Chapter 9 - NoahThe boy looked at me.
I looked at him.
For a heartbeat, the hallway disappeared.
Daniel.
Not Daniel.
His son.
Noah.
Claire stepped into the room.
"Jack."
I couldn't speak.
Noah did.
"Uncle."
One word.
It nearly broke me.
He looked older than fifteen.
Not because of his face.
Because of his eyes.
His eyes belonged to someone who had seen too much.
I asked the only question I could think of.
"Where is your father?"
Noah looked down.
"Alive."
Claire closed the door.
"We don't have much time."
"Why did you fake your death?"
"Because they were watching."
"You knew I was looking."
"Daniel wanted you alive."
"For what?"
Noah answered.
"To finish what he started."
I looked at him.
"What did he start?"
Noah pulled a flash drive from his pocket.
"Proof."
"Proof of what?"
"Everything."
I took it.
"Where is Daniel?"
Noah shook his head.
"He wanted you to find us first."
"Why?"
"Because he doesn't trust himself."
I frowned.
"Explain."
Noah's voice was quiet.
"They changed him."
Claire closed her eyes.
"They used drugs. Isolation. Conditioning."
"He was their first successful subject," Noah said.
"Successful at what?"
"Obedience."
I felt sick.
"Why would they do that?"
"Because Daniel discovered how much control they had over the children."
"What did he do?"
"He sabotaged the program."
"And they punished him."
Claire nodded.
"They punished everyone around him."
I looked at Noah.
"What happened to your mother?"
She flinched.
"I'm his mother."
"I'm talking about Daniel's first wife."
Claire stared at me.
"I was his first wife."
My blood froze.
"Then who is Evan's mother?"
Claire's expression hardened.
"Someone they created."
That sentence stayed with me.
Someone they created.
Not genetically.
Identity.
A woman raised under a fake name to become part of the program.
Evan wasn't just a child.
He was evidence.
Noah inserted the flash drive into my laptop.
Thousands of documents appeared.
Financial transfers.
Birth certificates.
Hospital records.
Police reports.
Names.
Politicians.
Judges.
Doctors.
Police commanders.
People who had built careers while secretly participating in Meridian.
I scrolled.
Then stopped.
One name appeared.
Harold Vance.
Next to it:
ASSET 14.
Another name.
My mother.
ASSET 08.
And then:
JACK MILLER.
I stared.
"No."
Beside my name was a date.
The day Daniel disappeared.
And one word.
BACKUP.
"What does that mean?"
Noah looked at me.
"You weren't supposed to become a police officer."
"Then what was I supposed to become?"
"Daniel's replacement."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"He had planned for you to disappear too."
"Why?"
"Because they believed Daniel's bloodline could be controlled."
I felt dizzy.
Claire stepped closer.
"They wanted three generations."
Daniel.
His children.
And you.
"Why me?"
"Because you're the one person they could never manipulate."
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Noah stood.
"They found us."
Claire grabbed Evan.
"Move."
We ran through the service corridor.
Alarms began screaming.
Officers shouted.
A window shattered.
Gunfire.
I pushed the children ahead.
"Keep moving!"
We reached the rear exit.
A black SUV waited outside.
The driver was wearing a mask.
Noah stopped.
"It's them."
A second vehicle screeched around the corner.
We ran toward the forest.
Then someone shouted:
"JACK!"
I turned.
A figure stood among the trees.
Tall.
Thin.
Wearing a dark coat.
He lowered his hood.
My heart stopped.
Daniel.
He looked directly at me.
Then he said:
May you like
"Don't trust Noah."
And disappeared into the darkness.
