CHAPTER 7: THE MAN WHO WOKE UP UNDERGROUND
CHAPTER 7: THE MAN WHO WOKE UP UNDERGROUND
Matthew Ashford opened his eyes.
The first thing he felt was pain.
Not sharp pain.
Something deeper.
A heavy, exhausting pain that seemed to come from every part of his body.
His vision was blurry.
The ceiling above him was white.
Too white.
Not the comforting white of a hospital.
A colder kind.
The kind that belonged to a laboratory.
Machines surrounded him.
Thin tubes connected to his arms.
Sensors covered his chest.
A strange metallic device rested near his temple.
For several seconds, Matthew did not know where he was.
Then memory returned.
The plane.
The explosion.
The fire.
The darkness.
The voice.
His father.
Thomas Ashford.
Matthew tried to move.
Nothing happened.
His muscles barely responded.
A familiar voice came from the shadows.
“You always were stubborn.”
Matthew’s eyes slowly moved.
A figure stepped forward.
Gray hair.
Perfect suit.
Calm expression.
A man who looked like he belonged in a luxury boardroom.
Not a hidden underground laboratory.
“Father…”
The word came out weak.
Thomas smiled.
“Good.”
He walked closer.
“You remember.”
Matthew stared at him.
“You’re dead.”
Thomas laughed quietly.
“That is what I wanted everyone to believe.”
“You crashed my plane.”
Thomas did not deny it.
Instead, he adjusted one of the machines beside Matthew.
“You were becoming a problem.”
Matthew’s eyes narrowed.
“You tried to kill me.”
“No.”
Thomas looked at the medical equipment.
“I saved you.”
Matthew almost laughed.
“You kidnapped me.”
Thomas turned.
“Do you know what separates ordinary people from extraordinary ones?”
Matthew said nothing.
“Perspective.”
Thomas walked around the room.
“Your entire life, you believed power came from money.”
He touched the glass wall of the laboratory.
“But money is temporary.”
He looked back.
“Health is power.”
Matthew stared at him.
“You turned people into experiments.”
Thomas smiled.
“Experiments?”
He shook his head.
“That word comes from people who fear progress.”
Matthew’s voice became stronger.
“You murdered people.”
Thomas’ expression remained calm.
“No.”
A pause.
“I removed failures.”
The words chilled Matthew.
Because his father did not say them like a villain.
He said them like a businessman discussing numbers.
Thomas picked up a tablet.
“You were the first successful subject.”
Matthew looked at the screen.
His own medical data appeared.
Heart rate.
Cell regeneration.
Genetic changes.
“You modified me.”
“Yes.”
“Without my permission.”
Thomas looked surprised.
“Permission?”
He smiled.
“My son.”
A pause.
“You think great discoveries happen because everyone agrees?”
Matthew looked away.
“You’re insane.”
Thomas ignored the insult.
“Do you know what makes you special?”
Matthew remained silent.
“You survived procedures that killed others.”
Thomas stepped closer.
“Your body adapted.”
A small smile appeared.
“And then something unexpected happened.”
Matthew looked at him.
“What?”
Thomas placed another image on the tablet.
A DNA report.
Elena Marquez.
Matthew’s eyes widened.
“No.”
Thomas watched his reaction carefully.
“You didn’t tell me.”
“Stay away from her.”
Thomas smiled.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The first emotion you still have.”
Matthew looked furious.
“You don’t touch her.”
Thomas leaned closer.
“Interesting.”
He tapped the DNA report.
“After everything I did to you…”
A pause.
“The one thing that made you afraid was losing her.”
Matthew struggled against the restraints.
“Where is she?”
Thomas ignored him.
“The child.”
His voice became quiet.
“The child is proof.”
Matthew froze.
“You know?”
“Of course.”
Thomas looked almost proud.
“You thought you could hide genetic evidence from me?”
Matthew’s face changed.
He understood.
The message.
The fake death.
The attack on Elena.
Everything.
“You’ve been watching her.”
“Yes.”
“For months?”
“Yes.”
Matthew closed his eyes.
A terrible realization formed.
“Then why didn’t you take her before?”
Thomas smiled.
“Because I needed to know who else knew.”
The answer disturbed Matthew.
“You used Elena as bait.”
“Yes.”
“You used my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You used me.”
Thomas looked at him.
“No.”
A pause.
“I created you.”
Matthew stared at him.
Thomas continued.
“The world will eventually understand what I achieved.”
“No one will accept this.”
Thomas laughed softly.
“People accept anything when they benefit from it.”
He turned toward the laboratory window.
Beyond the glass were more rooms.
More machines.
More patients.
Matthew’s expression changed.
“How many?”
Thomas looked back.
“How many what?”
“How many people did you experiment on?”
Silence.
Then Thomas answered:
“Hundreds.”
Matthew’s stomach tightened.
“And the ones who didn’t survive?”
Thomas looked almost annoyed.
“Necessary losses.”
Matthew stared at him.
“You’re a monster.”
Thomas smiled.
“History is written by survivors.”
Suddenly, an alarm sounded.
A red light flashed above the laboratory door.
Thomas looked at the security panel.
His expression changed slightly.
Not fear.
Annoyance.
“What happened?”
A voice came through the speaker.
“Sir.”
The voice sounded nervous.
“We lost contact with the upper floors.”
Thomas frowned.
“How?”
“Dr. Cole discovered the hidden access.”
For the first time, Thomas looked concerned.
“Adrian Cole.”
Matthew noticed.
“You know him?”
Thomas turned slowly.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“He was supposed to become part of the project.”
Matthew stared.
“What?”
Thomas ignored him.
“Where is Elena?”
The voice answered:
“She is still in the hospital.”
Thomas looked at the countdown screen.
Only eleven minutes remained.
He smiled.
“Good.”
Matthew struggled.
“You’re going to fail.”
Thomas looked at him.
“No.”
He walked closer.
“Because you still don’t understand something.”
“What?”
Thomas leaned toward him.
“Elena will come.”
Matthew said nothing.
“Because she loves you.”
A pause.
“And love makes people predictable.”
Matthew looked directly into his father’s eyes.
“No.”
Thomas stopped.
“You’re wrong.”
“About what?”
Matthew’s voice became calm.
“You think love is weakness.”
A pause.
“But it’s the reason you never understood me.”
Thomas stared.
Matthew continued:
“You built an empire because you were afraid of losing control.”
His eyes hardened.
“But Elena…”
A faint smile appeared.
“She risks everything because she believes people are worth saving.”
For a moment, Thomas said nothing.
Then he turned away.
“Bring him to the transfer room.”
The laboratory doors opened.
Two guards entered.
Matthew realized what was happening.
“What are you doing?”
Thomas picked up the DNA report.
“The countdown was never about Elena choosing between you and the child.”
Matthew watched him.
“Then what was it?”
Thomas smiled.
“It was about seeing if she would come willingly.”
The guards disconnected Matthew from the machines.
As they lifted him from the bed, he looked at the camera in the corner.
A tiny red light blinked.
Recording.
Matthew knew there was still one chance.
One message.
One person who might hear him.
He looked directly into the camera.
And whispered:
“Elena…”
Above the hospital, Dr. Adrian Cole discovered something impossible.
The hidden laboratory beneath the building had existed for years.
And the person who authorized its construction…
was not Thomas Ashford.
Not Victoria Ashford.
Not even the Helix Group.
It was someone else.
Someone who had been quietly watching the Ashford family from the beginning.
Adrian stared at the old construction document.
A signature appeared at the bottom.
His face went pale.
Because he recognized the name.
A name from his own past.
A person he trusted.
A person he believed was dead.
He whispered:
“No…”
And behind him, a voice answered:
“Yes, doctor.”
Adrian turned.
A figure stood in the darkness.
Holding a gun.
“Now you finally understand.”
The figure stepped into the emergency light.
And Adrian realized the biggest secret had not been hidden under the hospital.
May you like
It had been hidden inside his own life.
TO BE CONTINUED...
