Chapter 10: Subject Zero
The echo of the steel door rolled through the underground chamber.
It wasn't the creak of old hinges.
It was the deep, mechanical sound of a security vault unlocking.
CLANG...
The vibration traveled through the stone floor.
Dust drifted from the ceiling.
Every flashlight beam instinctively turned toward the dark tunnel at the far end of the archive.
No one spoke.
Even Victor Sinclair had gone silent.
Richard broke the silence first.
"What did Lucas mean?"
Victor didn't answer.
Richard stepped closer.
"What is Subject Zero?"
Victor looked older than he had only minutes before.
His shoulders sagged.
"The greatest mistake we ever made."
Dr. Brooks shook his head.
"No."
"The greatest mistake was believing you had the right to experiment on children."
Victor closed his eyes.
"You're right."
Richard's patience snapped.
He grabbed Victor by the front of his jacket.
"My father is dead."
"Three children lost their lives."
"My family has been built on lies."
"So tell me the truth."
Victor looked him straight in the eye.
"The truth..."
"...is worse than you think."
He gently removed Richard's hand from his jacket.
"Project Legacy didn't begin seven years ago."
"It began..."
"...twenty-eight years ago."
The room fell silent.
Margaret frowned.
"There were other children?"
Victor nodded.
"Many."
"Some were raised by wealthy families."
"Some by ordinary families."
"Some disappeared into foster care."
"And all of them were watched."
Emily looked confused.
"Why?"
Victor's voice softened.
"Because someone believed they could predict the future."
Richard frowned.
"Through children?"
"Through choices."
Victor walked toward one of the filing cabinets.
"They wanted to answer a single question."
He pulled out an old photograph.
"What makes a human being?"
He placed it on the table.
"Genes?"
He laid down another.
"Money?"
Another.
"Love?"
Another.
"Pain?"
Soon the tabletop was covered with photographs of children from different decades.
Every one had been observed.
Every one had a file.
Every one had a code number.
Emily stared at them.
"So many..."
Victor nodded.
"Too many."
Sophia quietly stepped beside Emily.
"Did they watch us every day?"
Victor answered honestly.
"Almost."
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
"Even at school?"
"Yes."
"On Christmas?"
"...Yes."
"When I was sick?"
Victor couldn't bring himself to answer.
His silence was enough.
Sophia hugged Emily tightly.
For the first time, neither girl cared who had grown up rich or poor.
They were both victims.
One of the guards suddenly shouted.
"Sir!"
Everyone turned.
He had discovered another hidden compartment beneath the desk.
Inside...
was a leather-bound journal.
Its cover bore no title.
Only one name.
Arthur Sinclair.
Richard opened it carefully.
The first pages described research notes.
Psychological observations.
Medical data.
Nothing unusual compared to the files already scattered across the room.
Then...
halfway through...
Arthur's handwriting changed.
The neat script became hurried.
Uneven.
Almost frantic.
Richard read aloud.
"They've crossed the line."
Another page.
"I never agreed to this."
Another.
"The children must never know."
Another.
"Victor still believes the project can be controlled."
Victor lowered his head.
Richard turned another page.
Then stopped.
The ink was smeared, as though written in a hurry.
The final complete entry read:
"Subject Zero is still alive."
Every eye turned toward Victor.
"You knew."
Richard's voice was barely audible.
Victor nodded once.
"I suspected."
"You lied."
"Yes."
Emily quietly asked,
"Who is Subject Zero?"
Victor looked at her with genuine sorrow.
"The first child."
"The first experiment."
"The one everything else was built upon."
Sophia frowned.
"How old is he?"
Victor answered after a long pause.
"Thirty-five."
A chill swept through the archive.
Thirty-five years.
Someone had lived inside the project for three decades.
Then...
the old tape recorder clicked by itself.
No one touched it.
Arthur's recorded voice returned.
Weak.
Distorted.
"If this recording activates..."
"...then Victor has failed."
Victor looked up sharply.
"I never heard this part."
Arthur continued.
"Subject Zero isn't hiding."
"He's waiting."
"For what?"
Emily whispered.
As though answering her directly across time, Arthur's voice said,
"For the family reunion."
Silence.
Richard slowly looked at Emily.
Then Sophia.
Then the empty hallway where Lucas had disappeared.
Three children.
A reunion.
But Arthur had said...
family.
Suddenly, the security monitors lit up again.
Not with Lucas.
With live footage.
The ballroom upstairs.
Guests were screaming.
Security guards were running.
One of the crystal chandeliers had crashed to the floor.
Another monitor showed the front gates opening by themselves.
Black SUVs rolled onto the estate.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Richard frowned.
"Who are they?"
Victor's expression turned to horror.
"They're not supposed to be here."
The convoy stopped outside the manor.
Doors opened in perfect synchronization.
Men and women dressed in black stepped out.
No insignias.
No logos.
No expressions.
One woman looked directly into the security camera.
Then smiled.
Victor whispered a name he hadn't spoken in years.
"Dr. Eleanor Voss..."
Dr. Brooks looked stunned.
"She's alive?"
Victor nodded slowly.
"She founded Project Legacy."
Richard stared at the screen.
"You said Arthur designed it."
"He did."
"But Eleanor Voss..."
Victor swallowed.
"...created it."
The camera zoomed in automatically.
Dr. Voss looked directly into the lens, as though she knew everyone below was watching.
She spoke only one sentence.
"Bring me the children."
The feed went black.
The archive fell into absolute silence.
Then...
from somewhere deep behind the steel vault that had opened moments earlier...
came slow, deliberate footsteps.
Not running.
Not hiding.
Walking.
Closer.
Emily looked into the darkness.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"He found us."
Richard turned toward her.
"Who?"
Emily answered with complete certainty.
May you like
"My brother."
End of Chapter 10
