Chapter 12 - The Other BoyThe island rose from the ocean like a black tooth.
Fog covered the cliffs.
The old fortress at its center belonged to no government, no corporation, and no public registry.
Helix had erased it from every map.
We landed just before midnight.
Daniel stayed behind with Rachel.
Adrian and I entered the fortress.
Elena came with us.
Nobody spoke.
A strange feeling followed me through every corridor.
The place looked abandoned.
Yet cameras tracked our movement.
Every door opened before we touched it.
Someone wanted us inside.
We reached a circular room.
Two chairs.
Two small cups of water.
Two photographs.
One of Caleb.
One of Gabriel.
A speaker came alive.
My father's voice.
“Sit.”
I didn't.
“Where are the boys?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“You will know when you're ready.”
I stared at the camera.
“You've been manipulating me since I was a child.”
“That is what fathers do.”
“No.”
I raised my firearm toward the lens.
“That's what monsters do.”
The speaker crackled.
Then a side door opened.
A child walked in.
Gabriel.
He looked exactly like Caleb.
Same height.
Same eyes.
Same dark hair.
But his expression was different.
Still.
Controlled.
He stopped in front of me.
“Uncle Marcus.”
I lowered my weapon.
“How old are you?”
“Eight.”
“You know me?”
“Grandfather showed me pictures.”
“Why did he bring you here?”
“To see whether you would choose me.”
“Choose you for what?”
Gabriel looked at Elena.
“She knows.”
Elena began crying.
I turned.
“What does he mean?”
She whispered.
“They told me only one child could inherit Helix.”
I stared at Gabriel.
“Why?”
“Because the system was designed around bloodline access.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Don't believe them.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“You're the failed son.”
Adrian froze.
Gabriel continued.
“Grandfather said you were too weak to control the organization.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
I crouched in front of Gabriel.
“Where is Caleb?”
Gabriel pointed to the ceiling.
“Upstairs.”
We found him in a locked room.
He was sitting on the floor beside a broken monitor.
The moment he saw me, he ran.
“Uncle Marcus!”
I caught him.
Then he whispered.
“Gabriel isn't the only one.”
I looked at him.
“What do you mean?”
“There are more.”
My heart stopped.
“How many?”
Caleb looked terrified.
“Seven.”
Elena covered her mouth.
“Seven children?”
Caleb nodded.
“Dad told me.”
I turned to Gabriel.
“Is that true?”
“Yes.”
“Who are they?”
“Children carrying pieces of the Helix key.”
I felt sick.
My father had built an entire system around children.
Gabriel led us deeper into the fortress.
One door after another.
Behind each door was a room containing photographs.
Seven children.
Different countries.
Different ages.
All connected to Helix.
Then we reached the final room.
An operating theater.
In the center was a metal chair.
Medical equipment surrounded it.
I saw scars on Caleb's wrist.
Then Gabriel showed me his.
Matching scars.
The implant was real.
But the system had not been built to unlock a vault.
It had been built to synchronize the children.
I turned toward Elena.
“Why?”
She whispered.
“To transfer identities.”
I didn't understand.
Then the screen displayed two names.
MARCUS VALE
ADRIAN VALE
And beneath them:
ELLIOT VALE
I stared.
A message appeared.
TRANSFER SUBJECT: ELENA MERCER
I turned.
Elena stepped backward.
“What is this?”
The door behind her locked.
The lights turned red.
A voice came through the speakers.
“Mrs. Mercer.”
My father.
“You were never hired to be a housekeeper.”
Elena shook.
“Then what am I?”
The screen displayed her photograph.
Underneath it:
HELIX ARCHITECT, LEVEL 3
I turned toward her.
She looked at me through tears.
“I was forced.”
“Who are you?”
May you like
She whispered.
“The woman who built the machine that can rewrite who you are.”
