Chapter 8: The Father Who Never Died
“Ethan.”
The voice came from the darkness.
For a moment, Ethan couldn't move.
He had spent twenty years believing that voice belonged to a ghost.
His father had died when Ethan was ten.
A car accident.
At least, that was what Margaret had told him.
A funeral.
A closed coffin.
A grave Ethan had visited every year on his father's birthday.
But now that voice had called his name.
Again.
“Ethan.”
Clara grabbed his arm.
“Don't go in.”
He barely heard her.
The little girl stepped behind Clara.
Evelyn looked terrified.
Daniel raised his weapon.
“Everyone stay back.”
A man's silhouette emerged from the room.
Older.
Thinner.
His hair almost completely gray.
But the eyes were unmistakable.
Ethan's eyes.
The man stopped beneath the red emergency light.
Ethan whispered:
“Dad?”
The man looked at him.
And smiled.
“My son.”
Ethan's legs nearly gave out.
He grabbed the wall.
“No.”
The man slowly walked forward.
“You've grown.”
“You're dead.”
“I know.”
“Mom said you died.”
“She lied.”
Ethan shook his head.
“Why?”
His father looked at Margaret's granddaughter.
“Because she needed everyone to believe I was gone.”
“What happened?”
His father looked toward the corridor.
“Your mother discovered something.”
“What?”
“That our family wasn't the first.”
Ethan frowned.
“What do you mean?”
His father sighed.
“Before the Parkers, there was another family.”
“Who?”
“The Cross family.”
Ethan looked at Evelyn.
She lowered her eyes.
“My ancestors.”
His father nodded.
“They discovered a genetic mutation that could be passed between generations.”
Ethan stared.
“And my mother?”
“She wanted it.”
“Why?”
“Because she believed it could make people live longer.”
Silence.
Ethan stared at his father.
“You built the clinic.”
His father nodded.
“I helped establish the first laboratory.”
“And then?”
“I realized what they were doing.”
He looked toward the nursery.
“Children were being born for research.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“You let that happen?”
“I tried to stop it.”
“Did you?”
His father looked down.
“No.”
The admission hung in the air.
“I failed.”
Ethan's voice trembled with anger.
“Then why are you alive?”
His father glanced at Daniel.
“Because he helped me escape.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your father knew Margaret would kill him.”
Ethan stared at Daniel.
“You've known him all this time?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Margaret was watching you.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“You let me believe my father was dead.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
Ethan almost struck him.
Clara grabbed his arm.
“Ethan.”
He stopped.
His father looked at Clara.
“You're pregnant.”
“Yes.”
“With the second child.”
Clara froze.
“You know?”
“I've known since the day you conceived her.”
Ethan stared.
“How?”
His father looked toward Evelyn.
“Because your mother started tracking the pregnancy before Clara even knew.”
Clara's face became pale.
“What does she want from my daughter?”
His father didn't answer immediately.
Then:
“She wants to use your daughter to complete the work.”
“What work?”
“Genetic transfer.”
Ethan frowned.
“Transfer what?”
His father looked at Noah's empty crib.
“The mutation.”
Clara looked down at her stomach.
“Why can't she use Noah?”
“Because Noah only carries half of it.”
“And our daughter?”
“She carries the complete sequence.”
Clara's eyes filled with fear.
“She wants my baby to cure herself.”
His father nodded.
“Not herself.”
He looked directly at Ethan.
“Your mother is dying.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“She has an aggressive neurological disease.”
“How long?”
“Months.”
Evelyn corrected him.
“Weeks.”
Everyone looked at her.
Evelyn continued:
“She has less than six weeks.”
Ethan shook his head.
“So this is all about her staying alive?”
His father nodded.
“She believes your daughter can save her.”
Ethan's anger returned.
“She kidnapped Clara for a cure.”
“Not only Clara.”
His father looked toward the little girl.
“She needed the first daughter too.”
The girl stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because you were born first.”
She frowned.
“But I'm six.”
Her grandfather crouched in front of her.
“You aren't six.”
The girl looked confused.
“Then how old am I?”
“Eighteen months.”
Everyone froze.
Clara's eyes widened.
“No.”
The girl stared at him.
“What?”
Her grandfather continued.
“Margaret manipulated your memories and your growth.”
Ethan shook his head.
“That isn't possible.”
Evelyn whispered:
“It is.”
The girl looked at Clara.
“Mommy?”
Clara dropped to her knees.
“I'm here.”
“How old am I?”
Clara couldn't answer.
The girl began crying.
“I don't understand.”
Clara pulled her into her arms.
“You don't have to.”
Ethan stared at Evelyn.
“You made her believe she was six.”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“Margaret.”
“Why?”
Evelyn looked at the little girl.
“Because a six-year-old is easier to hide than a newborn.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“So she's been here for eighteen months.”
“Yes.”
“And she remembers Clara.”
“Yes.”
“And Clara's dreams?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Those weren't dreams.”
“They were memories.”
“Yes.”
Ethan looked at his father.
“Then where is Noah?”
His father's expression changed.
“Margaret took him to the original laboratory.”
“Where?”
“Under the Parker estate.”
Ethan stared.
“My house?”
His father nodded.
“The old family property.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“That house burned down.”
“Only the upper floors.”
Ethan's face changed.
“What?”
“The basement survived.”
Daniel suddenly looked toward the elevator.
“We need to leave.”
Ethan turned.
“Why?”
Daniel pointed at the security monitor.
A countdown had appeared.
00:09:42
Evelyn's face went white.
“What is that?”
Daniel whispered:
“Self-destruct.”
Ethan stared.
“How long?”
“Less than ten minutes.”
His father immediately grabbed the little girl's hand.
“Move.”
They ran.
The corridor shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Alarms screamed.
Ethan carried Clara.
Daniel stayed behind them.
Evelyn followed.
Then a loud explosion came from the upper level.
The floor buckled.
Ethan nearly fell.
Clara screamed.
“Ethan!”
“I've got you.”
They reached the elevator.
The doors wouldn't open.
Daniel slammed the emergency button.
Nothing.
His father looked at the control panel.
“It's locked.”
“Can you override it?”
“No.”
Evelyn suddenly stepped forward.
“I can.”
She opened a hidden panel.
Inside were dozens of wires.
She pulled two.
The elevator doors opened.
“Go!”
Everyone rushed inside.
The elevator began rising.
Level six.
Five.
Four.
Then it stopped.
The lights went out.
A voice came through the speaker.
Margaret.
“Ethan.”
He looked up.
“You've met your father.”
A pause.
“And your daughter.”
Ethan clenched his fists.
“Where is Noah?”
Margaret laughed.
“Closer than you think.”
“What does that mean?”
“You should ask your father.”
Ethan looked at the older man.
His father was pale.
Margaret continued.
“He knows where Noah is.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“Dad?”
His father didn't answer.
“Dad?”
Still nothing.
Margaret's voice became softer.
“Ask him why Noah's blood was delivered to him eighteen months ago.”
Ethan stared at his father.
“What is she talking about?”
His father finally looked up.
And Ethan saw something in his eyes.
Guilt.
“What did you do?”
His father whispered:
“I made a deal.”
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“With Margaret?”
“No.”
“With Dr. Cross?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
His father looked toward Clara.
“With the people who created the program.”
Ethan's voice dropped.
“Who are they?”
His father closed his eyes.
“The Parkers weren't running the clinic.”
He opened them again.
“We were working for someone else.”
The elevator suddenly jolted.
The doors opened.
They had reached the ground floor.
But the house above them was empty.
No Margaret.
No guards.
No Michael.
Only snow blowing through the shattered windows.
Ethan stepped outside.
His father followed.
Then his phone rang.
An unknown number.
Ethan answered.
No one spoke.
Then he heard a baby's cry.
Noah.
Ethan's heart stopped.
“Where are you?”
Margaret whispered:
“Home.”
The call ended.
Ethan stared toward the darkness.
His father's face became pale.
“She's taken him to the estate.”
Ethan looked at him.
“The old Parker house?”
“Yes.”
“Then we're going there.”
His father grabbed his arm.
“No.”
Ethan turned.
“Why?”
His father whispered:
“Because that's where the first child was born.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
His father looked toward the snowy road.
“And that's where your mother buried the truth.”
Suddenly, from the back seat of Ethan's truck, came a small voice.
“Daddy?”
Everyone froze.
Ethan slowly turned.
The little girl was sitting inside the truck.
But she wasn't alone.
A newborn baby was lying beside her.
Ethan's heart stopped.
The little girl smiled.
“It's Noah.”
Ethan rushed toward them.
Then he stopped.
Something was wrong.
The baby wasn't crying.
His eyes were open.
And on his tiny wrist was a black electronic bracelet.
A red light blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then the bracelet began counting down.
00:59
Ethan stared in horror.
His father whispered:
“Don't touch him.”
The number changed.
00:58
Then the little girl looked at Ethan and said:
“Grandma told me this would happen.”
The timer continued.
00:57
00:56
May you like
And from somewhere deep beneath the old Parker estate…
a machine began to wake.
