Chapter 7 - Beneath the MansionAdrian led them through a hidden staircase behind the library.
The stairs descended far deeper than Victor had imagined.
One floor.
Two.
Three.
Then four.
The walls changed from stone to reinforced steel.
Lily stared at the surveillance equipment.
“He built a city underneath the mansion.”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
They reached a massive underground chamber.
Rows of computers filled the room.
Files were stacked to the ceiling.
And in the center stood a glass enclosure.
Inside was a single chair.
Blood stained the floor.
Victor recognized it immediately.
“Evelyn.”
Adrian nodded.
“She was tortured here.”
Victor’s fists clenched.
“What happened?”
Adrian looked away.
“She found out about the trust.”
Victor studied the monitors.
One folder contained medical files.
Another contained financial records.
A third was labeled:
CHILD SELECTION
Victor opened it.
Photographs appeared.
Ethan.
Adrian.
Two other children.
Victor stared.
“There were four.”
“Yes.”
“Where are the others?”
“Dead.”
Lily covered her mouth.
Adrian continued.
“Your grandfather spent decades trying to engineer the perfect heir.”
Victor looked at him.
“Engineer?”
“He manipulated marriages. Birth records. Medical treatments.”
He tapped the screen.
“You were part of the experiment.”
Victor stared.
“I never agreed to this.”
“You were never supposed to know.”
A sound came from behind them.
Clapping.
Slow.
Measured.
Victor turned.
His father stepped from the shadows.
Older than before.
But very much alive.
“You always were clever, Adrian.”
Adrian faced him.
“You’re finished.”
His grandfather smiled.
“I built you.”
“No.”
“I made you.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“I saved you.”
Victor stepped between them.
“Enough.”
His father looked at him.
“Victor.”
“You killed Evelyn.”
“No.”
Victor raised his gun.
“Then who did?”
His father smiled.
“You did.”
Victor froze.
“What?”
“Evelyn was preparing to expose the family. You argued with her the night she died.”
“I didn’t kill her.”
“I know.”
The old man walked closer.
“She was killed by someone wearing your clothes.”
Victor’s face went pale.
Adrian looked at the screen.
“Wait.”
A security recording appeared.
A man entered Evelyn’s room.
He wore Victor’s suit.
Same height.
Same build.
Same face.
Victor stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Adrian zoomed in.
The face was blurred.
But the man turned toward the camera.
For one second, his face became clear.
Victor.
Identical.
Lily whispered:
“There are two of you.”
Victor stared at his father.
“What did you do?”
The old man smiled.
“Now you’re finally asking the right question.”
Then the lights exploded.
Gunfire filled the chamber.
Victor pulled Lily behind a steel pillar.
Adrian disappeared into the smoke.
And when the shooting stopped, Victor’s father was gone.
So was Adrian.
Only one thing remained on the floor.
A photograph.
Victor picked it up.
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On the back was a handwritten sentence:
THE THIRD BROTHER IS STILL ALIVE.
