CHAPTER 10: THE OTHER SON
The man standing behind the glass had my face.
Not similar.
Not close.
Mine.
The same jaw.
The same eyes.
The same scar above the left eyebrow.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
Isabella stared at him.
Then at me.
Then back at him.
“Dad…”
“I know.”
The man smiled.
It was my smile.
But there was something wrong with it.
Something cold.
Something empty.
He stepped into the room.
Beatriz immediately backed away.
Elena grabbed Isabella.
Adrian raised his weapon.
My father appeared on the monitor again.
His expression was devastated.
“Don't shoot.”
Adrian looked at the screen.
“Who is he?”
My father whispered:
“My other son.”
The man laughed.
“You make it sound so simple.”
I stared at him.
“What is your name?”
He looked directly at me.
“You had mine once.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“When they erased your memory, they didn't erase everything.”
He stepped closer.
“They transferred what they couldn't destroy.”
I felt a chill.
“Who are you?”
He smiled.
“Daniel.”
The name meant nothing.
But the moment he said it, something inside my head moved.
A flash.
A hallway.
A boy.
My age.
Running beside me.
A woman screaming.
A door closing.
Blood on the floor.
Then darkness.
I staggered backward.
Daniel smiled.
“You remember.”
“No.”
“You do.”
“I don't.”
He stepped closer.
“You used to call me Danny.”
My head throbbed.
Another flash.
Two boys sitting beneath a desk.
One whispered:
“Don't tell Dad.”
The other laughed.
Then another memory.
A black room.
My father standing over us.
He said:
“One of you will inherit everything.”
I grabbed my head.
“Stop.”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“That's what they said to you too.”
I looked at him.
“What happened to you?”
He didn't answer.
My father did.
“He was taken.”
“When?”
“Twenty years ago.”
I stared.
“You told me I was an only child.”
“I know.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
Daniel laughed.
“He lied about everything.”
My father looked at him.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You always say that.”
Daniel's voice was bitter.
“But you protected him.”
He pointed at me.
“You chose him.”
I stared.
“Why?”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Because you were easier to control.”
My stomach turned.
“What?”
“They erased your memories.”
“They made you forget me.”
“They made you forget our mother.”
“They made you forget what we saw.”
I looked at my father.
“What did we see?”
He said nothing.
Daniel answered.
“The first experiment.”
My heart stopped.
“The children.”
“Yes.”
“The seven children?”
Daniel nodded.
“We were there.”
I looked at Isabella.
“Why?”
Daniel smiled faintly.
“Because our father designed the program.”
I stared.
“My father?”
“No.”
He pointed toward himself.
“Our father.”
I felt sick.
“You mean…”
Daniel nodded.
“The man who created Black Meridian wasn't the man you thought he was.”
My father closed his eyes.
Daniel continued.
“He wasn't just a businessman.”
“He wasn't just a researcher.”
“He was the architect.”
I looked at the old recording.
My father's face appeared on the screen.
Daniel turned toward it.
“You still blame yourself.”
My father said nothing.
“You shouldn't.”
Daniel stepped closer to the monitor.
“You didn't build Black Meridian.”
He paused.
“You inherited it.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel turned toward me.
“Our father built the system.”
“My father took control after he died.”
“Then he tried to destroy it.”
“And Black Meridian came after him.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Where is our father?”
Daniel smiled.
“You've already seen him.”
I froze.
“The man in the dark suit?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel looked at Isabella.
“The man who has been watching her.”
I felt cold.
“The man in the dark suit?”
“No.”
“The man in the white coat?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel leaned closer.
“The man who sent you the first message.”
My blood froze.
I remembered.
DON'T OPEN THE BOX.
I stared at him.
“That was you?”
Daniel nodded.
“I was trying to help.”
“Why?”
“Because they were going to kill Isabella.”
“Who?”
“Our father.”
I stared at him.
“Our father is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
“Here.”
The lights suddenly went out.
Everyone froze.
Then a voice came through the speakers.
“Daniel.”
Daniel stopped smiling.
The voice was deep.
Old.
Controlled.
I recognized it.
The same voice I'd heard in the recordings.
The same voice that had haunted my childhood memories.
Our father's voice.
“Bring me the girl.”
Daniel looked at Isabella.
“No.”
The voice became colder.
“You know what happens when you disobey me.”
Daniel clenched his fists.
“I know.”
“Then bring her.”
“No.”
Silence.
Then:
“Very well.”
A loud mechanical sound came from beneath the floor.
The room shook.
The server racks began moving.
A hidden section of the wall opened.
Behind it was another chamber.
And inside that chamber was a man sitting in a wheelchair.
He looked impossibly old.
Thin.
Pale.
But his eyes were sharp.
My father stared at the chamber.
“No…”
I looked at him.
“You know him.”
My father whispered:
“Our father.”
The old man lifted his head.
His eyes met mine.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he smiled.
“You look just like me.”
I couldn't move.
Daniel stood beside me.
“You see?”
I looked at him.
“See what?”
“You were never the son he wanted.”
I turned toward the old man.
“Why?”
He smiled.
“Because your brother was always better.”
Daniel stared at him.
“No.”
The old man continued.
“You were obedient.”
He looked at me.
“Predictable.”
Then he turned toward Daniel.
“He was different.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“He refused.”
“Exactly.”
The old man smiled.
“He refused to inherit the system.”
I looked at Daniel.
“Then why did you choose me?”
The old man laughed.
“Because you were weak.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“You don't get to talk about him like that.”
The old man ignored him.
“You had empathy.”
“You had attachments.”
“You loved people.”
He looked at Isabella.
“That made you useful.”
My blood ran cold.
“Useful for what?”
The old man smiled.
“To create the perfect host.”
I stared at him.
“Host?”
He nodded.
“Your daughter.”
I pulled Isabella behind me.
“You will never touch her.”
The old man smiled.
“You already gave her to me.”
I froze.
“What?”
He pointed toward my daughter.
“She was created from our work.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him.”
The old man looked at her.
“You were supposed to be dead.”
Elena's face hardened.
“You failed.”
He smiled.
“No.”
“I succeeded.”
He pointed at Isabella.
“She survived.”
I felt sick.
“What does that mean?”
The old man looked directly at me.
“It means the experiment worked.”
Daniel stepped between us.
“Enough.”
The old man pressed a button.
A screen appeared.
It showed Isabella as a baby.
Then me.
Then Daniel.
Then seven children.
The footage moved rapidly.
One child disappeared.
Then another.
Then another.
Until only Isabella remained.
The old man spoke softly.
“She wasn't the seventh child.”
I stared at the screen.
“She was the eighth.”
Elena gasped.
“What?”
The old man smiled.
“The first seven were failures.”
He looked at Isabella.
“She was the correction.”
My blood turned cold.
“What correction?”
He looked at me.
“You.”
I couldn't speak.
“You were the first successful memory carrier.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I'm not part of this.”
“You are the foundation.”
He pointed at Daniel.
“And he was the rejection.”
Then he looked at Isabella.
“And she is the combination.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Don't.”
The old man smiled.
“She has your memory architecture.”
He pointed at me.
“And his resistance.”
He pointed at Daniel.
“Which means she can do something neither of you could.”
“What?”
The old man leaned forward.
“She can erase Black Meridian.”
Silence.
I stared at Isabella.
She looked terrified.
“Then why are you trying to take her?”
The old man smiled.
“Because if she erases Black Meridian…”
He paused.
“She will erase herself.”
My heart stopped.
“No.”
The old man continued.
“Her memories are the key.”
“The system is inside her.”
“If she destroys it…”
“She destroys the part of herself that contains it.”
I grabbed Isabella.
“We're leaving.”
The old man laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“The system has already begun.”
I froze.
“What system?”
He pointed at Isabella.
“She has been remembering for three days.”
I looked at my daughter.
She was trembling.
The old man whispered:
“And every memory she recovers…”
“...activates another part of Black Meridian.”
The facility suddenly shook.
Every screen turned red.
A countdown appeared.
09:59
09:58
09:57
Daniel looked at the screen.
“What did you do?”
The old man smiled.
“I started the final sequence.”
My father rushed forward.
“STOP!”
The old man laughed.
“You're too late.”
The countdown continued.
09:42
09:41
09:40
I looked at Isabella.
“What's happening?”
She stared at the screens.
Then her eyes widened.
“Dad…”
“What?”
She pointed at the countdown.
“That isn't a countdown.”
I frowned.
“Then what is it?”
She whispered:
“It's a memory.”
The numbers changed.
09:39
09:38
09:37
And suddenly I remembered.
A white room.
A baby crying.
My father screaming.
Daniel running.
A woman holding a gun.
And me, standing beside a crib.
But I wasn't sixteen.
I was twenty-six.
And I was holding Isabella.
I looked at Daniel.
“You were there.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
Daniel looked toward the old man.
Then at me.
“You killed him.”
My blood froze.
“Who?”
Daniel pointed at our father.
“You killed our father.”
May you like
The old man smiled.
And I suddenly remembered holding the gun.
