Chapter 3 - Adrian stared at the frozen image."No."
Olivia looked at him.
"Who is he?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Clara stepped closer.
"You know him."
Adrian's eyes remained fixed on the screen.
"His name was Daniel Voss."
Vanessa whispered:
"Adrian..."
"You told me you didn't know who contacted you."
Vanessa looked away.
Adrian turned toward her.
"You lied."
"I was afraid."
"How do you know Daniel Voss?"
Vanessa's shoulders collapsed.
"I don't."
"You just reacted to his name."
"I've never met him."
Adrian pointed toward the television.
"Then explain why he's in my daughter's nursery."
Vanessa began crying.
But Adrian no longer trusted her tears.
He walked toward her.
"Tell me everything."
"I can't."
"Then I call the police."
Vanessa grabbed his arm.
"No!"
"Why?"
"Because he'll know."
"Who?"
"I don't know!"
Adrian pulled away.
"Everyone keeps saying they don't know."
Clara moved between them.
"Maybe there's a reason."
Adrian looked at her.
"Explain."
Clara hesitated.
"Because maybe Vanessa isn't the person controlling this."
Vanessa stared at her.
"You don't understand."
"Then help us understand."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"When I met Adrian, I already knew about the Mercer family."
Adrian's expression changed.
"What?"
"I didn't marry you by accident."
Silence.
Olivia whispered:
"Mom?"
Vanessa looked at her daughter.
"I loved your father."
"But?"
Vanessa looked toward the staircase.
"But someone approached me before our wedding."
Adrian's heart sank.
"Who?"
"A man named Victor."
"Victor who?"
"I never learned his last name."
"What did he want?"
"Information."
"About what?"
"Your father's business."
Adrian stared at her.
"How long?"
"Years."
"You've been working for someone for years?"
"I stopped."
"When?"
"When Emma was born."
"Why?"
Vanessa looked at the baby.
"Because they wanted her."
Adrian went silent.
Clara's face hardened.
"Why?"
Vanessa whispered:
"Because Emma isn't simply your daughter."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"She's my daughter."
"Yes."
"Then what are you talking about?"
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
"Your father changed his will before he died."
Adrian froze.
"The lawyers told me the will was unchanged."
"They lied."
"What did he change?"
Vanessa pointed toward Emma.
"He named her."
Adrian slowly stepped backward.
"What?"
"Emma inherited something."
"Money?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"Something much more valuable."
Adrian's breathing changed.
"What?"
"A company."
He stared.
"Which company?"
Vanessa looked directly into his eyes.
"Mercer Biotech."
Adrian's face went blank.
His father's company had been sold years ago.
At least, that's what Adrian believed.
But Vanessa continued.
"The company never disappeared."
Adrian whispered:
"Then where is it?"
"Hidden."
"Where?"
Vanessa looked toward the floor.
"Under this house."
A strange silence filled the room.
Then came a sound.
Three slow knocks.
From beneath them.
Everyone froze.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Clara looked down.
Adrian whispered:
"What was that?"
Olivia answered:
"The basement."
Adrian turned.
"Our basement doesn't have a second level."
Vanessa closed her eyes.
"Yes, it does."
Adrian stared at her.
"You knew?"
Vanessa nodded.
"Your father built it."
Adrian walked toward the basement door.
Clara followed.
"Don't go alone."
He looked at her.
After everything that had happened, her voice was still calm.
Trustworthy.
That mattered.
He opened the basement door.
The lights flickered.
They descended.
One floor.
Then another.
The second staircase shouldn't have existed.
But it did.
At the bottom was a steel door.
There was no handle.
Only a keypad.
Adrian stared at it.
"What is the code?"
Vanessa stood at the top of the stairs.
"I don't know."
Olivia looked at the keypad.
"There are fingerprints on it."
Adrian examined the panel.
Four numbers had been used repeatedly.
Clara whispered:
"Your father's birth year."
Adrian typed 1984.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a laboratory.
Dark.
Dusty.
But not abandoned.
A monitor glowed in the corner.
Adrian walked closer.
A single file was displayed.
EMMA MERCER.
Adrian felt his blood run cold.
He clicked the file.
A photograph appeared.
It was Emma.
Taken yesterday.
Inside the hospital.
Before Adrian had even arrived.
Under the photograph was a message.
PROJECT E-17.
STATUS:
ACTIVE.
Then another line appeared.
SUBJECT MUST REMAIN ALIVE.
Adrian stared.
"Subject?"
Behind him, Vanessa whispered:
"Adrian..."
He turned.
She was crying.
"What?"
Vanessa said:
"That's not the worst part."
"What is?"
She pointed toward another screen.
A live video feed was playing.
It showed Emma's nursery.
The camera was still running.
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And someone was standing beside the crib.
Someone inside the house.
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