Chapter 10: The Father of the Experiment
The machine beneath the estate roared to life.
The sound was so deep that Ethan felt it in his chest.
Snow slid from the roof.
Windows rattled.
The ground trembled beneath his boots.
Lily screamed.
Noah began crying.
Clara doubled over.
Ethan rushed toward her.
“Clara!”
She grabbed his coat.
“The baby…”
“I know.”
“Something is happening.”
Ethan looked at her stomach.
A strange pulse moved beneath her skin.
Once.
Twice.
Then the lights inside the estate came back on.
Margaret stood beneath the doorway.
She was smiling.
“Bring them inside.”
Ethan glared at her.
“Not a chance.”
Margaret's smile disappeared.
“Then your daughter dies.”
Michael stepped forward.
He was holding the newborn.
Ethan's eyes locked onto him.
“Put her down.”
Michael didn't move.
“Ethan…”
“Put my daughter down.”
Michael looked at the baby.
“She won't survive outside.”
“Give her to me.”
Michael's face showed hesitation.
Then he took one step forward.
Suddenly Margaret raised a hand.
“Stop.”
Michael froze.
Ethan noticed.
For the first time, he saw fear in Michael's eyes.
Margaret turned toward him.
“You know the rules.”
Michael lowered his head.
Ethan looked between them.
“You're controlling him.”
Margaret smiled.
“Everyone is controlled by something.”
She turned toward Ethan.
“Your father was controlled by fear.”
She looked at Daniel.
“He was controlled by guilt.”
Then at Michael.
“He was controlled by his brother.”
Finally, she looked at Clara.
“And Clara was controlled by love.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“But I'm not.”
Margaret laughed.
“You've been controlled your entire life.”
The silver-haired woman appeared beside her.
Evelyn whispered:
“Helena.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who is she?”
“The founder.”
Helena smiled.
“My name is Helena Cross.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You started the program.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“I inherited it.”
“From whom?”
“My father.”
“Why?”
Helena's expression became cold.
“Because he discovered something extraordinary.”
She looked toward Clara.
“The human body can carry genetic memory.”
Ethan frowned.
“Genetic memory?”
“Information passed from one generation to another.”
“That doesn't explain kidnapping children.”
“No.”
Helena's gaze hardened.
“It explains why your family was selected.”
Ethan stared.
“My family?”
She nodded.
“The Parker bloodline has been monitored for more than a century.”
His father stepped forward.
“Helena, stop.”
She looked at him.
“You still protect him.”
“I protect my son.”
“You lied to him.”
His father lowered his head.
Ethan turned toward him.
“What did she mean?”
His father remained silent.
“Dad.”
Still nothing.
Ethan shouted:
“WHAT DID YOU DO?”
His father finally spoke.
“I made a deal.”
“With Helena?”
“Yes.”
Clara stared at him.
“For what?”
“Your safety.”
Ethan shook his head.
“That's not an answer.”
His father looked at him.
“Twenty years ago, Margaret discovered that you weren't biologically mine.”
Ethan froze.
“She wanted you.”
“Why?”
“Because your biological father carried the missing genetic sequence.”
Ethan's face went pale.
“Who?”
His father looked toward Helena.
“Her son.”
Ethan turned toward Helena.
Her expression remained emotionless.
“You're saying my biological father was a Cross?”
“Yes.”
Ethan stepped backward.
Helena nodded.
“Your father was my brother.”
Silence.
The revelation seemed to knock the air out of the room.
Clara whispered:
“Then Ethan…”
Helena finished the sentence.
“…is the missing genetic link.”
Ethan looked at the three children.
“What does that make them?”
Helena smiled.
“Perfect candidates.”
Daniel raised his gun.
“You're insane.”
Helena looked at him.
“Perhaps.”
Then she pointed toward the house.
“But the machine doesn't care.”
A deep mechanical pulse shook the ground.
The unborn baby kicked again.
Lily suddenly screamed.
“My head!”
Clara rushed toward her.
“What happened?”
Lily clutched her temples.
“Grandma…”
“What about her?”
“She told me to open the door.”
“What door?”
Lily pointed toward the basement entrance.
“The red one.”
Everyone looked toward the house.
Ethan's father went pale.
“No.”
Ethan turned.
“What?”
“That door must never be opened.”
“Why?”
“Because that's where your biological father was kept.”
Ethan stared.
“He's alive?”
His father didn't answer.
Helena smiled.
“Not anymore.”
Ethan's face hardened.
“Then what's behind the door?”
Helena didn't respond.
Margaret did.
“His body.”
Ethan's stomach turned.
“Why?”
“Because we needed his genetic material.”
Clara looked horrified.
“You kept him there?”
“For twenty years.”
Ethan looked at his father.
“You knew?”
His father nodded.
“I tried to get him out.”
“But you didn't.”
“I failed.”
Ethan's eyes filled with anger.
“You failed everyone.”
His father accepted the words.
“Yes.”
A gunshot suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned.
Daniel had fired.
The bullet struck the ground beside Margaret.
“Give us the baby.”
Margaret didn't move.
Michael suddenly raised his weapon.
Ethan shouted:
“Michael!”
Michael's hands trembled.
Then he slowly lowered the gun.
Margaret stared at him.
“You know what happens if you disobey.”
Michael looked at the baby.
“I know.”
“Then do it.”
Michael looked at Ethan.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Michael threw the gun onto the ground.
“No.”
Margaret's expression changed.
“What did you say?”
“I said no.”
Michael rushed forward.
He handed the baby to Ethan.
Ethan caught her.
Margaret screamed:
“STOP HIM!”
Guards raised their weapons.
Daniel fired.
Chaos erupted.
Ethan grabbed Clara.
“Run!”
They raced into the estate.
Lily followed.
Daniel and Ethan's father stayed behind to hold off the guards.
Ethan carried the newborn.
Clara clutched his arm.
They reached the main hall.
Everything looked exactly as Ethan remembered from childhood.
The piano.
The staircase.
The family portraits.
But one portrait was different.
A young man stood beside Margaret.
Ethan stared.
“That…”
Clara looked.
“Who is he?”
Ethan's father shouted from behind them:
“Don't look at it!”
Ethan stepped closer.
The man in the portrait looked exactly like him.
Same eyes.
Same jaw.
Same scar above the eyebrow.
Ethan whispered:
“That's my father.”
His father shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who is it?”
His father looked at Helena.
“My brother.”
Ethan stared.
His entire childhood suddenly seemed like a lie.
He turned.
“Why do I look like him?”
Helena answered:
“Because you are his son.”
A loud crash came from upstairs.
Margaret's voice echoed through the hall.
“Ethan!”
He looked up.
She stood on the balcony.
In her hand was a remote control.
“Put the baby down.”
Ethan tightened his grip.
“No.”
Margaret pressed a button.
Clara screamed.
A sharp pain tore through her body.
She collapsed.
“Clara!”
Ethan caught her.
The unborn baby's heartbeat appeared on a nearby wall monitor.
Fast.
Unstable.
Helena watched the numbers.
“It's beginning.”
Ethan looked up.
“What did you do?”
Margaret smiled.
“I activated the implant.”
Ethan froze.
“What implant?”
Margaret pointed at Clara.
“The one we placed before she was pregnant.”
Clara stared at her.
“You…”
Margaret smiled.
“The baby isn't just carrying the genetic sequence.”
She pressed another button.
“The baby is carrying the machine.”
The floor beneath them suddenly opened.
A massive circular chamber appeared beneath the hall.
Blue light surged upward.
Ethan stared down.
At the center of the chamber was a machine.
And inside it was a transparent glass pod.
A tiny child floated inside.
Ethan's blood froze.
Clara whispered:
“No…”
The child opened her eyes.
Ethan stared.
She looked exactly like Lily.
But younger.
Newborn.
Helena stepped toward the chamber.
“The original daughter.”
Ethan looked at Lily.
Then at the baby in the pod.
Then at Clara's stomach.
Three children.
Three versions of the same genetic sequence.
Lily suddenly whispered:
“That's not my sister.”
Everyone looked at her.
Lily's face was filled with terror.
“That's me.”
The glass pod cracked.
A thin fracture spread across it.
Then another.
Helena smiled.
“Finally.”
The machine began screaming.
May you like
The pod shattered.
And the newborn inside opened her eyes.
