then opening her eyes to glance at each of us.
"Do you think there's a connection between
all of their parents' deaths?" Jason asks, tilting his head
curiously. I see Cat suck in a deep breath out of the corner of my
eye and I place my hand over hers, feeling it tremble beneath
mine.
"I don't know what to think, Jason," she
warily replies holding her hands up in the air. "In undercover
work, we would say where there's smoke there's fire. There are a
lot of similarities between the events to chalk it up to
coincidence. I guess you could say I have a hunch about it and if I
were you, I would just be careful." She looks directly at Cat when
she says this and I instinctively put my
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