Chapter 11: The Wrong File
We had fifty-three minutes.
That was all.
Fifty-three minutes before Richard expected me to arrive.
Fifty-three minutes before he decided whether my daughter lived or died.
I sat in the back of Thomas's SUV with the Subject Zero file on my lap.
Claire was beside me.
Marcus was driving.
Thomas sat in the passenger seat, staring at the road.
Serena was unconscious in the second vehicle behind us.
My mother was with her.
I hadn't spoken to either of them since we left the house.
There were too many questions.
Too much betrayal.
Too much fear.
But one thing mattered.
Ava.
My daughter.
I looked at the file again.
The original Subject Zero records contained everything.
My medical history.
My father's research.
The names of the doctors.
The locations of the facilities.
And one final section I'd been too afraid to open.
GENETIC SUCCESSION
I turned the page.
Claire immediately grabbed my wrist.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Because once you read that, there is no going back."
I looked at her.
"I already crossed that line."
She let go.
I continued.
The first sentence made my heart stop.
Subject Zero's genetic traits are heritable.
I read the next line.
Potential transfer to offspring: extremely high.
Then:
Female offspring recommended for continued observation.
Ava.
My father hadn't been interested in her because she was unique.
He had been waiting for her.
I looked at Claire.
"How long did he know?"
"Before she was born."
"How?"
"Your father had access to Serena's medical records."
I clenched my jaw.
"Then why didn't he take Ava immediately?"
Claire looked out the window.
"Because you protected her."
I frowned.
"What?"
"You were the variable he couldn't control."
"What does that mean?"
"Your father believed fear was the key to controlling Subject Zero."
She looked at me.
"But you never responded the way he expected."
"Because of the experiment?"
"Partly."
"Then what?"
Claire smiled sadly.
"Because your father underestimated something."
"What?"
"Love."
I stared at her.
"That sounds ridiculous."
"It isn't."
She pointed toward the file.
"Look at the last page."
I turned it.
There was a handwritten note.
My father's handwriting.
Subject Zero's strongest protective response is triggered by attachment.
Below it:
Potential weakness: offspring.
I felt sick.
"He used Ava to control me."
Claire nodded.
"He knew you'd do anything for her."
I closed the file.
"Then he knows exactly where I'm going."
"Yes."
"Which means this is a trap."
"Yes."
I looked at Thomas.
"You knew."
He didn't look at me.
"I suspected."
"That's not good enough."
Thomas finally turned.
"Daniel, I've spent twenty years trying to destroy your father's network."
"And you failed."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because every time I got close, someone inside betrayed me."
I thought of Serena.
Then my mother.
Then Claire.
Everyone had secrets.
Everyone had reasons.
And somehow I was always the last person to know.
The SUV suddenly slowed.
Marcus looked in the rearview mirror.
"We're being followed."
Thomas reached for his gun.
"How many?"
"Two vehicles."
I looked behind us.
Black SUVs.
Same as before.
"Richard?"
Thomas shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
He stared at the vehicles.
"Thomas's people."
Thomas went silent.
I looked at him.
"Your people?"
He sighed.
"I used to work for Richard."
My anger returned.
"You never told me."
"I didn't think it mattered."
"It matters now."
Thomas nodded.
"I know."
One of the SUVs accelerated.
Marcus swerved.
The vehicle behind us fired.
The rear window shattered.
Ava's file flew from my hands.
"Down!"
We ducked.
Another shot.
Marcus slammed the brakes.
The SUV spun.
Thomas opened the door and fired back.
I grabbed the file.
Claire shouted:
"Go!"
We jumped from the vehicle and ran toward a nearby warehouse.
Gunfire echoed behind us.
Marcus fired while moving.
Thomas shouted:
"Inside!"
We burst through the warehouse doors.
Then everything went silent.
Too silent.
I looked around.
Empty.
Dusty.
Rows of abandoned machinery.
Claire whispered:
"They won't come inside."
"Why?"
She pointed toward the ceiling.
"Cameras."
I looked up.
There were dozens.
Someone had been watching this place.
Marcus noticed it too.
"This isn't abandoned."
Thomas walked toward a control panel.
"It's one of Richard's old facilities."
I stared at him.
"You knew about this?"
"Yes."
"Then why bring us here?"
"Because it's the only place they won't attack."
A monitor suddenly turned on.
Richard appeared.
He was sitting in a chair.
Smiling.
"You made it."
I stared at the screen.
"You knew we'd come here."
"Of course."
"Where is Ava?"
"Safe."
"Let me see her."
The screen changed.
Ava appeared.
She was sitting in a chair.
But this time she wasn't crying.
She was staring directly at the camera.
"Daddy."
"I'm here."
She nodded.
Then she whispered:
"Don't give him the file."
Richard's face appeared again.
"She's becoming difficult."
I stepped closer.
"Let her go."
"Bring me the original file."
I held it up.
"Here."
Richard smiled.
"Good."
Claire grabbed my arm.
"Daniel."
I ignored her.
"I'll give it to you."
Richard nodded.
"Excellent."
"But I want proof she's alive."
He smiled.
"You don't trust me?"
"No."
"Smart."
He pressed a button.
A door opened behind Ava.
She was led into another room.
Then the camera showed her standing beside a glass wall.
I saw something behind the glass.
A row of medical equipment.
And another child.
A boy.
Maybe eight years old.
Ava looked at him.
Then at the camera.
"Daddy."
Her voice was urgent.
"He's alive."
Richard immediately cut the feed.
I stared at the blank screen.
"Who was that?"
Claire's face had gone pale.
"I know him."
"Who?"
She whispered:
"Lucas."
"The first child?"
She nodded.
"He's alive."
I looked at Thomas.
"Then the other children..."
"Some may still be alive."
My hands tightened.
Richard came back on screen.
"You wanted answers."
"Yes."
"Then come alone."
I held up the file.
"Deal."
Claire shook her head.
"No."
I looked at her.
"Trust me."
"Daniel, this is exactly what he wants."
"I know."
I looked at the camera.
"But he doesn't know what I'm bringing."
I opened the file.
The original documents were inside.
But beneath them was something else.
A USB drive.
One I'd found in my father's basement.
I hadn't told anyone about it.
Not Claire.
Not Marcus.
Not Thomas.
It contained the complete research archive.
And I had already copied everything.
I looked at Richard.
"You want the file?"
He nodded.
"Then come get it."
The screen went black.
Marcus approached me.
"What did you do?"
I held up the USB.
"I gave him the wrong file."
Claire stared.
"What's on the real one?"
"Everything."
Thomas looked worried.
"Everything?"
I nodded.
"Names."
"Locations."
"Experiments."
"Financial records."
"And enough evidence to destroy everyone involved."
Claire whispered:
"If Richard gets that..."
"He won't."
I looked toward the door.
"Because we're not going to him."
Thomas frowned.
"Then where are we going?"
I looked at Claire.
"To Ava's location."
She stared at me.
"How?"
I held up my phone.
"When Richard showed me Ava, the video transmitted metadata."
Marcus understood.
"You tracked it."
I nodded.
"I know exactly where she is."
Thomas looked at the map.
Then his face changed.
"Daniel..."
"What?"
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
He pointed at the location.
"That's not another facility."
I stared at the screen.
It was a location I knew.
A place I'd visited hundreds of times.
A place I'd never thought to question.
My father's old private clinic.
The building had been abandoned for years.
But according to the signal...
Ava was inside.
So was Richard.
And someone else.
Someone whose identity made my blood run cold.
My mother.
I looked at Claire.
"She was supposed to be with Serena."
Claire shook her head.
"Then Richard took her."
"No."
I zoomed in.
The signal wasn't coming from inside the clinic.
It was coming from beneath it.
A hidden level.
I remembered my father's words.
You were Subject Zero.
Then another memory surfaced.
My childhood.
A hospital hallway.
My father's hand holding mine.
A locked elevator.
A red sign.
SUBLEVEL ZERO.
I looked at Marcus.
"We're going underground."
He nodded.
Thomas checked his weapon.
Claire took a deep breath.
Then my phone vibrated.
One final message from Richard.
"Daniel, bring the real file."
A second message followed.
"And come before midnight."
Then a third.
"Because at midnight, Ava learns what happened to Subject Zero."
I looked at the clock.
11:06 p.m.
We had less than an hour.
And for the first time, I understood why my father had always been so afraid of midnight.
May you like
It wasn't the time.
It was the deadline.
