Chapter 5 - MY FATHER'S VOICEI stood frozen in the red light.
“No.”
Noah looked at me.
“You recognize him.”
“My father is dead.”
Evelyn spoke from behind us.
“So was Ethan.”
That shut me up.
The intercom crackled.
My father's voice returned.
“Daniel, you have exactly nine minutes.”
“What do you want?”
A soft laugh.
“You.”
Sarah grabbed my arm.
“Don't listen.”
My father continued.
“And the girl.”
Lily squeezed my hand.
The protective instinct hit me instantly.
“You're not touching her.”
“I already have.”
My blood went cold.
The corridor screens switched on.
A live video appeared.
My house.
My Greenwich home.
Empty.
Then another image.
The guest cottage.
A man was walking through the rooms.
My driver's body lay unconscious in the kitchen.
I stared at the screen.
“What did you do?”
“Insurance.”
“Against what?”
“Your betrayal.”
Ethan stepped toward the camera.
“Anthony.”
The voice paused.
“You survived.”
“You should have known better.”
The screen changed.
A map appeared.
Several locations were marked.
Greenwich.
Boston.
Chicago.
London.
Geneva.
Then one location in Maine.
“Project Lucent never belonged to Vespera,” my father said.
“It belonged to the Mercer family.”
I stared at the map.
My family.
My father.
My missing brother.
Noah.
Lily.
Every piece was somehow connected.
“What did you do to my son?”
My father's voice became colder.
“He wasn't your son when we created him.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
“He was your brother's child.”
I looked at Sarah.
She closed her eyes.
“No.”
My father continued.
“You were selected as the guardian because your genetic profile was compatible.”
“Why erase my memory?”
“Because you fought us.”
Ethan interrupted.
“You didn't tell him the real reason.”
Silence.
Then my father laughed.
“Still protecting him, Ethan?”
“Yes.”
“You don't even know what he is.”
I looked at Ethan.
“What am I?”
Nobody answered.
Noah stepped forward.
“Dad…”
The word destroyed whatever remained of my composure.
I grabbed his shoulder.
“Say it again.”
“Dad.”
My eyes burned.
I pulled him into a hug.
He stiffened at first.
Then slowly hugged me back.
A siren began screaming.
Red lights flashed.
Ethan looked at his watch.
“Seven minutes.”
“Until what?”
“The building seals.”
We ran.
At the end of the corridor was a steel elevator.
Evelyn entered a code.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Denied.
Noah stepped forward.
He entered six digits.
The doors opened.
I stared at him.
“How did you know that?”
He looked at me.
“Because Grandpa taught me.”
My blood froze.
“Your grandfather?”
Noah nodded.
“He used to visit me.”
“Where?”
Noah didn't answer.
Then Lily tugged my sleeve.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
She pointed toward the elevator wall.
There was another drawing.
This one had been scratched into the metal.
A family of four.
Me.
Sarah.
Lily.
Noah.
Underneath was a date.
Tomorrow's date.
I stared at it.
“Who drew this?”
Noah's face changed.
“I did.”
“When?”
He whispered:
“Tomorrow.”
The elevator doors closed.
Then the descent began.
The number on the screen dropped.
B3.
B4.
B5.
There should not have been a B5.
The elevator kept going.
B6.
B7.
B8.
Noah looked at me.
“This is where they keep the things they don't want anyone to find.”
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
A woman was waiting.
I knew her.
May you like
She was holding my father's hand.
And she looked exactly like Lily.
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