Chapter 5 - The Man Who Knew My FatherI stayed still.
My hand remained on my weapon.
“Who are you?”
No answer.
The basement door opened.
A man appeared.
Late sixties.
Gray hair.
Black coat.
No visible weapon.
He looked at me calmly.
“You have your grandfather's eyes.”
I raised my gun.
“Hands where I can see them.”
He smiled.
“Your father said you'd do exactly that.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Richard Hale.”
The name meant nothing.
Then he added:
“I worked with your grandfather.”
My finger tightened around the trigger.
“On Project Helix?”
His expression changed.
“You found the files.”
“Yes.”
“That was a mistake.”
“You killed Dr. Reed.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
He looked at the journal in my hand.
“The same people who will eventually come for you.”
“Who?”
Richard stepped down one stair.
“Your father knows.”
I stared at him.
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
“What happened to Sophie?”
“She was exposed.”
“To what?”
“A biological treatment that should never have been administered.”
“Why her?”
“She wasn't supposed to be selected.”
“What does that mean?”
Richard looked away.
“She was a replacement.”
“For who?”
He didn't answer.
“Richard.”
He sighed.
“Your mother.”
My gun lowered slightly.
“My mother?”
“She was one of the earliest candidates.”
I had never known my mother had been involved in research.
She had died when I was twelve.
Cancer.
The same disease now eating Sophie alive.
My mind raced.
“What kind?”
“Exactly the same.”
I felt the basement tilt.
“My mother died from the same cancer?”
“Yes.”
“Was she treated with the same compound?”
“Yes.”
“By my grandfather?”
Richard nodded.
Then he said something I wasn't prepared for.
“Your family created Project Helix.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“Your grandfather designed it.”
“And my father?”
“Helped fund it.”
“Did they know the compound caused cancer?”
“Not initially.”
“And later?”
Richard went silent.
That was enough.
“When did they know?”
“Years ago.”
My jaw tightened.
“How many people died?”
“Twenty-three confirmed.”
I thought about Sophie.
Two babies.
A woman I loved.
A family history I never knew.
“What happened after they discovered the side effects?”
“They shut the official trial down.”
“But continued secretly.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Richard's eyes hardened.
“Because the research was too valuable.”
I wanted to shoot something.
Anyone.
Everything.
Then I remembered the photograph.
“Sophie found out.”
“Yes.”
“She found the records.”
“Yes.”
“And Dr. Reed helped her.”
“Yes.”
“Who killed him?”
Richard finally looked directly at me.
“Your father.”
My heartbeat stopped.
“No.”
“I saw the order.”
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
I stepped forward.
“My father wouldn't kill a doctor.”
Richard's voice remained calm.
“Your father has spent thirty years convincing himself that what he did was necessary.”
I shook my head.
“Why protect the project now?”
“Because Project Helix never ended.”
“Then what is it?”
Richard looked toward the ceiling.
“Something bigger.”
“What?”
“The government stopped funding it.”
“Then who funds it?”
He stared at me.
“Your family.”
I couldn't speak.
My family.
My father.
My grandfather.
Everything I believed about them had been built on a lie.
Then Richard said:
“Sophie isn't just a victim.”
I looked up.
“What do you mean?”
“She was investigating something else.”
“What?”
He reached into his coat.
Pulled out a photograph.
This one showed Sophie entering a laboratory.
She wasn't alone.
Behind her stood Dr. Reed.
And another man.
I recognized him instantly.
My father.
I stared at the photograph.
“How long ago?”
“Six weeks.”
I frowned.
“That was after my divorce.”
“Yes.”
“But I thought Sophie was already sick.”
“She was.”
“Then why was she working with my father?”
Richard didn't answer.
“What was she doing?”
“She was looking for something.”
“What?”
“The original research.”
“For what?”
Richard took one step closer.
“The real reason your children died.”
My heart hammered.
“The miscarriages weren't just caused by the drug.”
“What else?”
Richard's expression became grim.
“There was another factor.”
“What factor?”
He whispered:
“Your blood.”
I froze.
“What?”
“Your DNA reacted to the treatment.”
My stomach dropped.
“You're saying I caused it?”
“No.”
Richard shook his head.
“I'm saying your genetics made Sophie vulnerable.”
I stared at him.
The room became silent.
Then he handed me the photograph.
“Your father knew.”
I looked down at it.
On the back, written in Sophie's handwriting, were four words:
HE WAS NEVER OUR DOCTOR.
I looked at Richard.
“Who was he?”
Richard stepped backward.
“Your father.”
Then the basement lights went out.
A gunshot exploded upstairs.
Richard dropped.
I turned toward the stairs.
Another shot.
Then another.
Someone was coming down.
May you like
Fast.
And I realized I was trapped in a basement with a wounded stranger, a box full of evidence, and a family secret that had just become a murder investigation.
