CHAPTER 8: THE GHOST FROM ADRIAN’S PAST
CHAPTER 8: THE GHOST FROM ADRIAN’S PAST
The gun remained pointed at Dr. Adrian Cole.
For several seconds, neither man moved.
The emergency lights flashed across the dark hospital corridor.
Red.
Black.
Red.
Black.
Each flash revealed the same impossible truth.
The person standing in front of Adrian was someone he had buried in his memories years ago.
Someone who should never have been here.
Someone who should have been gone forever.
“Impossible…”
Adrian’s voice was barely a whisper.
The figure stepped closer.
“You always said that word when reality became uncomfortable.”
Adrian stared.
His hands slowly tightened.
“Daniel.”
The man smiled.
“Yes.”
The name echoed through Adrian’s mind.
Daniel Reeves.
His former colleague.
His closest friend.
The brilliant researcher who disappeared twelve years earlier after a medical facility explosion.
The official report said Daniel died.
Adrian attended the funeral.
He watched the empty coffin being lowered into the ground.
He spent years believing his friend was gone.
But now Daniel stood in front of him.
Alive.
Older.
Colder.
“You died.”
Daniel lowered the gun slightly.
“No.”
A pause.
“I was erased.”
Adrian looked at the documents in his hand.
The old construction records.
The hidden laboratory.
The secret facility beneath the hospital.
“You built this.”
Daniel looked around.
“Not alone.”
A strange calm appeared on his face.
“I had help.”
“Thomas Ashford.”
Daniel smiled.
“Everyone thinks Thomas is the beginning.”
He stepped closer.
“He isn’t.”
Adrian felt a chill.
“What are you talking about?”
Daniel looked toward the underground entrance.
“Thomas was just a man with ambition.”
A pause.
“The real power behind everything is the network.”
“The Helix Group.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
Adrian stared at him.
“You were part of them.”
Daniel did not answer.
And that silence was an answer.
Years earlier, Adrian and Daniel had worked together researching advanced regenerative medicine.
They believed they were changing the world.
Healing damaged organs.
Repairing injuries.
Saving lives.
But somewhere along the way, Daniel crossed a line.
A line Adrian refused to cross.
“You told me science needed limits,” Daniel said.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“It does.”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“And that is why you were removed.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Daniel looked away.
“You were never supposed to leave that research project.”
The hallway felt colder.
“You don’t remember everything.”
Adrian frowned.
“What are you saying?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Your memories were altered.”
For a moment, Adrian could not understand the words.
Then he laughed.
A short, disbelieving laugh.
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Again.”
A pause.
“You always say that.”
Adrian’s face changed.
Because Daniel was right.
Throughout his life, whenever something impossible appeared, he rejected it before investigating.
But now too many impossible things were standing in front of him.
Matthew alive.
Project Phoenix.
Helix.
Daniel.
The hidden laboratory.
“What did you do to me?”
Daniel lowered the gun.
“I saved you.”
Adrian stared.
“Everyone says that.”
A bitter smile crossed his face.
“Thomas said the same thing.”
Daniel ignored him.
“Do you remember the accident twelve years ago?”
Adrian became silent.
The explosion.
The fire.
The night Daniel supposedly died.
“I remember.”
“No.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You remember what we allowed you to remember.”
Adrian felt his stomach tighten.
“What happened?”
Daniel looked directly into his eyes.
“You discovered Project Phoenix.”
Silence.
“You discovered what Helix was really creating.”
Adrian looked at the documents again.
“And you erased my memories?”
Daniel nodded.
“To protect the project.”
Adrian’s expression turned into anger.
“To protect the project?”
His voice echoed.
“You destroyed my life.”
Daniel looked almost regretful.
“Your life continued.”
“My friend died.”
“I disappeared.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked away.
“Because the truth was more dangerous.”
Suddenly, a noise came from the nearby stairwell.
Footsteps.
Multiple people.
Daniel immediately raised his gun again.
Adrian noticed.
“You’re not alone.”
“No.”
Daniel looked toward the darkness.
“Neither are you.”
A group of armed men appeared.
But they were not wearing Helix symbols.
They wore police uniforms.
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Police?”
Daniel smiled.
“Look closer.”
The officers stopped.
One removed his badge.
Underneath was the black triangle symbol.
Helix.
Adrian understood.
They had infiltrated everything.
Hospitals.
Security.
Law enforcement.
Maybe even governments.
“Who can you trust?” Daniel asked quietly.
Adrian said nothing.
Because he finally understood.
That was the real weapon of Helix.
Not technology.
Not money.
Not experiments.
Fear.
Confusion.
Making everyone question everyone.
Then a voice came through Adrian’s earpiece.
A weak voice.
A familiar voice.
“Doctor…”
Adrian froze.
Matthew.
Daniel looked surprised.
“Impossible.”
Adrian touched the earpiece.
“Matthew?”
The voice was faint.
“They moved me.”
Adrian looked around.
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know.”
A pause.
“But I know something.”
“What?”
Matthew breathed heavily.
“My father isn’t the leader.”
Everyone became still.
Daniel’s expression changed.
“What did he say?”
Adrian looked at Daniel.
Matthew continued:
“Thomas works for someone else.”
A silence followed.
“Someone higher.”
Daniel slowly lowered the gun.
For the first time, fear appeared on his face.
Adrian noticed.
“You know who.”
Daniel did not answer.
“Daniel.”
Finally, he whispered:
“Yes.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
Like he was afraid someone was listening.
Then he said:
“The founder.”
Adrian frowned.
“Founder of Helix?”
Daniel nodded.
“The person who started everything.”
A pause.
“The person who created Project Phoenix.”
Another pause.
“And the person who selected Matthew as the first successful subject.”
Adrian felt a terrible realization.
“Who is it?”
Daniel looked at him.
And said a name that made Adrian’s entire body freeze.
“Your father.”
The world seemed to stop.
Adrian stepped backward.
“No.”
Daniel’s eyes were filled with regret.
“Yes.”
“My father died twenty years ago.”
Daniel whispered:
“That’s what everyone believed.”
The hospital alarms suddenly stopped.
The emergency lights turned normal.
Then every screen in the hospital turned on.
A message appeared.
No video.
No voice.
Just words.
PROJECT PHOENIX PHASE TWO HAS BEGUN.
Then another line appeared.
SUBJECT LOCATION CONFIRMED.
Everyone looked at Elena.
Because the message was not talking about Matthew.
It was talking about her.
A final line appeared.
THE CHILD WILL BE COLLECTED AT MIDNIGHT.
Elena read the message from the security monitor.
Her face turned pale.
Adrian rushed back toward her.
But before he reached her, every door in the hospital unlocked.
Hundreds of patients.
Doctors.
Visitors.
Security.
Everyone began moving.
Confused.
Terrified.
And among the crowd…
someone walked toward Elena.
Someone wearing a simple doctor’s coat.
Someone nobody noticed.
Until she spoke.
“Hello, Elena.”
Elena turned.
The woman smiled.
“I’ve been waiting to meet you.”
Adrian stopped.
Because he recognized the woman.
The world-famous genetic specialist.
The woman who disappeared after the first Helix investigation.
The woman who was believed to have died.
Dr. Sophia Ashford.
Thomas Ashford’s mother.
Matthew’s grandmother.
And the true founder of Helix.
She looked at Elena’s stomach.
Then smiled.
“After all these years…”
A pause.
May you like
“We finally found the future.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
