CHAP 13: THE FATHER WHO NEVER DIED
CHAP 13: THE FATHER WHO NEVER DIED
The voice echoed through the underground facility.
A voice Ethan knew better than anyone.
A voice he had not heard in twenty-five years.
A voice that belonged to the man whose grave he had visited every year.
Edward Blackwood.
The screen remained black.
But nobody moved.
Because sometimes…
the most terrifying ghosts were not the ones who returned from the dead.
They were the ones who were never dead at all.
Ethan stared at the screen.
His mind refused to accept what his ears had heard.
“My father…”
The words barely escaped.
“No.”
Amelia stepped closer.
“Ethan…”
He shook his head.
“No.”
His voice became louder.
“My father died.”
Nobody answered.
Because everyone in the room knew something.
Edward Blackwood’s death had always been strange.
A private plane accident.
No public funeral.
No body displayed.
Only a report.
Only documents.
Only a story.
A story everyone accepted because Edward Blackwood was powerful enough that nobody questioned him.
But now…
Ethan realized something.
The person who built an empire around secrets…
had one secret of his own.
Daniel immediately checked the records.
“I need confirmation.”
His fingers moved rapidly.
“Death certificate.”
“Medical records.”
“Flight information.”
Everything appeared.
Then…
his face changed.
“What?”
Ethan turned.
Daniel looked at the screen.
“The records…”
A pause.
“They are fake.”
Silence.
Ethan closed his eyes.
Twenty-five years.
Twenty-five years believing his father was gone.
Twenty-five years believing he had grown up without answers.
But the truth was worse.
His father had been alive.
Watching.
Knowing.
Ava looked at the screen.
“He wanted us to find him.”
Everyone looked at her.
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
Ava pointed.
“The message.”
She studied the code.
“This wasn’t an attack.”
Daniel checked.
And slowly nodded.
“She’s right.”
Ethan looked confused.
“Then what was it?”
“A signal.”
Ava whispered:
“He wanted someone to activate this system.”
A cold feeling spread through the room.
Edward had not been discovered.
He had allowed himself to be found.
The screen turned on again.
This time, a video played.
Edward Blackwood appeared.
Older.
Different.
Not the man Ethan remembered.
His hair was gray.
His face carried years of regret.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Ethan.”
The sound of his name almost broke him.
“If you are watching this…”
Edward paused.
“Then I failed again.”
Ethan stared.
His father continued.
“I know what you think.”
“You think I abandoned you.”
A pause.
“You think I chose power over my family.”
Edward looked down.
“And you are right.”
Nobody spoke.
Because hearing those words from Edward himself was worse than any accusation.
Edward continued.
“When Project Origin began, I believed I could control it.”
“I believed I could use power to prevent chaos.”
“But power does not stay controlled.”
“It changes the people who hold it.”
The screen showed old footage.
Edward.
Helena.
Alexander.
A young Lucas.
A young Ethan.
And another baby.
Elena.
A family that looked normal.
Before everything fell apart.
Edward continued:
“I had four children.”
A pause.
“But I created four different tragedies.”
Ethan looked away.
Because those words hurt.
Not because they were false.
Because they were true.
The video changed.
A hidden laboratory appeared.
Different from Eclipse Circle.
Older.
Smaller.
The first Project Origin facility.
Edward walked through the rooms.
“This was where everything began.”
He stopped in front of a glass chamber.
Inside was a baby.
A newborn.
The fourth child.
Edward’s voice became heavy.
“The fourth child was never meant to be part of the experiment.”
“He was born with something we could not predict.”
Daniel frowned.
“Something?”
Edward continued:
“An ability.”
Everyone became silent.
“What ability?” Ethan asked, even though Edward could not hear him.
The video showed documents.
Advanced intelligence tests.
Memory analysis.
Strategic predictions.
The child could recognize patterns at an impossible level.
Edward said:
“He understood things before we taught him.”
“He learned faster than any child we had ever studied.”
A pause.
“And Helena saw him as the future.”
Amelia looked terrified.
“Who was the fourth child?”
Edward looked into the camera.
“The fourth child was not raised as a Blackwood.”
A pause.
“He was raised as a Voss.”
Everyone froze.
Helena.
The baby.
The missing heir.
Everything connected.
Edward continued:
“Helena took him because she believed he was the perfect combination.”
“Blackwood blood.”
“Voss training.”
“Project Origin knowledge.”
Ethan whispered:
“Lucas?”
Edward shook his head in the recording.
“No.”
The room became colder.
“Lucas was only the first attempt.”
A pause.
“The fourth child was the final one.”
Suddenly…
the lights flickered.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Controlled.
Everyone turned.
The security doors opened.
A man stepped inside.
No guards.
No weapons.
No fear.
Just a man walking into the room like he owned it.
Ethan froze.
Because he knew that face.
Older.
More tired.
But unmistakable.
Edward Blackwood.
Alive.
Nobody moved.
Not even Alexander.
For the first time…
Alexander looked powerless.
Edward looked at him.
“You failed, Alexander.”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed.
“You.”
A strange emotion appeared on his face.
Not hatred.
Something deeper.
Betrayal.
“You let him find everything.”
Edward looked at him.
“No.”
A pause.
“You found everything because you were never as smart as you believed.”
Alexander’s expression darkened.
Ethan stepped forward.
His voice shook.
“Why?”
Edward looked at his son.
And for a moment…
the powerful businessman disappeared.
Only a father remained.
“I was trying to protect you.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“Protect me?”
He pointed around.
“My wife was kidnapped.”
“My daughters were used as experiments.”
“You let all of this happen.”
Edward lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
The answer surprised Ethan.
Because he expected excuses.
Not acceptance.
“I made mistakes.”
A pause.
“Terrible mistakes.”
Edward looked at Lily and Ava.
“I created a world where children paid for the sins of adults.”
Amelia stared.
“Then why stay hidden?”
Edward looked at her.
“Because someone had to stop Helena.”
Suddenly, a voice interrupted.
A voice from the hallway.
“Father.”
Everyone turned.
Lucas stood there.
The room froze.
Three generations of secrets.
Three Blackwood heirs.
One impossible family reunion.
Lucas looked at Edward.
“You finally came out.”
Edward looked at him.
“Yes.”
Lucas smiled.
“Too late.”
Edward shook his head.
“No.”
A pause.
“Right on time.”
Lucas laughed.
“You still believe you can fix this?”
Edward looked at Ethan.
Then Lily.
Then Ava.
“Yes.”
Lucas stepped forward.
“Why?”
Edward answered:
“Because I finally understand something.”
Everyone listened.
“Power does not continue through blood.”
A pause.
“It continues through choices.”
Lucas’s expression hardened.
“You sound like him.”
Ethan frowned.
“Who?”
Lucas looked at him.
“The fourth child.”
Silence.
Everyone turned.
Edward’s face changed.
Because Lucas had just revealed something.
Something he was not supposed to know.
Ethan whispered:
“Where is he?”
Lucas smiled.
Then he said the words that changed everything:
“You have already met him.”
The room went silent.
Impossible.
Ethan looked around.
Everyone.
Amelia.
Ava.
Lily.
Daniel.
Alexander.
Nobody understood.
Then Lucas looked directly at one person.
Not Ethan.
Not Edward.
Not Alexander.
He looked at Ava.
Ava froze.
“No…”
Lucas smiled.
“Yes.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“What are you saying?”
Lucas answered:
“The fourth child was never missing.”
A pause.
“She was hidden.”
Everyone stopped breathing.
Lucas looked at Ava.
“The final Project Origin subject…”
“Was your daughter.”
Ava stepped backward.
“No.”
Her voice shook.
“I’m not…”
Lucas interrupted.
“You are.”
The screen behind them displayed an old file.
PROJECT ORIGIN: SUBJECT FOUR
Photo attached.
A baby.
The same birthmark.
The same eyes.
Ava.
Ethan looked at his daughter.
The daughter he thought had been stolen by Alexander.
The daughter he thought was just another victim.
But the truth was far bigger.
Ava was not just an heir.
Not just a survivor.
She was the reason Project Origin existed.
Edward whispered:
“I tried to hide her.”
A pause.
“But Helena found her.”
Ava looked at Ethan.
Fear filled her eyes.
“Dad…”
She looked terrified.
“Am I dangerous?”
Ethan walked toward her.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like approaching a wounded child.
He placed his hand on her shoulder.
“No.”
Ava cried.
“But they made me into something.”
Ethan shook his head.
“They tried.”
A pause.
“But they failed.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked at Lily.
Then at Ava.
“Because you chose to save your family.”
Far away…
inside another hidden facility…
a door opened.
A figure stepped inside.
Watching the Blackwood reunion through a screen.
A woman.
The woman from the old photograph.
She smiled.
Because everything was happening exactly as planned.
She whispered:
“Good.”
“The four heirs are finally together.”
May you like
A pause.
“Now the real Project Origin begins.”
