Chapter 11 - THE CHILDREN UNDER THE LAKEThe Secret Was Bigger Than One FamilySylvester lowered himself into the chamber.
Anna was alive.
She had landed on a narrow platform.
The walls were covered in photographs.
Children.
Dozens.
Some infants.
Some teenagers.
Different names.
Same facial features.
Same eyes.
Same genetic markers.
Anna picked up one photograph.
A little girl.
The label read:
SUBJECT 14.
Another:
SUBJECT 22.
Another:
SUBJECT 31.
She looked at Sylvester.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
A speaker clicked on.
Daniel's voice.
"Forty-three."
Sylvester turned.
"Daniel?"
"I've been trying to stop them."
"Where is Noah?"
A pause.
"Alive."
"Where?"
"You're standing above him."
Sylvester looked down.
Beneath the platform was another glass floor.
A room below.
Noah was there.
Bound to a chair.
A man stood behind him.
Sylvester recognized the man.
His own security chief.
Raymond.
"Raymond."
The security chief looked up.
"Sorry."
Sylvester's fists tightened.
"You worked for Victor."
"No."
"Then who?"
Raymond looked at Noah.
"I work for the board."
Sylvester stared.
"Why?"
"Because the board believes the family trust should never be controlled by one person."
"You're kidnapping children over money?"
Raymond shook his head.
"You still think this is about money."
He pointed to the wall.
"The trust controls something much larger."
He activated a projector.
A map appeared.
Biometric databases.
Private security systems.
Medical registries.
Financial networks.
Everything connected.
Raymond said:
"The original trust was used to establish a private intelligence network."
Sylvester's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
"Your father believed governments were becoming too powerful."
"So he built his own?"
"Yes."
"And you want it?"
"No."
Raymond looked toward Noah.
"We want the person who can access it."
Sylvester understood.
"The twins."
Raymond nodded.
"Only a specific genetic combination can unlock the network."
Anna stepped forward.
"You."
She pointed at Noah.
"Noah carries one key."
Raymond shook his head.
"Wrong."
Anna looked confused.
"I carry the second."
"Still wrong."
He pointed toward the ceiling.
"Daniel carries the third."
Silence.
Sylvester suddenly understood.
Three children.
Three genetic signatures.
Three keys.
One system.
The entire family had been manipulated because they were components of a security mechanism created before any of them were born.
Sylvester asked:
"Where's the network?"
Raymond smiled.
"Under the lake."
Before he could continue, the chamber door opened.
Victor appeared.
He had survived.
And beside him was a woman.
Sylvester stared.
His heart stopped.
It was his wife.
Another one.
Same face.
Same voice.
Same scars.
Anna looked between them.
"Mom?"
The first woman appeared beside Sylvester.
The second woman stepped down the stairs.
Victor smiled.
"Now you understand."
Sylvester looked at both women.
"Which one is my wife?"
Neither spoke.
The second woman walked toward him.
"You know me."
The first woman shouted:
"Don't touch him!"
Victor laughed.
"Project Mirror wasn't just about children."
Sylvester stepped backward.
"They made copies."
"Not copies."
Victor corrected.
"Identities."
The second woman reached into her pocket.
She removed the same silver pendant Anna wore.
"I was the original."
The first woman shook her head.
"No."
The second woman smiled.
"You were the replacement."
Sylvester stared.
One of them was lying.
One was telling the truth.
And Noah was still trapped below.
Then Daniel's voice came through the speaker.
"Don't choose either one."
Sylvester looked up.
Daniel appeared on the monitor.
"Because neither of them is your wife."
The two women turned toward the screen.
Daniel continued:
"I know who she really is."
Victor's smile disappeared.
"Kill the cameras."
The screen went black.
A second later, every light in the chamber turned red.
May you like
And the doors began locking.
One by one.
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