CHAPTER 10: THE GIRL WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO LIVE
CHAPTER 10: THE GIRL WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO LIVE
The name echoed through the destroyed Aurora Grand Art Gallery.
Adrian Vale.
Nobody spoke.
Not because they didn't want to.
Because nobody knew what to say.
Even Richard Carter, the man who had built Black Meridian, looked disturbed.
And Emily noticed.
That terrified her more than anything.
Because Richard feared very few people.
But he feared Adrian Vale.
Emily tightened her grip on Lily's hand.
"Who are you?"
Adrian slowly walked through the broken glass.
His footsteps were calm.
Almost casual.
As if he wasn't standing in the middle of a room full of powerful people.
As if he already knew the ending.
"I already told you."
His eyes moved toward the little girl hiding behind her mother.
"I am the person who started this war."
Emily's expression hardened.
"You are the reason my family was destroyed?"
Adrian smiled faintly.
"Your family destroyed itself."
A flash of anger crossed Emily's face.
"Don't talk about my family."
Adrian stopped.
"You still think this is about revenge."
He looked around.
"Alexander thinks it is about money."
"Marcus thinks it is about power."
"Richard thinks it is about control."
Then he looked at Emily.
"But you..."
A pause.
"You think it is about pain."
Emily said nothing.
Because he was right.
For ten years, she had carried anger like a second heartbeat.
But now...
She was beginning to understand.
The story was much bigger.
Adrian looked at Lily.
"The truth is..."
He spoke quietly.
"Nobody in this room understands what Project Genesis really is."
Agent Reed stepped forward.
"Then explain."
Adrian smiled.
"You still believe you are the good side, Agent Reed?"
Reed's expression remained serious.
"We protect people."
Adrian laughed softly.
"No."
"You protect information."
A pause.
"And information is the most dangerous weapon in the world."
Emily looked at him.
"What do you want?"
Adrian's eyes returned to Lily.
"The same thing everyone wants."
Emily stepped forward.
"You are not touching her."
Adrian looked amused.
"That reaction."
He shook his head.
"Exactly what Victor predicted."
Emily froze.
"You knew my father?"
"Better than anyone."
The answer shocked her.
Adrian continued.
"Victor Carter was brilliant."
"He understood something most people never will."
"Technology changes."
"Governments change."
"Empires rise and fall."
"But human nature stays the same."
He looked toward Richard.
"Greed."
Then Alexander.
"Ambition."
Then Marcus.
"Desperation."
Finally, Lily.
"And fear."
Emily looked confused.
"Why are you talking about fear?"
Adrian's expression changed.
Because for the first time...
He looked serious.
"Because fear is what created Genesis."
The room became quiet.
Emily looked at Richard.
Then at the screen.
Then back at Adrian.
"Explain."
Adrian walked closer.
"Twenty years ago, Victor discovered that powerful people were preparing for something."
"A global collapse."
"Financial wars."
"Political conflicts."
"Cyber attacks."
"Everything that could destroy civilization."
He paused.
"He believed the world needed protection."
Emily whispered:
"So he created Genesis."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"But he made one mistake."
"What?"
"He trusted humanity."
The words hung in the air.
Adrian continued.
"Victor believed Genesis could be controlled by a group of responsible people."
"He was wrong."
"Because every person who touched it wanted more."
Richard looked away.
Alexander lowered his eyes.
Marcus remained silent.
Emily looked at Lily.
"And my daughter?"
Adrian's voice softened.
"Your daughter is not a weapon."
Emily relaxed slightly.
"Then what is she?"
Adrian answered:
"The final proof."
Everyone looked confused.
"The proof that Genesis can exist without corruption."
He looked at Emily.
"Victor didn't create a key."
"He created a choice."
Emily frowned.
"A choice?"
Adrian nodded.
"Genesis requires two things."
"Knowledge."
"And morality."
"The system cannot activate through power alone."
"It needs someone who can choose whether humanity deserves the truth."
Emily looked at Lily.
"She chooses?"
Adrian nodded.
"Not because of her DNA."
"Because of yours."
Emily froze.
"My DNA?"
"Your father did not choose Lily because she was genetically valuable."
"He chose her because of who you became."
A pause.
"The woman who lost everything but still protected others."
"The woman who had every reason to hate the world but chose to raise a child with love."
Emily didn't know what to say.
For years, she thought she was fighting because she was angry.
But maybe...
Her father had seen something else.
Adrian looked toward Richard.
"You failed, Richard."
The old man looked at him.
"You created Black Meridian to protect the world."
"But you forgot the world was made of people."
Richard's face became heavy.
"You think you are different?"
Adrian smiled.
"No."
"I know exactly what I am."
A dangerous silence followed.
Then Adrian turned.
"That is why I came here."
Emily immediately became alert.
"For Lily?"
"Yes."
She stepped in front of her daughter.
"Why?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Because someone else already has access to Genesis."
Everyone froze.
Agent Reed asked:
"Who?"
Adrian looked at Marcus.
The room changed.
Marcus's expression disappeared.
"What are you implying?"
Adrian smiled.
"You didn't think I wouldn't notice?"
Marcus said nothing.
Emily looked between them.
"Marcus?"
Adrian continued.
"He has been searching for Genesis for years."
"He didn't betray Black Meridian because he wanted freedom."
"He betrayed them because he found something bigger."
Marcus's face hardened.
"Enough."
Adrian ignored him.
"He found the original Genesis research."
Richard's eyes widened.
"Impossible."
Marcus smiled.
Finally.
"You all spent years searching for the system."
He looked around.
"I searched for the creator."
Emily frowned.
"The creator?"
Marcus looked at her.
"Your daughter isn't the only secret your father left behind."
He pulled a small device from his pocket.
A holographic image appeared.
A man's face.
A scientist.
Emily didn't recognize him.
But Richard did.
His expression changed instantly.
"No..."
Marcus smiled.
"You remember."
Richard whispered:
"Dr. Elias Voss."
The name meant something.
Something terrible.
Marcus continued.
"The man who designed the first version of Genesis."
Emily looked at Richard.
"Why are you afraid?"
Richard didn't answer.
Marcus laughed.
"Because Richard Carter didn't create Black Meridian."
A pause.
"He stole it."
The entire room froze.
Richard looked furious.
"Stop."
Marcus continued.
"Adrian knows."
He pointed toward the man.
"He knows the truth."
Emily looked at Adrian.
"Tell me."
Adrian was silent.
Then he finally spoke.
"Black Meridian was not created by your grandfather."
"It was created by a scientist who believed information should never belong to governments or billionaires."
Emily waited.
"His name was Elias Voss."
"And he was my father."
Silence.
Adrian looked at Lily.
"The original Genesis project belonged to my family."
Emily's eyes widened.
"Then why does my family have it?"
Adrian answered:
"Because your grandfather stole it."
The room exploded.
Richard immediately shouted:
"He's lying!"
But nobody looked convinced.
Because suddenly...
The entire history had changed.
The Carter family was not the beginning.
They were part of something older.
Something buried.
Adrian stepped closer.
"And now the final piece is here."
He looked at Lily.
"The last remaining connection between the Voss and Carter bloodlines."
Emily felt cold.
"My daughter."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
Then suddenly...
Lily spoke.
A quiet voice.
Everyone turned.
"Mom."
Emily looked down.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
Lily pointed toward the broken screen.
A strange symbol had appeared.
A symbol nobody noticed.
A symbol only she could see.
"I've seen that before."
Emily froze.
"When?"
Lily touched her forehead.
"In my dreams."
The room became silent.
Adrian's expression changed.
Not fear.
Shock.
"Impossible..."
Emily looked at him.
"What?"
Adrian stared at Lily.
"The Genesis system is already awake."
Nobody moved.
Agent Reed looked confused.
"But activation requires a location."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
"It requires a memory."
Emily's heart raced.
"What memory?"
Adrian looked at Lily.
"The memory of the first person who activated it."
Emily whispered:
"Who?"
Adrian answered:
"Her."
He pointed at Lily.
The little girl who was supposed to be just a victim.
The little girl everyone accused.
The little girl nobody believed.
But now...
Everyone realized the truth.
Lily had been connected to Genesis since birth.
And somewhere inside her mind...
Was a memory that belonged to someone else.
A memory from before she was born.
Suddenly, every screen in the gallery turned on.
One message appeared.
GENESIS HAS AWAKENED.
Then another line appeared.
WELCOME BACK, VICTOR CARTER.
Emily's blood ran cold.
Because the system was not calling Lily.
It was not calling Richard.
It was not calling Adrian.
It was calling her father.
The man hidden underground.
The man who had been waiting for ten years.
Victor Carter.
And somewhere beneath the old Carter estate...
May you like
His eyes opened.
TO BE CONTINUED...
