Chapter 13 - The Last DoorMichael woke on a concrete floor.
Ethan was crying.
Olivia was beside him.
Daniel was gone.
Evelyn was bleeding from her forehead.
Dr. Vale was unconscious.
Michael looked around.
They had fallen into an underground tunnel beneath the estate.
He remembered the explosion.
The smoke.
The collapse.
His father.
"Where's Daniel?"
No answer.
Evelyn pointed ahead.
"He went back."
Michael stared.
"Why?"
"To stop him."
Michael wanted to follow.
Then Ethan coughed.
He stopped.
His son needed him.
They moved through the tunnel.
The walls were lined with old electrical cables.
At the end was a steel door.
Evelyn entered a code.
The door opened.
They emerged inside an abandoned medical facility nearly two miles from the estate.
Michael looked around.
"This was underneath the property?"
"Built before the house was renovated."
Olivia stared at the equipment.
"This place..."
Evelyn nodded.
"It belonged to the foundation."
Michael walked deeper.
A room filled with old monitors.
One screen flickered on.
A video began playing.
Daniel appeared.
"If you're watching this, I couldn't stop him."
Michael's stomach tightened.
Daniel continued.
"Your father will tell you that Ethan is the key."
"He isn't."
Michael frowned.
"He wants you to believe the child is evidence."
"He is."
"But not in the way you think."
Daniel's voice became strained.
"The real evidence is Olivia."
Michael looked at his wife.
She froze.
"What?"
Daniel continued.
"Olivia witnessed the original records being altered."
Michael stared at her.
She whispered:
"I don't remember."
"You do."
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
"They made you forget."
Michael's blood ran cold.
"What does that mean?"
The video cut.
Another file opened automatically.
A hospital room.
Olivia.
Years earlier.
Pregnant.
Sitting beside Dr. Vale.
Evelyn stood behind them.
Michael watched.
Olivia looked terrified.
Dr. Vale spoke:
"Your father-in-law knows."
Olivia cried.
"I don't want this."
Evelyn answered:
"You won't remember tonight."
Michael looked at Evelyn.
"What did you do to her?"
Evelyn shook her head.
"I was trying to protect her."
Michael stared at the screen.
The footage continued.
Olivia was handed a folder.
Inside was a photograph of an infant.
A baby with a small birthmark near the left ear.
Ethan had the same birthmark.
Michael looked at his son.
Then at the image.
Suddenly the monitor changed.
A new video.
A man stood beside the hospital bed.
Michael's father.
He leaned toward Olivia.
And said:
"The child you think you're carrying will never leave this hospital."
Michael stopped breathing.
The video ended.
Then the facility's intercom crackled.
A voice spoke.
"Michael."
His father's voice.
"You finally found the last door."
Michael turned.
Every exit locked automatically.
Then the lights came on.
Daniel was lying on the floor.
Blood on his shirt.
And beside him stood Michael's father.
Holding a gun.
May you like
"Come to me," he said.
"Or your son dies first."
