Chapter 10 - Sophie’s Second LifeEverything I believed about Sophie had been wrong.
She wasn't helpless.
She wasn't waiting for rescue.
She was fighting.
For years.
I felt ashamed.
But there was no time for guilt.
We drove to the Parker estate.
The house was abandoned.
Burned.
Half collapsed.
A black SUV waited outside.
My father stopped the car.
“No.”
“What?”
“They're already here.”
I checked my weapon.
“We go anyway.”
We entered through the ruins.
Beneath the basement floor was a steel door.
My father entered a code.
The door opened.
The stairs descended underground.
The deeper we went, the colder the air became.
Then we heard voices.
Men.
Armed.
We moved silently.
At the end of the corridor was a laboratory.
Glass walls.
Monitors.
Medical equipment.
And in the center of the room stood Sophie.
Alive.
Standing.
Not weak.
Not helpless.
She looked at me.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Ethan.”
I stepped forward.
“You lied to me.”
She swallowed.
“Yes.”
“You've been lying for years.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe our babies died.”
Her face broke.
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
“No.”
She walked closer.
“If I told you the truth, they would have killed you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“They tried anyway.”
“I know.”
“Is our daughter alive?”
Sophie stopped.
Then nodded.
“Yes.”
I almost collapsed.
“Where?”
A small voice came from behind a glass door.
“Mom?”
I turned.
A little girl stood there.
Brown hair.
Small hands.
Huge eyes.
Maybe two years old.
My breath caught.
Sophie cried.
The girl looked at me.
Then at Sophie.
“Who is he?”
Sophie covered her mouth.
I knew before she answered.
“He's your father.”
The child stared at me.
Something inside my chest broke open.
I stepped closer.
“What's her name?”
Sophie whispered:
“Anna.”
Anna.
My daughter.
Alive.
Then the alarms began.
Red lights flashed.
Sophie looked toward the doors.
“They found us.”
My father drew his weapon.
“How many?”
“Too many.”
Gunfire erupted.
Glass shattered.
Men stormed the corridor.
I pulled Anna into my arms.
She screamed.
Sophie grabbed her hand.
“Ethan, take her!”
“What about you?”
“I know these tunnels.”
“No.”
“You need to go.”
“I'm not leaving you again.”
She stared at me.
“Then don't.”
We ran.
Behind us, gunfire echoed through the facility.
Anna cried in my arms.
Sophie led us through a maintenance corridor.
My father covered our rear.
Then we reached a massive steel door.
Sophie entered a code.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
“What now?”
She looked at me.
“Your DNA.”
“What?”
“The door requires family authentication.”
I placed my hand on the scanner.
The light turned green.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with thousands of files.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Names.
Every Helix victim.
Every secret.
Every lie.
On the far wall was one giant screen.
It displayed:
PROJECT HELIX: FINAL PHASE
Sophie stared.
“No.”
“What?”
“They started without us.”
A countdown appeared.
72:14:08
“What's that?”
Sophie looked at me.
“The release protocol.”
“What release?”
She whispered:
“The treatment.”
My father went pale.
“They're going to release it.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
My blood ran cold.
“What happens then?”
Sophie looked at Anna.
“Everyone with your genetic marker dies.”
I stared at my daughter.
“And everyone without it?”
She shook her head.
“They become carriers.”
The countdown continued.
71:59:32.
We had less than three days.
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And for the first time, our marriage wasn't the thing we were fighting to save.
The world was.
