Chapter 10 - Subject OneEthan’s mother looked exhausted.
But she was still standing.
“My name is Eleanor Caldwell,” she said through the glass. “And I owe you the truth.”
Ethan placed his palm against the glass.
“Start with my father.”
Eleanor shook her head.
“Your father didn't create Somnus.”
“Then who did?”
“I did.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She closed her eyes.
“To treat trauma.”
He said nothing.
“It started as a medical breakthrough,” she continued. “A way to reduce traumatic memory without destroying identity.”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“That became Somnus.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Then why did it become a weapon?”
“My husband wanted it to.”
Ethan clenched his jaw.
“He forced you?”
“At first.”
She looked directly at him.
“Then I became afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“That if I stopped, he would use it on you.”
Ethan froze.
“Me?”
“You were eight.”
His voice cracked.
“What did he do?”
Eleanor looked away.
“He began using small doses.”
Claire covered her mouth.
Ethan's memories came flooding back.
Childhood headaches.
Long naps.
Forgetting school lessons.
The strange dreams.
He had always thought he was a sick child.
He wasn't.
He had been the first subject.
Eleanor whispered,
“You survived.”
“But I was exposed.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because I found a way to reverse most of the effects.”
“Most?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Not all.”
Ethan's stomach turned.
“What happens now?”
“You've been exposed again.”
“By Claire?”
“No.”
Eleanor's eyes moved toward the ceiling.
“By Dr. Pierce.”
Ethan remembered the countless cups of tea.
The medications.
The appointments.
All of it.
Claire stepped closer.
“Ethan…”
He turned to her.
“Did you know about my childhood?”
“Yes.”
“You knew.”
“I knew some of it.”
“How much?”
“Enough to understand why Hale was watching you.”
Ethan’s voice became bitter.
“And you still stayed.”
Claire's eyes filled with tears.
“I stayed because I loved you.”
He looked at her.
“I don't know what love means anymore.”
Suddenly the speaker came alive.
Hale's voice.
“Enough family reunion.”
The door behind Claire opened.
Dr. Pierce entered.
He held a syringe.
Ethan stepped forward.
“Stay away from me.”
Pierce smiled.
“You've already had the first dose.”
Ethan's blood went cold.
Pierce lifted the syringe.
“This one will make sure you never remember this room.”
Claire moved in front of Ethan.
“No.”
Pierce pointed the syringe toward her.
“You have already failed.”
Daniel raised his gun.
“Put it down.”
Pierce smiled.
“You're missing one detail.”
He pressed a button.
The glass wall beside Eleanor darkened.
A second chamber appeared.
Inside was a man.
Ethan stared.
The man looked older.
Weak.
Sedated.
But unmistakably familiar.
Ethan whispered,
“Dad?”
May you like
Victor Hale’s voice came over the speaker.
“Welcome to the real family, Ethan.”
