Chapter 14: The Last Inheritance
Marcus felt the world tilt beneath his feet.
He pulled Leo into his arms, holding him so tightly the little boy let out a tiny squeak.
"What did you do to my son?"
His voice trembled with rage.
Across the street, Evelyn Mercer stepped out of the limousine.
Gunfire around them had almost ceased.
Both sides had stopped shooting.
No one wanted to risk hitting Leo.
No one wanted to damage the only living key.
Evelyn folded her gloved hands.
"I did nothing."
Marcus shouted,
"He's seven years old!"
Arthur answered quietly behind him.
"She's telling the truth."
Marcus spun around.
"What?"
Arthur slowly walked closer.
"The implant wasn't designed by the Council."
Marcus frowned.
"Then who built it?"
Arthur looked at Leo with visible sadness.
"Daniel Beaumont."
Marcus blinked.
"My biological father?"
Arthur nodded.
"Six months before the attack."
Leo looked up sleepily.
"Daddy..."
"My ears are buzzing."
Marcus immediately knelt.
"It's okay."
"I've got you."
Sarah gently touched Leo's forehead.
"He doesn't have a fever."
Benjamin Hart took a flashlight from his pocket and checked Leo's pupils.
"They're responding normally."
Arthur breathed a small sigh of relief.
"The activation has started."
Marcus glared at him.
"What activation?"
Arthur remained silent for several seconds.
Then he answered.
"The implant isn't storing information."
Marcus frowned.
"Then what does it do?"
"It unlocks memories."
Marcus stared.
"Whose memories?"
Arthur looked directly at him.
"Yours."
The words hung in the air.
Marcus laughed once.
A hollow, disbelieving sound.
"That makes no sense."
Arthur nodded.
"It shouldn't."
"But Daniel never trusted computers."
"So he stored the final mathematical sequence inside the only place no hacker could reach."
Marcus whispered,
"The human brain..."
Arthur nodded.
"Specifically..."
"...your brain."
Marcus suddenly remembered something.
Dreams.
For years...
He had experienced the same recurring nightmare.
A red wooden door.
Rain.
A woman's voice singing.
Numbers floating across a blackboard.
He had always assumed they were meaningless fragments from childhood.
Arthur spoke again.
"You've been remembering pieces your entire life."
Marcus looked at him.
"The dreams?"
Arthur nodded.
"They weren't dreams."
"They were encrypted memories."
Victoria quietly added,
"Your biological father designed the implant to activate only after two conditions were met."
Marcus waited.
"First..."
"...you became a parent."
He looked at Leo.
"And second..."
"...Leo reached the same age you were when Richard adopted you."
Marcus felt a chill run through him.
Seven.
Leo had turned seven only two weeks earlier.
Everything had begun falling apart almost immediately afterward.
Evelyn smiled.
"Daniel was brilliant."
Arthur corrected her.
"He was paranoid."
"He had every reason to be."
Marcus looked down at Leo.
"So the cipher..."
Arthur interrupted.
"...still isn't complete."
Everyone stared.
"What?"
Arthur continued,
"The implant only unlocks the memory."
"You still have to remember it."
Detective Reeves frowned.
"So all of this..."
"...for something Marcus doesn't consciously know?"
Arthur nodded.
"Exactly."
For the first time all day...
Evelyn looked impatient.
"We're wasting time."
She snapped her fingers.
Four armored vehicles rolled forward.
Dozens of operatives took position.
No rifles aimed at Marcus.
Every weapon remained lowered.
She wasn't preparing for a battle.
She was preparing for a negotiation.
Evelyn looked at Marcus almost kindly.
"Come with me."
Marcus laughed bitterly.
"Never."
"I'll protect Leo."
"You'll imprison him."
"I'll educate him."
Marcus shook his head.
"You'll use him."
Evelyn didn't deny it.
"The world is changing."
"Governments fall."
"Financial systems collapse."
"The Beaumont Cipher can prevent chaos."
Arthur replied sharply,
"Or create dictatorship."
Marcus suddenly noticed Leo becoming unusually quiet.
He looked down.
The boy's eyes had closed.
"Leo?"
No response.
Sarah immediately knelt beside him.
"Leo!"
Arthur checked his pulse.
"He's alive."
Marcus felt panic rising.
"Then wake him up!"
Arthur slowly shook his head.
"He isn't asleep."
At that exact moment...
Leo spoke.
But the voice wasn't that of a frightened seven-year-old.
It was calm.
Measured.
Almost adult.
Without opening his eyes, he whispered:
"Prime numbers..."
Everyone froze.
Leo continued.
"Two..."
"Three..."
"Five..."
"Seven..."
His voice became faster.
Long strings of numbers poured from his lips.
None of them sounded random.
Arthur's face turned pale.
"Oh no..."
Marcus looked at him.
"What?"
Arthur whispered,
"The memory has started downloading."
Benjamin Hart quickly grabbed an old notebook.
He began writing down every number Leo spoke.
Pages filled rapidly.
Marcus looked helplessly at his unconscious son.
"Make him stop!"
Arthur shook his head.
"If we interrupt it..."
"...the implant could permanently damage his brain."
Evelyn took one slow step forward.
"Thank you, Daniel."
She smiled almost fondly.
"Even after thirty-one years..."
"...your work is still magnificent."
Marcus stood between her and Leo.
"You aren't touching him."
"I don't need to."
She pointed toward Benjamin Hart.
"The old lawyer is already recording everything."
Hart immediately stopped writing.
He stared at the notebook in horror.
He had unknowingly become part of the process.
Arthur took the notebook from him.
Without hesitation...
He tore every page into tiny pieces.
Evelyn sighed.
"That only delays the inevitable."
Arthur looked at Marcus.
"There is only one way to end this."
Marcus already knew he wasn't going to like the answer.
"What?"
Arthur spoke quietly.
"The cipher has to die with the last Beaumont."
Silence.
Marcus looked from Arthur...
To Leo...
Then back again.
Arthur continued, his voice heavy with grief.
"I spent thirty years trying to prevent this day."
"But if Leo completes the transfer..."
"The Council will never stop hunting your family."
Marcus's face hardened.
"What are you saying?"
Arthur met his eyes.
"I'm saying..."
"...you may have to choose between saving your son..."
May you like
"...or saving the world."
End of Chapter 14
