CHAPTER 9: THE FATHER HIDDEN UNDERGROUND
CHAPTER 9: THE FATHER HIDDEN UNDERGROUND
The screen went black.
But Victor Carter's voice remained inside Emily's mind.
"Don't trust anyone."
Five words.
A warning from a father who had been missing for ten years.
A warning that changed everything.
The Aurora Grand Art Gallery was no longer a place of luxury.
It had become a room full of enemies, secrets, and unanswered questions.
Emily stood frozen.
Her eyes remained on the blank screen.
Her father was alive.
Her father, who she had mourned.
Her father, whose death had shaped every decision she made.
Her father, who she believed she would never see again.
Alive.
Somewhere.
Waiting.
"Where is he?"
Her voice was quiet.
But everyone heard it.
Marcus smiled.
"That is the question, isn't it?"
Emily turned toward him.
"You know."
Marcus didn't answer.
"You know where my father is."
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"I know many things."
Emily walked toward him.
"You kept him alive."
Marcus tilted his head.
"Maybe."
The answer made her furious.
"Maybe?"
She grabbed the front of his jacket.
The entire room froze.
Nobody expected Emily Carter to lose control.
But Marcus had touched the one thing she could never forgive.
Her family.
"Where is my father?"
Marcus looked down at her hand.
Then back at her eyes.
"You really are Victor's daughter."
Emily pushed him away.
"Where?"
Before Marcus could answer, Richard spoke.
"Enough."
Everyone turned.
The old man looked at Marcus.
"You don't understand what you are doing."
Marcus laughed.
"No, Richard."
"I understand perfectly."
He walked closer.
"For years, I watched you all fight over power."
"You."
He pointed at Richard.
"Your empire."
Then Alexander.
"His money."
Then Emily.
"Her revenge."
He smiled.
"But none of you understood the real prize."
His eyes moved toward Lily.
"Genesis."
Emily immediately moved between them.
Marcus noticed.
"That instinct."
He smiled.
"That is exactly why Victor chose you."
Emily frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Marcus looked at Richard.
"Tell her."
Richard remained silent.
Emily turned.
"Tell me what?"
The old man looked away.
For the first time, he seemed tired.
"Your father did not create Genesis because he wanted power."
A pause.
"He created it because he knew someone would eventually try to control humanity."
Emily listened.
Richard continued.
"Victor believed knowledge should belong to everyone."
"He believed technology should protect people."
"But I believed differently."
Richard looked at the Black Meridian symbol.
"I believed whoever controlled information controlled the world."
Emily's expression hardened.
"So you became the thing my father was fighting against."
Richard didn't deny it.
"Yes."
A heavy silence.
Then Emily asked:
"Why keep him alive?"
Richard looked at her.
"Because Victor was the only person who could activate Genesis."
"But he refused."
Emily understood.
"So you kept him hidden."
Richard nodded.
"Until his daughter returned."
Emily looked at Marcus.
"And you?"
Marcus smiled.
"I found another way."
He tapped his phone.
A file appeared.
Emily immediately recognized the image.
The Carter family tree.
But something was different.
A section had been highlighted.
EMILY CARTER + UNKNOWN DNA CONTRIBUTOR
Her face changed.
"What is this?"
Marcus watched her carefully.
"Something your father never told you."
Emily stared.
"The reason Lily carries the Genesis key."
Her fingers tightened.
"What are you saying?"
Marcus leaned closer.
"Your daughter wasn't created by accident."
The room became silent.
Emily felt cold.
"No."
Marcus continued.
"Before Lily was born, Victor needed to ensure Genesis could survive."
"He needed the perfect genetic combination."
Emily shook her head.
"Stop."
"He chose someone."
Emily looked at him.
"Who?"
Marcus smiled.
"The person who helped create the key."
A pause.
"Your daughter's father."
The words hit harder than anything else.
Emily froze.
Lily's father.
A subject she had avoided for years.
A person she rarely spoke about.
Because the memory was painful.
Because she had lost him before Lily was born.
Because she thought it was just a tragedy.
But now...
It was another secret.
Richard looked uncomfortable.
Claire closed her eyes.
And that reaction told Emily everything.
"You knew."
She looked at her mother.
Claire whispered:
"Emily..."
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"You knew."
Claire looked at Lily.
"I wanted to tell you."
"But Victor made me promise."
Emily laughed bitterly.
"Everyone always has a promise."
She stepped back.
"My whole life is built on things people decided I wasn't allowed to know."
Lily looked scared.
"Mom..."
Emily immediately knelt.
She softened.
"I'm okay."
But she wasn't.
Not anymore.
Because she had spent years protecting Lily from the world.
And now she discovered the world had been protecting secrets from her.
Suddenly, Agent Reed's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed instantly.
"What?"
Everyone looked at him.
"What happened?"
Reed looked at Emily.
"The laboratory location has been found."
Emily stepped forward.
"Where?"
Reed hesitated.
Then:
"Under the old Carter estate."
Emily froze.
Her childhood home.
The place where her family had lived.
The place where her father disappeared.
The place where her entire life changed.
"The basement?"
Reed nodded.
"Your father was kept beneath your own house."
Emily felt sick.
For ten years.
She had walked past that place.
She had stood in that house.
She had never known.
Claire covered her mouth.
"I thought they moved him."
Richard looked away.
Emily noticed.
"You knew."
Richard said nothing.
Emily's eyes filled with anger.
"You knew he was under our home?"
Richard finally answered:
"Yes."
The room went silent.
Emily walked toward him.
"You let me live above my imprisoned father."
Richard's expression remained calm.
But his eyes showed something.
Regret.
"I thought it was necessary."
Emily shook her head.
"No."
She pointed at him.
"You didn't protect my family."
"You destroyed it."
For the first time...
Richard Carter looked old.
Not powerful.
Not dangerous.
Just old.
A man who had spent decades chasing control and finally realized what he had lost.
Then suddenly...
The gallery windows shattered.
Everyone dropped.
Glass fell like rain.
Security guards rushed forward.
A sniper shot had hit the wall.
Not a person.
A warning.
Agent Reed looked outside.
"We need to leave."
Another shot.
This time closer.
Marcus smiled.
"They're here."
Emily looked at him.
"Who?"
Marcus looked toward the darkness outside.
"The people even Black Meridian fears."
A black vehicle stopped outside the gallery.
The doors opened.
Several armed men stepped out.
But they were not wearing Black Meridian symbols.
They wore a different mark.
A white triangle.
Richard's face changed.
"No..."
Emily noticed.
"You know them."
Richard whispered:
"The Eclipse Division."
Daniel stepped back.
For the first time all night...
He looked afraid.
Emily looked around.
"Who are they?"
Richard answered:
"The organization that created Black Meridian."
Silence.
The enemy had an enemy.
And somehow...
They had just arrived.
The gallery doors exploded open.
A man walked inside.
Older.
Calm.
Powerful.
He looked directly at Emily.
Then at Lily.
And smiled.
"Finally."
He said.
"The Genesis child."
Emily stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The man removed his gloves.
"My name is Adrian Vale."
A pause.
"And I am the person who started this entire war."
He looked at Lily.
"Because eight years ago..."
His smile disappeared.
"Your daughter was never supposed to survive."
Emily's heart stopped.
The room went silent.
Adrian continued:
"And now..."
"We need to correct that mistake."
Emily immediately pulled Lily behind her.
But Adrian only smiled.
Because he knew something Emily didn't.
Something hidden inside Lily.
May you like
Something that would change everything.
TO BE CONTINUED...
