Chapter 10 - Adrian's world stopped."Clara?"
She stood frozen.
"She was in my arms."
Daniel looked around.
A hidden doorway stood open.
Victor had found another entrance.
"They took her through the service tunnel."
Adrian ran.
Daniel grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
Adrian turned violently.
"My daughter!"
"That's what they want."
"I don't care."
"They're counting on that."
Adrian froze.
Daniel pointed to the monitors.
"Look."
A camera feed showed Victor carrying Emma.
Vanessa was with him.
Adrian's face collapsed.
"Vanessa..."
Olivia covered her mouth.
"Mom took her."
"No."
Adrian watched the screen.
Vanessa was crying as she walked beside Victor.
"I am not letting them hurt her."
Victor answered:
"Then keep walking."
The video showed them entering an elevator.
Daniel looked at Adrian.
"There's another problem."
"What?"
"Victor isn't taking Emma to the board."
"Where?"
"The old research facility."
"Where is it?"
"Twenty miles outside the city."
"Take me there."
Daniel shook his head.
"They'll kill you."
"I don't care."
"You should."
Adrian stared at him.
"Why?"
Daniel looked at Clara.
"Because the facility is where the first sixteen subjects died."
Clara went pale.
"I remember."
Adrian looked at her.
"Everything?"
She nodded.
"The smell."
"What smell?"
"Burning plastic."
"Machines."
"Blood."
She looked at the little girl in the chamber.
"And children crying."
Daniel stared at her.
"You shouldn't remember that."
Clara whispered:
"They didn't erase everything."
She pointed to her head.
"They couldn't."
Then the lights flickered.
A siren started.
Daniel looked at the monitor.
"Someone activated the emergency shutdown."
"What does that mean?"
"The lab will flood."
Adrian froze.
"Flood?"
"With chemical suppressant."
"How long?"
"Four minutes."
Daniel opened the chamber.
The little girl woke.
"Come."
She crawled into his arms.
Adrian stared.
"What's her name?"
Daniel looked at the girl.
"Eva."
Eva looked at Adrian.
"Emma is scared."
Adrian felt a jolt.
"How do you know?"
"Because I can hear her."
Clara whispered:
"That's impossible."
Eva looked at her.
"No."
She touched her temple.
"They're connected."
Daniel's expression changed.
"What did you say?"
Eva pointed toward the elevator.
"Emma is crying."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Can you hear her now?"
Eva nodded.
"She's calling for you."
Adrian closed his eyes.
Then he heard it.
Very faint.
A baby crying.
But it wasn't coming from Eva.
It was coming through a hidden speaker.
Daniel looked shocked.
"That shouldn't be active."
Adrian followed the sound.
Behind a wall was a monitor.
It showed Emma.
She was lying on a medical table.
Victor stood beside her.
A doctor prepared a syringe.
Adrian's breathing stopped.
"What is that?"
Daniel answered:
"The treatment."
Clara grabbed his arm.
"Stop it."
Daniel shook his head.
"I can't from here."
Adrian looked at the screen.
Victor leaned toward Emma.
"Time to finish what your grandfather started."
Adrian grabbed a metal chair.
"I'll kill him."
Daniel stopped him.
"Look."
Victor stepped aside.
Someone entered the room.
Adrian's father.
Alive.
Adrian dropped the chair.
"No."
The man standing beside Emma looked exactly like him.
Older.
Paler.
But unmistakable.
Adrian whispered:
"My father is dead."
Daniel stared at the screen.
"That isn't your father."
"Then who is he?"
Daniel's face became terrified.
"The doctor who created me."
Adrian looked at him.
"Who?"
Daniel whispered:
"Dr. Mercer."
A name appeared on the screen.
DR. ELIAS MERCER.
And under it:
PROJECT DIRECTOR.
Adrian stared.
His father's name was Richard Mercer.
He had never heard of Elias.
Daniel looked at Clara.
"Now you understand why he wanted you to remember."
Clara shook her head.
"I don't."
Daniel pointed at the screen.
"Because Elias wasn't your father."
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He looked at Adrian.
"He was your grandfather."
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