Chapter 8 - The frozen lake lay forty miles outside Silver Creek.There were no houses.
No roads worth trusting.
No cell coverage.
Just black trees, snow, and a sheet of ice that could swallow a person without making a sound.
I drove.
Logan sat beside me.
Daniel sat in the back.
Nobody spoke for twenty minutes.
Finally Logan asked:
“What is Subject 17?”
I kept my eyes on the road.
“I don't know.”
Daniel said quietly:
“Yes, you do.”
I glanced at him.
“Then tell me.”
He looked at Logan.
“It was a designation.”
“For what?”
“Human intelligence testing.”
Logan stared.
“What?”
Daniel continued.
“Twenty years ago, military contractors were testing predictive behavior models.”
“That doesn't sound illegal.”
“It was.”
“What kind of testing?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Stress exposure.”
I looked in the mirror.
“On soldiers?”
“On witnesses.”
Logan's voice dropped.
“My mother.”
Daniel nodded.
“Your mother witnessed money being transferred through a military network.”
“She was a civilian?”
“Yes.”
“Then why was she involved?”
“She was a translator.”
I said nothing.
I remembered her now.
Sarah Whitmore.
I had met her once.
Briefly.
At a military briefing.
She had looked terrified.
I never understood why.
Now I did.
She had seen something.
Something people would kill to erase.
Logan stared out the window.
“Where is she?”
Daniel looked away.
“We don't know.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is the truth.”
Logan slammed his fist against the seat.
“You all knew something.”
I looked at him.
“We suspected.”
“My father knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
I nodded.
“I knew something was wrong.”
“Then why didn't you tell anyone?”
“Because I trusted the wrong people.”
The lake appeared through the trees.
A single structure stood beside it.
An abandoned research cabin.
No lights.
No movement.
I stopped the truck.
Daniel checked his weapon.
“Stay behind us.”
Logan shook his head.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“You're the target.”
“Exactly.”
“You'll stay behind.”
He looked ready to argue.
I stepped closer.
“Your father raised you to think strength means going first.”
He frowned.
“It doesn't.”
“What does it mean?”
“Knowing when not to.”
He stared at me.
Then nodded.
We approached the cabin.
The door stood open.
Inside were chairs.
One table.
One camera.
And Evan.
Tied to a chair.
Alive.
I nearly collapsed from relief.
“Mom.”
I ran to him.
He was shaking.
“I knew you'd come.”
“I've got you.”
I cut the restraints.
“Where are they?”
He looked behind me.
“Who?”
“Victor.”
Evan's face changed.
“He wasn't alone.”
“Who?”
“Grandma.”
I stopped.
“Your grandmother?”
“No.”
Evan shook his head.
“His.”
Logan stepped into the room.
“What did you see?”
Evan stared at him.
Then whispered:
“Your mother.”
The room froze.
Logan's face went white.
“She's here?”
Evan nodded.
“She's alive.”
A slow clap came from the doorway.
We turned.
Victor Whitmore stood there.
Beside him was Sarah.
Logan's mother.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Alive.
Logan stared.
“Mom?”
She looked at him.
Tears filled her eyes.
“Logan.”
He moved toward her.
I grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
Sarah looked at me.
“Claire Bennett.”
“You know me.”
“I've known you for twenty years.”
Victor smiled.
“This is the reunion I was hoping for.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“What do you want?”
Victor looked at Logan.
“Subject 17.”
Logan looked confused.
Sarah closed her eyes.
“I'm sorry.”
“For what?”
She looked at him.
“For letting them believe you were only my son.”
Victor smiled.
Daniel whispered:
“There's more.”
Sarah nodded.
“You were born during the Black River operation.”
Logan's face tightened.
“I know.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“He wasn't just born.”
She turned to Logan.
“You were created.”
Silence.
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Sarah began crying.
“They used embryos from soldiers involved in the program.”
Daniel went pale.
“That wasn't possible.”
“It was.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“The program was designed to study inherited stress responses.”
He looked at Logan.
“You were one of the results.”
Logan stepped backward.
“No.”
Sarah whispered:
“Your father isn't your biological father.”
Logan turned to Grant, who had just entered behind Victor.
Grant's face was broken.
“Logan.”
“Tell me she's lying.”
Grant couldn't.
Logan's eyes filled with rage.
“Tell me!”
Grant whispered:
“I raised you.”
“That wasn't my question.”
Silence.
Then Sarah looked at me.
“Your DNA was used too.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
She stepped closer.
“Your genetic profile was one of the samples.”
Daniel stared at me.
“Claire.”
I looked at Sarah.
“What are you saying?”
Sarah's voice trembled.
“Logan is your biological son.”
Everything stopped.
The lake.
The cabin.
The world.
Logan stared at me.
I stared back.
Then someone outside fired a gun.
May you like
Sarah screamed.
And Grant collapsed onto the floor.
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