Chapter 9: The Countdown
00:56.
The red numbers blinked against Noah's tiny wrist.
Ethan stared at them.
For one terrifying second, nobody moved.
Then instinct took over.
He reached for the baby.
His father grabbed his shoulder.
“Don't touch the bracelet.”
“That's my son!”
“It's a trigger.”
“For what?”
His father looked toward the distant darkness of the road.
“I don't know.”
Ethan pulled away.
“You said you knew everything.”
“I know enough to know that Margaret wants you to panic.”
The timer changed.
00:48.
Clara screamed from inside the truck.
“Ethan, get him out!”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because your father says the bracelet is a trigger.”
Clara looked at the older man.
“Then remove it!”
“I can't.”
Ethan's eyes hardened.
“Why?”
His father hesitated.
“Because it isn't attached to Noah.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
His father pointed at the bracelet.
“Look carefully.”
Ethan leaned closer.
The red light wasn't coming from the bracelet.
It was coming from beneath Noah's skin.
Ethan's blood turned cold.
“What did they do to him?”
His father whispered:
“They implanted it.”
Clara began crying.
“No.”
She reached toward Noah.
Ethan stopped her.
“Wait.”
The timer continued.
00:39.
Daniel rushed toward them.
“What happened?”
“There's a countdown inside Noah.”
Daniel crouched beside the truck.
He examined the bracelet.
Then his expression changed.
“This isn't a bomb.”
Ethan stared at him.
“Then what is it?”
Daniel looked at the display.
“A locator.”
“What?”
“It isn't counting down to an explosion.”
He looked at Ethan.
“It's counting down to activation.”
Ethan's stomach dropped.
“Activation of what?”
Daniel didn't answer.
His father did.
“The procedure.”
Ethan looked toward the old road.
“She's taking us somewhere.”
His father nodded.
“The timer ends when we reach the estate.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“So Margaret wants us to go there.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she needs all three children in the same place.”
Clara froze.
“All three?”
Her father-in-law looked at her.
“Noah.”
He pointed toward the little girl.
“Her.”
Then toward Clara's stomach.
“And the baby.”
Clara covered her stomach.
“What happens if all three are together?”
His father looked away.
“Don't ask.”
“Tell me!”
He finally spoke.
“They become the key.”
“To what?”
“The original machine.”
Silence.
Ethan looked at him.
“What machine?”
His father stared toward the forest.
“The machine that started all of this.”
The timer reached:
00:27.
Ethan climbed into the truck.
“Then we go.”
His father grabbed the door.
“Ethan, listen to me.”
“No.”
“You don't understand.”
“My son is in there.”
“And that's exactly what Margaret wants.”
Ethan looked at him.
“I don't care.”
He started the engine.
Clara sat beside him.
The little girl held Noah in the back seat.
Daniel climbed in.
His father stood outside.
Ethan looked at him through the windshield.
“You're coming.”
His father hesitated.
Then got in.
The truck tore down the snowy road.
No one spoke.
The countdown continued.
00:21.
00:20.
Ethan drove faster.
Clara looked at Noah.
“Is he breathing?”
“Yes.”
“Is he awake?”
His daughter shook her head.
“He's sleeping.”
Clara looked at the little girl.
“What is your name?”
The girl looked confused.
“Mommy named me.”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“What did I name you?”
The girl smiled.
“Lily.”
Clara covered her mouth.
“Lily…”
Ethan glanced in the rearview mirror.
“Lily.”
The girl nodded.
“I remember.”
“What?”
“You called me Lily.”
“When?”
“Before Grandma took me.”
Clara began crying.
“I remember.”
She closed her eyes.
A memory surfaced.
A hospital room.
A newborn girl.
Clara holding her.
Whispering:
“Lily.”
Then Margaret entering.
“Give her to me.”
Clara screaming.
Ethan fighting.
A needle.
Darkness.
Clara opened her eyes.
“She was ours.”
Ethan reached across and squeezed her hand.
“Yes.”
Lily suddenly spoke.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“Why did Grandma tell me you wanted me dead?”
Ethan's heart broke.
“I never did.”
“She said you chose Noah.”
“I didn't.”
“She said you didn't love me.”
Ethan looked at her through the mirror.
“I love you.”
Lily smiled.
Then her expression changed.
“Grandma said you'd say that too.”
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
“What else did she tell you?”
Lily looked at Noah.
“She said if you brought me home…”
She paused.
“…Noah would die.”
Clara gasped.
Ethan's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“What?”
Lily's voice became quiet.
“She said only one of us could live.”
Ethan looked at his father.
“Is that true?”
His father said nothing.
“Dad!”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
“No, it isn't.”
“Then why did she tell Lily?”
“Because Margaret needs you to believe there is a choice.”
“What choice?”
His father stared ahead.
“She's lying.”
The timer reached zero.
00:00.
Noah suddenly opened his eyes.
His pupils were dilated.
The red light beneath his wrist went dark.
Then every light inside the truck turned on.
The dashboard flickered.
The radio switched itself on.
Static.
Then Margaret's voice.
“Welcome home.”
Ethan slammed the brakes.
The truck stopped.
They were at the gates of the old Parker estate.
The house stood beyond them.
Black against the snow.
Ethan stared.
He hadn't been here since he was ten.
The place looked exactly as he remembered.
Except for one thing.
Every window was lit.
Margaret stood on the front steps.
Beside her was Michael.
And in Michael's arms was Clara's newborn baby.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“That's impossible.”
Clara screamed:
“My baby!”
Ethan opened the door.
His father grabbed him.
“Wait.”
“Let go.”
“Look.”
Ethan stopped.
There were people standing behind Margaret.
Doctors.
Security guards.
And dozens of men in black suits.
But one person stood in the center.
A woman.
Old.
Elegant.
Her silver hair tied behind her head.
Evelyn Cross looked at her.
Then whispered:
“No.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Who is that?”
Evelyn's voice trembled.
“The founder.”
“Founder of what?”
“The program.”
The woman smiled.
Then she raised a hand.
Every light in the house went out.
A single spotlight turned on above the front door.
Margaret stepped forward.
“Ethan.”
He stared at her.
“Give me my daughter.”
Margaret shook her head.
“You still don't understand.”
She looked toward Lily.
“She isn't your daughter.”
Clara screamed:
“She is!”
Margaret smiled.
“Biologically?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Ethan froze.
“What are you saying?”
Margaret looked at Lily.
Then at Noah.
Then at Clara's stomach.
“These three children weren't born to be siblings.”
She pointed toward the house.
“They were created to be connected.”
Ethan's father whispered:
“Don't listen to her.”
Margaret laughed.
“You know it's true.”
She turned toward the woman with silver hair.
“Tell him.”
The woman stepped forward.
Her voice was calm.
“Ethan Parker.”
He stared.
She smiled.
“You've spent your entire life believing you were a Parker.”
A pause.
“You aren't.”
Ethan's face went blank.
“What?”
The woman continued.
“Your father is not your biological father.”
Clara stared at Ethan.
Daniel's expression changed.
Ethan looked at the older man beside him.
“Dad?”
His father couldn't meet his eyes.
The woman smiled.
“And now you finally understand why Margaret needed your memories erased.”
Ethan stepped backward.
“No.”
“You are the missing piece.”
“Of what?”
The woman looked toward the three children.
“The experiment.”
A loud mechanical sound echoed beneath the estate.
The ground trembled.
Lily screamed.
Noah began crying.
Clara clutched her stomach.
Then the unborn baby kicked.
Hard.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The woman smiled.
“The machine has recognized them.”
Ethan stared at the house.
A hidden door beneath the steps began opening.
Inside was a staircase descending into darkness.
Margaret pointed toward it.
“Come inside, Ethan.”
“You wanted the children.”
“No.”
She smiled.
“I wanted you.”
Ethan's blood froze.
“Why me?”
Margaret's expression became almost triumphant.
“Because you're the father of the experiment.”
May you like
The ground beneath them suddenly shook again.
And somewhere beneath the house, something enormous began to power up.
