Chapter 18 - The BirthdayThree hours.
That was all I had.
The masked figure removed his helmet.
I recognized him.
The detective from the first night.
He smiled.
“You trusted me.”
“You were working for them.”
“Yes.”
He raised a folder.
“Your arrest is scheduled for midnight.”
“For what?”
“Murder.”
Whose murder?
Daniel's.
The room went silent.
I stared.
“He isn't dead.”
The detective smiled.
“He will be.”
A gunshot echoed.
Daniel collapsed behind us.
This time he didn't rise.
I looked at Kyle.
He was holding the gun.
“You killed him.”
Kyle nodded.
“He was going to kill everyone.”
My mother whispered:
“There's no time.”
We escaped through an underground tunnel.
At the end was an old church.
Inside were dozens of servers.
Every screen displayed a countdown.
00:57:32
Eleanor was dead.
Daniel was dead.
Adrian was missing.
Kyle was bleeding.
Mom was injured.
Emily looked terrified.
And I had the Black Ledger.
“We need a plan.”
Kyle looked at me.
“You need to activate the trust.”
“How?”
“Your grandfather built a biometric terminal here.”
He pointed toward the altar.
I approached.
The terminal scanned my face.
SUBJECT 47 CONFIRMED.
Then:
WELCOME HOME.
A message appeared.
CHOOSE CONTROL PROTOCOL.
Three options.
PROTECT.
TRANSFER.
DESTROY.
I stared.
“What happens if I choose destroy?”
“The network collapses.”
“What about the money?”
“Lost.”
“People?”
“Some accounts freeze.”
“Some people die.”
Kyle looked at me.
“That's the point.”
I couldn't do it.
Not yet.
The countdown reached thirty minutes.
Then a new file opened.
A live video.
Adrian appeared.
He was tied to a chair.
Blood covered his face.
A woman stood behind him.
The woman from my DNA report.
My biological mother.
Alive.
She looked at me.
“Hello, son.”
I felt my knees weaken.
She smiled.
“I've waited a long time.”
My mother covered her mouth.
Kyle stared.
Emily whispered:
“Oh my God.”
The woman stepped closer to Adrian.
“Your father lied to you.”
She pointed at the ledger.
“He didn't create you.”
“Who did?”
She smiled.
“I did.”
Silence.
She continued.
“You were never Project Orchid.”
“You were Project King.”
The terminal flashed.
ORIGINAL CREATOR DETECTED.
The countdown stopped.
Then reset.
72:00:00
My biological mother looked into the camera.
“Now you have three days.”
“For what?”
“To decide whether you want to rule them.”
She smiled.
“Or destroy them.”
The screen went black.
May you like
Then another message appeared.
WELCOME, KING.
