Chapter 12: The Man Behind the Entire Conspiracy
Victor held Sophie against his chest.
One arm was wrapped around her tiny body.
The other held a gun against her temple.
Ethan stopped breathing.
“Put her down.”
Victor smiled.
“You've finally figured it out.”
Daniel stood across the room, weapon raised.
“Victor, let her go.”
Victor laughed.
“You still think you can give me orders?”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Victor.”
He looked at her.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
“She has nothing to do with this.”
“She has everything to do with this.”
Sophie began crying.
“Daddy…”
Ethan's voice softened immediately.
“I'm here, sweetheart.”
Victor tightened his grip.
“Don't move.”
Ethan stopped.
Daniel whispered,
“Listen to him.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“You knew.”
Daniel nodded.
“For years.”
“And you let him get this close?”
“I tried to stop him.”
“But you failed.”
Daniel's eyes filled with regret.
“Yes.”
Victor smiled.
“You always were terrible at protecting the people you loved.”
Ethan stared at him.
“You're the leader of Black Meridian.”
Victor's smile widened.
“Not exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
Victor looked at Vanessa.
“Tell him.”
Vanessa shook her head.
Victor's expression hardened.
“Tell him what your mother did.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
“What did my mother do?”
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“She created Black Meridian.”
Ethan froze.
Daniel closed his eyes.
Victor laughed.
“Finally.”
Ethan stared at Vanessa.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“She created it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“To protect you.”
Victor laughed.
“That's what she told herself.”
Daniel interrupted.
“Victor.”
“No.”
Victor's eyes flashed.
“I'm done listening to your excuses.”
He looked at Ethan.
“Your mother built Black Meridian after Michael tried to kill her.”
Ethan frowned.
“She wanted power.”
“No.”
Victor shook his head.
“She wanted control.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
Ethan stared at him.
Victor continued.
“She believed the only way to protect her children was to control every person who could ever threaten them.”
Ethan looked at Emily.
“That's why she disappeared.”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
“I inherited the organization.”
“From her?”
Victor nodded.
“She gave it to me.”
Vanessa stepped forward.
“She never gave it to you.”
Victor laughed.
“She didn't have a choice.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“Is this true?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Yes.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your mother wanted you away from Black Meridian.”
“But she built it.”
“Yes.”
“Then she wasn't protecting me.”
Daniel looked at him.
“She was trying to.”
Ethan turned toward Victor.
“Why Sophie?”
Victor smiled.
“Because she's the final piece.”
“The final piece of what?”
Victor looked toward the wall.
A hidden screen activated.
Images appeared.
Sophie's birth records.
DNA sequences.
Medical files.
Then a diagram.
At the center was one word.
EDEN.
Victor spoke.
“Project Eden was designed to create a successor capable of controlling Black Meridian.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Using Sophie?”
“Yes.”
“She's four.”
“Exactly.”
“You're insane.”
Victor laughed.
“She's already carrying the genetic markers.”
Ethan shook his head.
“She is a child.”
Victor looked at him.
“She is an asset.”
Daniel raised his weapon.
“Don't call her that.”
Victor smiled.
“You're emotional.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You've crossed the line.”
Victor laughed.
“You crossed it twenty-six years ago.”
Ethan stared.
“What happened twenty-six years ago?”
Victor looked at him.
“Your mother discovered she was pregnant.”
“With me?”
“Yes.”
“She already had Emily.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“Michael wanted the child.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed your bloodline could complete Project Eden.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“You were there?”
Daniel nodded.
“I tried to get your mother out.”
“What happened?”
Victor smiled.
“She trusted the wrong person.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa whispered,
“I was the one who helped them escape.”
Victor nodded.
“And I was the one who stopped them.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Then why did you let Vanessa live?”
Victor looked at her.
“Because she was useful.”
“How?”
“She became your stepmother.”
Ethan's stomach turned.
“To watch me.”
“To protect you.”
Victor shook his head.
“To control you.”
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“At first.”
Ethan looked at her.
“And later?”
“I loved you.”
Ethan looked away.
Victor smiled.
“That was her mistake.”
Suddenly, Sophie screamed.
Victor flinched.
Ethan moved.
Daniel fired.
Victor ducked.
The bullet struck the wall.
Ethan lunged forward.
Victor shoved Sophie aside.
She fell safely onto a padded chair.
Ethan tackled Victor.
They crashed into the console.
The gun slid across the floor.
Victor punched Ethan.
Ethan hit him back.
Years of anger exploded in seconds.
“You stole my life!”
Victor laughed.
“You never had one!”
Ethan struck him again.
“You hurt my daughter!”
Victor grabbed his throat.
“She was never yours!”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
Victor whispered,
“Ask Daniel.”
Ethan released him.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel looked away.
Ethan turned toward him.
“Daniel.”
Daniel didn't speak.
“WHAT DOES HE MEAN?”
Daniel finally said,
“Sophie isn't your biological daughter.”
The room went silent.
Ethan stared at him.
“No.”
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
“I'm sorry.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
She was crying.
“Is it true?”
She nodded.
Ethan's world shattered.
“Who is her father?”
Victor smiled.
“Me.”
Ethan stared at him.
“No.”
Victor nodded.
“Sophie is my daughter.”
Vanessa covered her face.
Ethan stepped backward.
“You and Vanessa…”
Victor laughed.
“No.”
He looked at Vanessa.
“She was forced.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
“Is that true?”
Vanessa couldn't speak.
Victor continued.
“Sophie was created through Project Eden.”
Ethan's eyes widened.
“They used genetic material from three bloodlines.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“That's enough.”
Victor smiled.
“Michael's.”
He pointed toward Ethan.
“Yours.”
Then toward himself.
“And mine.”
Ethan stared at Sophie.
The little girl was crying.
“Daddy…”
He rushed toward her.
He picked her up.
“No matter what anyone says, you're my daughter.”
Sophie wrapped her arms around him.
Victor smiled.
“That's why you're so dangerous.”
Ethan looked up.
“Why?”
“Because Project Eden wasn't designed to create a successor.”
Victor's expression became cold.
“It was designed to create someone who could destroy Black Meridian.”
Daniel froze.
Vanessa stared at him.
“What?”
Victor looked at Sophie.
“She is the only person who can shut the entire network down.”
Ethan stared.
“Then why are you trying to control her?”
“Because whoever controls her controls Black Meridian.”
Victor stepped toward them.
“And I want it.”
Suddenly, a voice came through the speakers.
Michael.
“Victor.”
Victor stopped.
“You've gone too far.”
Victor laughed.
“You're afraid.”
Michael's voice became colder.
“Of you?”
“No.”
Victor looked at Ethan.
“Of him.”
The speakers went silent.
Then every screen in the laboratory turned on.
A live video appeared.
Michael was standing somewhere else.
Beside him was Ethan's mother.
Alive.
But she was holding a gun.
And it was pointed directly at Michael.
Ethan stared.
“Mom?”
She looked at the camera.
“Ethan.”
He stepped toward the screen.
“Where are you?”
She didn't answer.
Instead, she looked at Victor.
“It's over.”
Victor smiled.
“You've been saying that for twenty-six years.”
She raised the gun.
Then Michael suddenly grabbed her wrist.
A struggle began.
The camera fell.
The screen went black.
Ethan shouted,
“Mom!”
Victor laughed.
“You see?”
He looked at Ethan.
“Your mother isn't the prisoner.”
“She is the one who started the war.”
Then Victor pressed a button.
A countdown appeared.
PROJECT EDEN: ACTIVATION
05:00
Ethan looked at Sophie.
“What happens in five minutes?”
Victor smiled.
“Every Black Meridian account will transfer.”
“To who?”
Victor looked directly at Ethan.
“To you.”
Ethan froze.
Victor continued.
“And when the transfer completes…”
He looked at Sophie.
“She will become the only person capable of reversing it.”
Daniel raised his gun.
“Victor, stop.”
Victor smiled.
“Shoot me.”
Daniel froze.
“Go ahead.”
Victor spread his arms.
“Because if I die…”
He pointed at Sophie.
“The Eden protocol kills her too.”
The countdown dropped.
04:12
04:11
04:10
Ethan looked at Daniel.
Then Vanessa.
Then Victor.
Finally, Sophie.
And for the first time, he understood.
This was never about money.
Never about Black Meridian.
Never even about Michael.
The entire twenty-six-year conspiracy had been built around one child.
His daughter.
The countdown continued.
03:59
Then a hidden door opened behind Victor.
A woman stepped into the laboratory.
Ethan's mother.
Alive.
Holding a gun.
She looked directly at Ethan.
And said:
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“I'm sorry, son.”
Then she aimed the gun at Sophie.
