Chapter 12 - The House of EliasThe Stellan ancestral estate had been empty for eighteen years.
Daniel had never been allowed inside.
His father always said the property was unsafe.
Now Daniel understood why.
The gates opened as they approached.
No guard.
No resistance.
The house stood under a gray sky.
Every window was dark.
Lily held Daniel's hand.
Vanessa carried a small medical bag for Adrian.
Evan followed with his weapon ready.
“Something's wrong,” he said.
Daniel looked at him.
“Everything is wrong.”
They entered.
The foyer looked exactly as Daniel remembered from childhood photographs.
Dark wood.
Antique paintings.
A grandfather clock.
Daniel stopped.
The clock was running backward.
Vanessa noticed.
“That's not normal.”
Daniel walked toward it.
Behind the clock was a hidden panel.
Inside was a speaker.
A voice came through.
“Welcome home.”
Daniel froze.
“Elias.”
His grandfather laughed.
“Your father always hated this room.”
“Where are you?”
“Everywhere.”
Lights turned on.
The hallway became a corridor of monitors.
Each screen showed a different year.
Daniel's birth.
His mother's funeral.
His wedding.
Lily's birth.
His father's death.
Then the birthday party.
Daniel saw himself walking through the gate that afternoon.
Someone had filmed him.
From inside the house.
Elias had been watching in real time.
“You've been here.”
The speaker crackled.
“I have never left.”
Daniel clenched his fists.
“Why did you ruin my family?”
“I didn't ruin your family.”
“You manipulated us.”
“I preserved the experiment.”
“What experiment?”
“Our bloodline.”
Daniel stared at the screens.
Elias continued.
“Echo was never designed to expose corruption.”
“Then what was it for?”
“To identify power.”
“What does that mean?”
“To know which people control governments, companies, banks, and wars without appearing in public.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“And my family had access.”
“Yes.”
“That's why Orpheus wanted it.”
“They wanted to own it.”
“And you?”
“I wanted to complete it.”
A door opened at the end of the hall.
Elias Stellan stepped into view.
He looked ninety years old.
But walked without assistance.
His eyes were clear.
Cold.
Daniel stared.
“You're alive.”
Elias smiled.
“Of course.”
“You let everyone think you died.”
“A useful lie.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You killed my mother.”
Elias did not deny it.
“She discovered the truth.”
“You killed Adrian's father.”
“He was a liability.”
“My father?”
“He betrayed me.”
Daniel's voice shook.
“Why?”
“Because he believed family mattered more than legacy.”
Daniel laughed.
“Family does matter.”
Elias looked at Lily.
“Does it?”
He pressed a button.
A glass wall became transparent.
Behind it stood several people.
Daniel's missing father.
Adrian.
And Evan's father.
Alive.
Daniel stared.
“You've kept them here.”
Elias smiled.
“They were all useful.”
Evan ran toward the glass.
His father raised one hand.
“Don't.”
Evan stopped.
Richard looked at Daniel.
“You must not let him complete Echo.”
Elias sighed.
“Always the coward.”
Richard stared at him.
“You're wrong.”
Elias turned to Daniel.
“You have one final choice.”
“What choice?”
“Activate Echo.”
“No.”
“Then your father dies.”
Daniel looked at Richard.
Elias continued.
“And if you activate it, you will see exactly what your family has done for twenty years.”
Daniel stared at Lily.
Elias smiled.
“She wants to know too.”
Daniel felt his stomach turn.
The grandfather clock suddenly stopped.
A door opened behind Elias.
Inside was a chamber filled with cables and biometric scanners.
Three platforms.
One for Daniel.
One for Adrian.
One for Lily.
Elias walked inside.
“The family project ends tonight.”
Daniel whispered:
“No.”
Elias looked at him.
“What?”
Daniel picked up the brass token.
“You made one mistake.”
Elias frowned.
“You taught us to survive.”
Daniel stepped backward.
“And survivors learn.”
He crushed the token in his fist.
The room went dark.
Then Echo activated.
Without him.
Every monitor in the house turned black.
May you like
And a new message appeared.
PRIMARY CONTROLLER IDENTIFIED: ELIAS STELLAN.
