Chapter 6 - The Uncle Who Was Supposed to Be DeadMartin Hart had been dead for eleven years.
That was what Caleb had been told.
There had been no funeral.
No body.
Just an announcement that Martin had vanished overseas.
Now he stood at the top of the basement stairs holding a gun.
“You look just like your mother,” Martin said.
Caleb stepped in front of Olivia.
“You killed her.”
Martin smiled.
“No.”
George stepped forward.
“Martin.”
“George.”
The brothers stared at each other.
Then Martin lowered the gun.
“Still pretending to be the good brother?”
George's expression hardened.
“You kidnapped those children.”
“Wrong.”
Martin looked at Olivia.
“She stole them.”
Olivia shook her head.
“You know that's not true.”
“You were an employee.”
“I was trying to save them.”
Martin laughed.
“From what?”
“From you.”
The smile vanished.
Martin's gaze shifted to the babies.
“Bring me Lily.”
Olivia held her closer.
“No.”
“You have no idea what that child is worth.”
Caleb stepped forward.
“She is not for sale.”
Martin's eyes narrowed.
“You really think this is about money?”
Caleb said nothing.
“It is about inheritance.”
He pointed at Caleb.
“Your family has hidden billions.”
George whispered,
“Enough.”
Martin continued.
“The Hart Foundation was never just a charity.”
Caleb felt sick.
“What was it?”
“A machine.”
“For what?”
“Power.”
Martin's voice dropped.
“Families paid enormous amounts to secure children with particular genetic traits.”
Olivia gasped.
Caleb stared in horror.
Then Martin said the one thing that made everyone silent.
“Lily is not the most valuable child.”
Caleb looked at Noah.
Martin nodded.
“The boy.”
Caleb stared at the baby.
“Why?”
“Because Noah is the last living descendant of a man whose fortune disappeared thirty years ago.”
George closed his eyes.
Martin laughed.
“You really never wondered why three unrelated babies ended up in Olivia's care?”
Caleb looked at her.
“What were the odds?”
Olivia whispered,
“They were connected.”
Martin took a step forward.
“All three mothers worked for the Hart organization.”
“One discovered the records.”
“One tried to expose them.”
“And one tried to flee.”
He looked at the babies.
“They were witnesses.”
Caleb said,
“Then why are you after them?”
Martin answered calmly.
“Because witnesses can testify.”
He raised the gun again.
“And dead witnesses can't.”
A sudden sound came from outside.
Sirens.
Martin's face changed.
Caleb realized someone had called the police.
Martin smiled.
“This isn't over.”
He threw a smoke grenade down the stairs.
The room filled with smoke.
Caleb grabbed Olivia.
George stumbled.
A window shattered.
When the smoke cleared, Martin was gone.
So were the files.
Except for one page.
Caleb picked it up.
It contained only a name.
“Caleb Hart.”
Underneath it was a birth date.
May you like
And a second sentence.
“Subject was never supposed to survive.”
