Chapter 5 - Adrian couldn't move."My father had two children."
Vanessa shook her head.
"No."
She looked at Olivia.
"Three."
Olivia's eyes widened.
Adrian stared at his wife.
"You knew?"
"I found out after we got married."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because your father threatened me."
Adrian laughed once.
A broken sound.
"My dead father threatened you?"
"Before he died."
"How?"
"He told me Daniel was dangerous."
"Then why did you marry me?"
Vanessa's expression twisted with guilt.
"Because I didn't know which brother he meant."
Adrian froze.
"Daniel and I were never introduced."
"I know."
"Then how could he be my brother?"
"Because your father hid him."
Adrian looked toward the underground laboratory.
"Why?"
Vanessa said nothing.
Olivia stepped forward.
"Because Daniel wasn't supposed to exist."
Clara frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Olivia pointed toward the files.
"The laboratory records."
Adrian returned downstairs.
He opened the first folder.
Birth records.
Genetic reports.
Medical experiments.
Names.
Dates.
And pages of handwritten notes from his father.
One line appeared again and again.
THE MERCER LINE MUST CONTINUE.
Adrian turned the page.
Three children were listed.
A-01.
A-02.
E-17.
A-01 was Adrian.
A-02 was Daniel.
E-17 was Emma.
Adrian's skin crawled.
"What does E-17 mean?"
Vanessa stared at the screen.
"Experimental seventeenth subject."
Adrian looked at her.
"You said Emma inherited the company."
"Yes."
"Why would a baby be called a subject?"
Vanessa looked toward Clara.
"Because Emma isn't the only person being tested."
Clara's face changed.
"What?"
Vanessa pointed to the folder.
"Look at the genetic records."
Clara approached.
Her name was printed under E-16.
Adrian stared.
"No."
Clara shook her head.
"I don't understand."
"Clara was tested before Emma."
Adrian looked at her.
"Did you know my father?"
Clara slowly shook her head.
"I thought I met him once."
"When?"
"When I was eighteen."
Adrian stared.
"Where?"
"At a clinic."
"What clinic?"
Clara's hands trembled.
"My mother took me there."
"Why?"
"Because I was sick."
"With what?"
Clara hesitated.
"I don't know."
Adrian opened another file.
Clara's medical history appeared.
Blood tests.
Neurological scans.
Genetic sequencing.
Everything.
But there was something else.
A photograph.
Clara at eighteen.
Standing beside Adrian's father.
Adrian felt dizzy.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Because I didn't remember."
Adrian looked at the photograph.
"Don't you recognize him?"
Clara shook her head.
"I remember a room."
"What room?"
"A white room."
Her breathing quickened.
"I remember a man saying I had to sleep."
Adrian turned.
"Sleep?"
Clara closed her eyes.
"I remember waking up."
"And?"
"There was blood."
Everyone went silent.
Clara opened her eyes.
"There was a woman beside me."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Did she say anything?"
Clara looked at Emma.
"She said I had been chosen."
Adrian stared.
"Chosen for what?"
Clara shook her head.
"I don't know."
Then the lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the house.
Emma started crying.
Adrian grabbed her.
"Everyone stay together."
Something moved upstairs.
A floorboard creaked.
Then another.
Clara whispered:
"Someone's here."
Adrian pulled out his phone.
The flashlight turned on.
The hallway was empty.
Then Olivia screamed.
"My room!"
She ran.
Adrian followed.
Her bedroom window was open.
A photograph lay on her bed.
Adrian picked it up.
It showed the entire Mercer family.
Adrian.
Vanessa.
Olivia.
Emma.
Clara.
Someone had circled Clara's face in red.
On the back was a handwritten message.
SHE REMEMBERS.
Adrian looked at Clara.
She was staring at the photograph.
Then she whispered:
"I do."
Adrian's heart stopped.
"What?"
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
"I remember the room."
"What room?"
"The laboratory."
She looked toward the floor.
"And I remember your father."
Adrian stepped closer.
"What did he do to you?"
Clara's voice broke.
"He told me one day your family would come looking for me."
Adrian stared.
"Why?"
"Because he knew Emma would need me."
"Need you for what?"
Clara looked at Emma.
"To survive."
Before Adrian could respond, a gunshot exploded outside.
The window shattered.
Glass rained into the room.
Everyone ducked.
Another shot.
Then a man's voice came from outside.
"Adrian!"
Adrian crawled toward the window.
"Who are you?"
The voice answered:
"Ask your wife why she really married you."
Adrian turned toward Vanessa.
She had gone completely white.
May you like
Then the lights came back on.
And Vanessa was gone.
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