CHAPTER 8 ONLY ONE CHILD MAY LEAVE
“Only one child may leave.”
I read the sentence twice.
Then a third time.
My mind refused to accept it.
Noah was staring at the screen.
Lily was crying.
Lena had both hands over her mouth.
My father looked like a man watching his entire world collapse.
Victor stood across the street with his hands in his coat pockets, completely calm.
I looked at him.
“You're bluffing.”
“No.”
“You expect me to choose between my children?”
“I don't expect anything.”
He glanced at the countdown.
“I'm giving you a choice.”
“That isn't a choice.”
“It is.”
“You're a monster.”
Victor smiled.
“Perhaps.”
Then he pointed toward Noah's wrist.
“The system was designed by your grandfather.”
I looked at the device.
“You designed this.”
“I improved it.”
Alexander stepped forward.
“Victor, stop.”
Victor looked at him.
“My son.”
Alexander's jaw tightened.
“Don't call me that.”
“You'll understand eventually.”
“I already understand.”
“No.”
Victor's eyes hardened.
“You understand what they told you.”
He pointed at me.
“You still don't know what he is.”
I stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Victor smiled.
“Then listen carefully.”
The countdown continued.
54:12
“Your grandfather created the trust.”
“Your father tried to destroy it.”
“Your mother protected it.”
“Lena infiltrated your family.”
“Alexander disappeared.”
“And you…”
He pointed at me.
“You were raised to inherit it.”
I shook my head.
“I don't care about the trust.”
Victor's smile vanished.
“You should.”
“Why?”
“Because your children don't inherit money.”
He paused.
“They inherit the network.”
My stomach tightened.
“What network?”
“The one your family has controlled for generations.”
I looked at my father.
“Is that true?”
He didn't answer.
That was enough.
I turned back toward Victor.
“You're lying.”
“Then ask your father what happens when the heir refuses.”
I looked at Jonathan.
“Dad?”
He whispered:
“The trust activates a succession protocol.”
“What does that mean?”
“The system selects a successor.”
“From the family?”
“Yes.”
“Based on what?”
“Blood.”
My eyes went to Noah and Lily.
Victor nodded.
“Exactly.”
I suddenly understood why the children had been recorded.
Why their fingerprints had been collected.
Why the custody plan existed.
Why Victor needed them alive.
He wasn't trying to take my company.
He was trying to take the family itself.
I looked at Noah.
The countdown reached:
49:58
He was staring at the screen.
“Dad…”
I crouched beside him.
“Don't look at it.”
“But it says I have to choose.”
“You don't have to choose anything.”
“What happens if I don't?”
I looked at the device.
“I'll find a way.”
Noah nodded.
Then Lily suddenly spoke.
“I'll do it.”
Everyone turned.
“What?”
She stepped forward.
“I'll choose me.”
Lena grabbed her.
“No!”
Lily looked at me.
“If I choose myself, Noah can leave.”
“No.”
“But Daddy…”
“No.”
I pulled both children into my arms.
“There is no version of this where I choose one of you.”
Victor watched silently.
Then he laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“The system isn't asking you.”
He pointed at Noah.
“It's asking him.”
Noah's face went pale.
The screen changed.
AUTHORIZED USER: NOAH COLE
DECISION REQUIRED
Noah shook his head.
“I don't want to.”
Victor replied:
“Then neither of you leaves.”
I stood.
“You touch my children and I'll kill you.”
Victor smiled.
“That's the Adrian I remember.”
I froze.
“What did you say?”
“The Adrian I remember.”
My father's face changed.
Victor continued.
“You were always angry.”
I looked at Jonathan.
“Dad?”
He looked away.
Victor laughed.
“Tell him.”
My father remained silent.
“Tell him what happened when he was twelve.”
I felt a chill.
I remembered being twelve.
I had nightmares.
I had been sent to a private boarding school.
My father rarely visited.
My mother had disappeared for several months.
There were gaps in my memories.
Large gaps.
“What happened?”
Jonathan whispered:
“They tested you.”
“Who?”
“The network.”
“What kind of test?”
My mother suddenly interrupted.
“Jonathan, stop.”
He looked at her.
“It's too late.”
I stared at them.
“What did they do to me?”
My mother began crying.
“You were twelve.”
“What did they do?”
“They wanted to know if you could be controlled.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“You were isolated.”
“For how long?”
“Three months.”
“Three months?”
“Yes.”
“Why don't I remember?”
“Because they gave you medication.”
My blood ran cold.
I looked at my father.
“You drugged me?”
“I didn't.”
“Then who?”
Victor answered.
“Your grandfather.”
I looked at him.
“You're lying.”
“He wanted to know whether the heir could be conditioned.”
I felt sick.
“Conditioned for what?”
Victor's voice became quiet.
“Leadership.”
The countdown reached:
42:00
Noah suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Dad.”
I looked at him.
“My watch is talking again.”
“What?”
He held it up.
A new message appeared.
MEMORY FILE AVAILABLE.
Below it:
AGE 12.
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
“Open it.”
I didn't move.
“Open it, Adrian.”
My father shouted:
“Don't!”
Victor laughed.
“Why?”
“Because he isn't ready.”
I looked at my father.
“Ready for what?”
He didn't answer.
I took the device.
The screen asked:
PLAY MEMORY?
I pressed YES.
A video appeared.
A younger version of me sat in a white room.
I was twelve.
My hands were restrained.
A man stood in front of me.
I recognized him immediately.
My grandfather.
He was holding a file.
Behind him stood Victor.
Young.
Maybe thirty years old.
My twelve-year-old self looked terrified.
My grandfather said:
“Tell me your name.”
The boy answered:
“Adrian.”
My grandfather smiled.
“Wrong.”
The video stopped.
I stared at the screen.
“What?”
Alexander stepped closer.
“Play it again.”
I did.
The same scene.
“Tell me your name.”
“Adrian.”
“Wrong.”
The video continued.
My grandfather leaned closer.
“Your name is Alexander.”
The boy shook his head.
“No.”
“Say it.”
“No.”
Victor stepped forward.
“If you refuse, your brother disappears.”
The boy began crying.
“My brother is dead.”
Victor smiled.
“He isn't.”
I froze.
The video continued.
A door opened.
A little boy walked into the room.
I stared at the screen.
The child was around five years old.
He looked exactly like me.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Same scar.
My breath caught.
That was me.
The little boy looked at the twelve-year-old version of me.
Then he said:
“Alex?”
The older boy stared at him.
“Adrian?”
The video suddenly distorted.
Static.
Then black.
I dropped the device.
Alexander was staring at the screen.
“That was us.”
I looked at him.
“You remember?”
He nodded.
“I remember everything.”
“What happened after?”
He swallowed.
“They separated us.”
“Why?”
“Because they couldn't control both.”
The countdown continued.
36:20
I looked at my father.
“Which one of us was the original?”
He didn't answer.
Alexander did.
“You.”
I stared at him.
“But you said I was the replacement.”
“I was wrong.”
“Why?”
“Because I found the original records.”
“What records?”
He reached into his coat.
Pulled out a sealed envelope.
“Your birth records.”
I opened it.
The first page contained my fingerprints.
My blood type.
My genetic profile.
Then one sentence:
PRIMARY HEIR: ALEXANDER JONATHAN COLE.
I stared at it.
Then I looked at Alexander.
“Then who are you?”
He whispered:
“The second son.”
My head spun.
“But my name is Adrian.”
“Yes.”
“And yours?”
“Adrian.”
I looked at my father.
“You gave us the same name?”
He nodded.
“To confuse the network.”
Victor suddenly shouted:
“Enough!”
For the first time, his calm disappeared.
He looked furious.
“Give me the children.”
I stepped back.
“No.”
Victor raised his hand.
Several armed men emerged from the surrounding buildings.
Marcus immediately raised his weapon.
“Everybody down!”
Gunfire erupted.
Glass shattered.
Lena pulled Lily behind a vehicle.
I grabbed Noah.
My father pushed my mother to the ground.
Alexander fired toward the attackers.
The countdown on Noah's watch continued.
29:58
29:57
29:56
Then Noah screamed.
I looked down.
His watch had changed.
The words were gone.
A single sentence appeared.
FIRST CHILD SELECTED.
Noah stared at me.
“Dad…”
I grabbed his wrist.
“Don't panic.”
But then another line appeared.
NOAH COLE: ACCEPTED.
Lily's screen activated too.
LILY COLE: REJECTED.
My heart stopped.
I looked at Lily.
She was crying.
Victor smiled.
“Now you understand.”
I turned toward him.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
He pointed toward the children.
“They chose.”
“No!”
Victor's voice became cold.
“The system has recognized the heir.”
I looked at Noah.
He was trembling.
Then his watch displayed one final message.
TRANSFER PROTOCOL INITIATED.
A black vehicle suddenly accelerated toward us.
Two men jumped out.
They grabbed Noah.
“DAD!”
I lunged forward.
Marcus fired into the air.
Alexander tackled one attacker.
I grabbed Noah's arm.
The man pulled harder.
Lena screamed.
“Noah!”
The vehicle door opened.
Victor stood beside it.
He looked directly at me.
“You have twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes for what?”
He smiled.
“To bring me the other heir.”
He pointed at Lily.
“Or Noah disappears forever.”
The vehicle sped away.
I ran after it.
Too late.
The taillights vanished into the darkness.
I turned back.
Lily was standing alone beside the burning SUV.
She was crying.
My father stared at her.
Then whispered:
“Victor made a mistake.”
I looked at him.
“What mistake?”
He pointed toward Lily.
“She isn't the rejected heir.”
I frowned.
“Then what is she?”
My father looked terrified.
“The final heir.”
Before I could ask what he meant, my mother's phone began ringing.
She answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then her face went white.
She slowly lowered the phone.
I grabbed her arm.
“Who was it?”
She looked at me.
“Victor.”
“What did he say?”
Her voice trembled.
“He said Noah isn't the child he took.”
I froze.
“What?”
She swallowed.
“He took a decoy.”
I looked toward the road.
My father's eyes widened.
Then my mother whispered:
“Because the real Noah…”
May you like
She pointed at Lily.
“…is standing right there.”
