Daniel sat in his sunlit office, reading an article published in The Guardian. The headline read, 'First UK Baby with DNA from Three People,' discussing a baby born recently using mitochondrial nuclear replacement technology.
However, his gaze was captured by a single photograph included in the article. In the photo, the long-missing Carol was seen holding a baby in her arms.
"No way…!" Daniel checked the photo again with an expression of disbelief.
"What's wrong?" Iris asked, noticing Daniel's startled demeanor.
"Here..., look at this photo! The name is different, but that's definitely Carol." His voice was filled with astonishment. "She's the person I've been desperately searching for."
"She must be connected to Adele's disappearance!" Daniel's voice was charged with excitement and tension.
"We need to go to Newcastle. We have to meet Carol."
***
The ten-hour flight from Boston to Newcastle, with a layover in London, felt like it lasted ten days. Daniel and Iris sensed that this journey was not just a simple meeting, but a crucial link in their search for Adele.
Upon landing at Newcastle Airport, the two took a taxi directly to the Newcastle Fertility Centre.
The research center, located in front of Central Station on the north side of the Tyne River, was an impressive blue oval building. Upon arriving at the information center, Daniel requested a meeting with Dr. Lily Houghton.
'Houghton...!'
Suddenly, Daniel recalled Dr. Oscar Houghton, with whom he had worked at the Whitehead Institute over twenty years ago. It was a surname he had rarely heard in the U.S., making it a vivid memory.
***
'Adele...? Oh, no.'
As Carol entered the visitor waiting room, she looked at Daniel and Iris and uttered the first word: "Adele." However, she quickly realized that she was not referring to Adele but to Adele's daughter.
"It's been so long, Carol."
"I can't tell you how long I've been searching for you...!"
Daniel suppressed his overwhelming emotions as he looked at Carol.
With tears welling in her eyes, Carol hugged Daniel, but her gaze was fixed on Iris from the very beginning.
"Hello, I'm Lily..., Carol Houghton."
"I don't know your name, but I know your mother."
"Hello, I'm Iris."
Iris introduced herself but felt a shiver run through her body at Carol's words.
'To hear about my mother from someone I just met in a foreign land today...'
"You know my mother?"
"I do. Your mother is Daniel's wife, Adele. You are the result of what Adele and I created for the future of humanity."
"Y...You created me?"
"What does that even mean?"
"Iris, haven't you ever thought you were special while growing up?"
"You probably never experienced significant pain. You must have done well in school." "That's because Adele almost perfectly edited your genes."
"You are both Adele's hope and the hope of humanity."
Carol closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before calmly beginning to explain the events of the past.
As her story reached the point of her separation from Adele and her subsequent arrest, Iris sank down in shock, unable to contain her emotions.
"So where is my mother?"
"That's what I want to ask...!"
Carol looked back and forth at Daniel and Iris with a bewildered expression.
"After I separated from Adele, I was arrested and endured all sorts of threats and surveillance from the FBI. Eventually, I married Oscar, moved to the UK, and changed my name, but I lived without any news about Adele."
Throughout Carol's story, a whirlwind of complex emotions enveloped Daniel. Longing and anger for Adele, along with the shocking truths Carol conveyed, stirred a conflict within his heart.
'Why did Adele have to make such a difficult choice?'