Prologue

16 years earlier...

Janette Reynolds couldn't sleep.

Typical, she thought to herself, as she clambered down the stairs at 2 in the morning, hoping a warm glass of milk would settle the kicking baby inside of her. Now 8 months into her pregnancy, Janette was ready for this baby to be born. It was taking such a physical toll on her body, this wasn't anything like what she had expected pregnancy to be.

Well, it wasn't as though she had a mother to give her any sort of advice on what to expect. She'd been dead for years, and Janette was an only child. What she knew about pregnancy was straight from experience, her own experience. She had no friends to speak of, and now, her good-for-nothing husband was gone too.

As Janette sat down in her recliner with a warm glass of milk, she let out a deep sigh, and gently placed a hand on her stomach.

"You ready to go to sleep yet, sweetie?" She whispered softly, as she took a sip of the lukewarm milk. She made a face. It was disgusting.

The baby continued to kick fiercely, and Janette couldn't help but smile. Her first child, and what a miracle it had been to conceive at all.

Mike, her husband, and Janette had tried for years to become pregnant, but eventually her doctors had given her the bad news that she was unable to conceive, and it was likely she would never become pregnant. It had put a strain on the marriage, that was for sure, but when Janette heard of Marzulli Laboratories, her hope for a family was reconciled.

After a long process of medical examinations and demographic information, Janette was finally approved to be implanted with eggs that had been donated from another woman. Janette was given a file with the information of the donater. Janette guessed it had something to do with genetics. If the donator had any family history of health concerns, Janette ought to know, to give her child the best care possible. After all, it wasn't Janette's genes the baby would have. It was the donator's.

Janette had enjoyed reading the file, amazed at how beautiful the woman in the pictures was. Brown hair and brown eyes, and the most beautiful smile she had ever seen. Janette smiled. Her baby would be an absolute doll, thanks to this woman. Melissa Scully. What an odd last name, Janette thought to herself. She'd never heard that one before.

It wasn't long before she was implanted with the eggs, and began growing. The baby was healthy, so the doctor's said, and everything would be perfect. It was a girl, Janette had wanted to know from the very beginning. A baby girl. Janette couldn't believe it. Maybe this would even mend her and Mike's marital dilemna.

But it didn't. 6 months into her pregnancy, Mike left her alone with no money, and no support. Janette was alone, and had no way of supporting her unborn daughter. Janette had tried and tried to come up with a perfect solution, but nothing would work. She couldn't get a job, not while she was pregnant, and she had no education to speak of. There was no way she'd be able to get a job that would pay the bills enough to take care of a baby. It was impossible!

It broke her heart when she signed the paper's, releasing her from all legal connections with her unborn child. The social workers told her the baby would be taken from her as soon as it was delivered, and that she wouldn't have the right to see the baby after it was born. It would be a ward of the state from the very beginning. Janette was a mess, but she signed the papers anyway. What choice did she have? At least if she turned the baby over to the state, she would have a chance at being adopted. With her biological mother's good looks, she would be gorgeous, that was for sure.

Now, as Janette sat, rubbing her stomach and talking to the baby girl who would be born in less than a month, she felt tears threatening to escape. God, this is so hard, why can't I keep her? She asked the ceiling, hoping for a miracle, an answer, a way out. But it was too late. She had signed the paper's. The baby was no longer legally hers, whether she still carried it or not.

As Janette rubbed a tear from her eye, she thought she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Janette inclined her head slightly, looking through the crack in the doorframe, where she had closed the door. Must be the cat. Janette sighed to herself, as she leaned back. But then she saw Preston curled up on his little pillow in the corner of the room. He wasn't in the kitchen.

The noise continued, and seemed to be getting louder and louder. Janette felt her heart racing. She swore she could hear whispering.

She stood quietly, and reached for the phone. Then everything happened so quickly.

The kitchen door swung open violently, and three men dressed in black ski masks and white lab coats ran toward her, one carrying a gun, and holding it up at her. He was yelling something at her, but she couldn't make it out. One of the men grabbed hold of her and held her down. She tried to scream, but there was already a rag shoved in her mouth to keep her from making any noises. All she could make out was the logo on their lab coats before they did what they did.

Marzulli's Laboratories.