Chapter 14 - THE MAN WHO OWNED THE DEADDaniel Sterling died before the ambulance arrived.
His father died beside him.
Two generations of the Sterling family ended beneath Briar House.
But the nightmare didn't end there.
The police arrived.
Federal agents arrived.
News helicopters arrived.
By sunrise, the world knew Sterling Holdings had collapsed.
Accounts were frozen.
Executives were arrested.
Politicians resigned.
A judge disappeared.
Three foreign banks were raided.
The red ledger was released.
Not all of it.
Only enough.
The Sterling empire began collapsing like a building whose foundation had been hollow for decades.
Julian sat in a hospital room with Elena.
Daniel slept between them.
A nurse had said the baby was healthy.
No genetic abnormalities.
No dangerous reaction.
Genesis was gone.
For the first time since the cathedral, Julian could breathe.
Elena looked at him.
“What now?”
He stared at their son.
“I don't know.”
“You used to know everything.”
He smiled faintly.
“I was an idiot.”
“You were.”
He laughed.
She smiled.
Then the door opened.
Adrian walked in.
He had changed clothes.
His scar was still visible.
He looked exhausted.
“How is he?”
“Sleeping.”
Adrian stared at his nephew.
“Good.”
Julian stood.
“What happened to Chloe?”
Adrian's expression changed.
“She survived.”
“Where?”
“Federal custody.”
Julian nodded.
“And my mother?”
“She disappeared.”
Julian's jaw tightened.
“Of course.”
Adrian handed him an envelope.
“What is this?”
“She left it for you.”
Julian opened it.
One page.
His mother's handwriting.
I was never the mother you deserved. But I was the sister Marianne needed.
Julian stopped reading.
At the bottom was an address.
And one sentence.
If you want the truth about your son, go alone.
Elena looked at him.
“What truth?”
Julian hadn't noticed her watching.
“I don't know.”
She took the paper.
Her eyes moved over the address.
Then she went still.
“What?”
“That place.”
“What about it?”
“My father took me there when I was twelve.”
Julian looked at her.
“Why?”
“I don't remember.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“You should.”
Elena looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because that address is where Project Genesis began.”
Silence.
Julian folded the letter.
“No.”
Adrian nodded.
“I know.”
“What are you saying?”
Adrian looked at the baby.
“I think your son survived because his mother was part of the experiment.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“I was twelve.”
“Exactly.”
Julian looked at her.
“How could that be?”
Adrian lowered his voice.
“Because the Sterling family didn't just study their own bloodline.”
“They studied other families.”
Julian looked at Elena.
“Which means…”
Adrian nodded.
“Your son isn't the first.”
Elena's face went white.
“Then who was?”
Adrian didn't answer.
A knock came at the door.
Everyone froze.
A doctor entered.
“Mr. Sterling?”
Julian stood.
“Yes?”
“We found something in the baby's medical records.”
“What?”
The doctor handed him a sealed envelope.
“This was attached to his original hospital file.”
Julian opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A newborn baby.
Taken twenty years earlier.
Written beneath it:
SUBJECT E-01
Julian stared.
The baby in the photograph had the same red mark as Daniel.
Elena covered her mouth.
“That isn't possible.”
Adrian took the photograph.
He turned it over.
A name had been written on the back.
ELIJAH KANE.
Julian's heart stopped.
“Adrian.”
His brother looked up.
“That's you.”
Adrian went pale.
“No.”
Julian looked from the photograph to Adrian.
“You were Subject E-01.”
Adrian shook his head.
“They told me I was born naturally.”
“They lied.”
“Who?”
A voice answered from the hospital hallway.
“Me.”
Everyone turned.
The doors opened.
Chloe stood there.
Federal agents held her arms.
Her face was bruised.
But she was smiling.
Julian stared at her.
“How did you get here?”
She looked at Daniel.
Then Elena.
Then Adrian.
“You still haven't understood.”
“What?”
She smiled.
“The experiment didn't fail.”
Julian felt cold.
“What experiment?”
Chloe looked at the baby.
“This.”
Daniel opened his eyes.
For one second, his tiny gray eyes reflected the overhead lights.
And on his wrist, the red mark appeared brighter.
May you like
Chloe whispered:
“Phase two has begun.”
