Chapter 6 - DanielMaria screamed when she saw the man.
“Daniel?”
The stranger lowered the gun.
“Maria.”
Her knees nearly gave out.
Ethan immediately moved between them.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at him.
“Daniel Alvarez.”
Maria began crying.
“That’s impossible.”
“I know.”
Daniel looked exhausted.
There was a scar across his jaw and another over his left eyebrow.
“But I didn't die.”
Ethan's mind raced.
“The hospital record?”
“Faked.”
“Why?”
Daniel looked toward Claire.
“She knows.”
Claire stared at him.
“I thought you were dead.”
“So did everyone.”
“Who did this?”
Daniel's expression darkened.
“Your father's people.”
Ethan felt his stomach tighten.
“My father’s dead.”
“That doesn't mean his work died with him.”
Daniel stepped inside.
“I found evidence eight months ago.”
“Evidence of what?”
“A program called Somnus.”
The word seemed to echo through the room.
“What is Somnus?”
“A chemical protocol designed to create temporary compliance.”
Ethan thought of the symptoms.
Fatigue.
Memory loss.
Weakness.
Sleepiness.
“It can make someone appear naturally ill,” Daniel continued. “But with repeated exposure…”
“They become easier to control.”
Ethan stared at the blue cup.
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
Maria looked at him.
“You drank it.”
Daniel looked away.
“They put it in my coffee.”
“Who?”
“People working for someone inside this house.”
Everyone fell silent.
Ethan's eyes moved to Claire.
Daniel saw it.
“No.”
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
“Don't make that mistake.”
Daniel nodded toward Claire.
“She isn't the one you need to fear.”
Claire looked relieved for one second.
Then Daniel added:
“She's working for the wrong man.”
Ethan stiffened.
“Who?”
Daniel reached into his coat and pulled out a photograph.
A man stood beside Ethan’s father.
The man was older.
Silver hair.
Cold eyes.
Ethan recognized him.
Victor Hale.
His father's business partner.
The man who had taken over part of Caldwell Industries after Ethan’s father's death.
“The chairman?”
Daniel nodded.
“Victor Hale has been running Somnus for years.”
Ethan shook his head.
“He’s seventy-two.”
“And?”
“Why would he care about me?”
Daniel looked directly at him.
“Because your father hid something before he died.”
“What?”
“The formula.”
Ethan felt a cold wave move through him.
“What formula?”
“The permanent version.”
Claire whispered,
“Oh God.”
Daniel looked at her.
“You knew.”
“I knew there was a formula.”
“You knew what it could do.”
“I never knew where it was.”
Ethan looked between them.
“What does this have to do with Grace?”
Daniel's face hardened.
“She found the formula.”
“And?”
“She planned to expose Hale.”
“What happened?”
Daniel didn't answer.
Ethan grabbed his collar.
“What happened to my wife?”
Daniel met his eyes.
“Hale ordered her killed.”
Ethan stopped breathing.
“Who carried out the order?”
Daniel looked toward Claire.
“She did.”
Ethan turned slowly.
Claire's face had gone white.
“No.”
Daniel's voice remained calm.
“Claire was in the car.”
Ethan stared at her.
“You told me you weren't there.”
“I didn't kill her.”
“You were there.”
“I was trying to save her.”
Daniel nodded.
“She tried.”
Then he reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a small memory card.
“Grace gave me this.”
Ethan took it.
“What is it?”
Daniel's eyes met his.
“The video Hale didn't want you to see.”
Ethan inserted the card into the laptop.
The screen turned black.
Then a voice played.
His father’s voice.
“If Ethan ever finds this, tell him one thing.”
A pause.
“His mother wasn't the first subject.”
Another pause.
“She was the woman who helped me create Somnus.”
Ethan staggered backward.
“My mother?”
Then the voice continued.
“She was the first person we tested it on.”
And suddenly Ethan remembered something from childhood.
His mother had spent years sleeping behind locked doors.
Everyone had called it depression.
May you like
But maybe…
she had never been sick at all.
