Chapter 8 - The HospitalAdrian had never hated a building more.
The hospital where doctors had told him his heart could kill him was now holding his daughter.
Vincent drove through the emergency entrance.
Security had already been compromised.
Lights flickered.
Doors stood open.
No nurses.
No doctors.
Only silence.
Adrian moved quickly despite the pain.
“ICU?”
Vincent checked a stolen badge.
“Basement level.”
They descended.
The elevator opened.
A hallway stretched ahead.
At the end stood Elena.
Blood covered her white coat.
Adrian raised his gun.
“What happened?”
Elena looked at him.
“They took Mia.”
“Where?”
She pointed toward an operating room.
Adrian entered.
The room was empty.
Except for a tiny pink shoe.
Mia's.
Adrian picked it up.
His hands shook.
Elena whispered:
“She was here twenty minutes ago.”
“Who took her?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
Adrian stepped closer.
“You knew about the mutation.”
“Yes.”
“You knew they wanted her.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you stop them?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“Because I was trying to stop you from dying.”
She opened a cabinet.
Inside were files.
“Lucian has been using your case to study the disease.”
Adrian stared.
“And Mia?”
“He believed her genetics could solve the problem.”
Vincent interrupted.
“Where did they take her?”
Elena pointed toward the surgical wing.
“There's an underground corridor.”
They entered.
A hidden door opened behind a surgical panel.
Beyond it was a concrete tunnel.
Adrian's heart began racing.
“Don't.”
He ignored her.
They moved through the tunnel.
A distant crying sound echoed.
“Mia!”
No response.
They ran.
At the end was a massive underground laboratory.
Glass rooms.
Medical equipment.
Computers.
People in white coats.
And at the center, Mia lay on an examination bed.
She was awake.
Clara stood beside her.
Lucian watched from behind the glass.
He smiled.
“Adrian.”
Adrian raised his gun.
“Let her go.”
Lucian shook his head.
“You still think this is a kidnapping.”
“What else is it?”
“A reunion.”
He pressed a button.
The glass wall became transparent.
Mia looked at Adrian.
“Daddy!”
Adrian moved forward.
Security guards raised weapons.
Lucian lifted a hand.
“No.”
The guards lowered their guns.
Lucian approached the glass.
“Your daughter is special.”
“She is a child.”
“She is more than that.”
“She is mine.”
Lucian smiled.
“That's precisely why she matters.”
Adrian looked at Clara.
Her eyes were wet.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Lucian continued.
“You think I want her blood.”
He shook his head.
“I want what her blood can teach us.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
“Why?”
“Because if you touch her again, I will kill you.”
Lucian laughed.
“You may not have time.”
Adrian froze.
Lucian pointed at the monitor beside Mia.
Her heart rate was climbing.
Adrian's heart began pounding too.
Elena shouted:
“She's entering arrhythmia!”
Mia gasped.
Adrian watched helplessly.
“What did you do?”
Lucian smiled.
“Nothing.”
He looked at Adrian.
“This is your real choice.”
Mia screamed.
Adrian's heart monitor started alarming.
He doubled over.
Elena grabbed him.
“You need to lie down!”
Adrian looked through the glass.
Mia was terrified.
“Daddy!”
He forced himself upright.
Lucian's voice came through the speaker.
“Save yourself.”
Adrian stared.
“Or save her.”
The laboratory lights suddenly shut off.
Emergency alarms began screaming.
Clara shouted:
“Everyone get down!”
An explosion rocked the facility.
Glass shattered.
Adrian fell.
When he looked up, Mia's bed was empty.
Clara was gone.
And Lucian had disappeared.
But on the floor beside Adrian was a note.
He picked it up.
May you like
One sentence.
Your brother knows where she is.
