CHAPTER 14: THE DNA FILE
Silence swallowed the control room.
Victor stared at the black monitor long after Arthur Harris disappeared.
His mind refused to accept what he had just heard.
The real Emma died the night she was born.
No.
It had to be another lie.
Another psychological trap.
That was how the Twelve operated.
They never attacked the body first.
They attacked certainty.
If Victor began doubting everyone he loved...
They had already won.
Catherine Blackwood calmly poured herself a cup of tea.
"You look troubled."
Victor slowly turned toward her.
"Was Harris telling the truth?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she asked a question.
"Do you know why lies survive longer than facts?"
Victor remained silent.
"Because facts require proof."
"Lies only require fear."
She placed the teacup down.
"So..."
"Find your proof."
Victor looked around the control room.
Rows of encrypted servers.
Medical archives.
Biometric databases.
If the Twelve had manipulated births...
There would be records.
He rushed toward the central terminal.
The screen requested administrator access.
Catherine watched without interfering.
"You won't get in."
Victor glanced at her.
"You need my fingerprint."
She extended her hand.
Victor frowned.
"You're helping me?"
She smiled.
"I'm curious."
"About what?"
"Whether your grandfather's blood still chooses truth over comfort."
The scanner accepted her fingerprint.
The archive unlocked.
Thousands of classified files appeared.
Victor searched one word.
EMMA
Hundreds of results.
He narrowed the date.
Sixteen years earlier.
Only one file remained.
Its status was marked:
LEVEL OMEGA
Victor opened it.
A warning filled the screen.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS WILL BE RECORDED
He ignored it.
The medical report loaded.
SUBJECT A
Female.
Born 2:14 A.M.
Mother: Elena Blackwood.
Status...
Victor stopped reading.
His hands trembled.
The report clearly stated:
Healthy. Stable.
Not deceased.
He scrolled further.
Another file appeared beneath it.
SUBJECT B
Female.
Approximate age: newborn.
Parents: Unknown.
Status:
Replacement Candidate.
Victor's breathing became uneven.
Replacement.
The word itself felt inhuman.
The report continued.
Subject A removed from maternity ward.
Subject B placed in identical incubator.
Victor felt sick.
There really had been another baby.
A child stolen.
Another child inserted into her place.
He looked at Catherine.
"You replaced my daughter."
Catherine nodded without shame.
"For eleven minutes."
Victor frowned.
"What?"
"Read the final page."
He scrolled.
The last page had been signed by...
Elena Blackwood.
Victor's eyes widened.
No.
It couldn't be.
He read every line.
Subject exchange interrupted.
Mother regained consciousness unexpectedly.
Elena Blackwood identified replacement infant immediately.
Operation failed.
Victor's heartbeat accelerated.
He kept reading.
Subject A recovered.
Replacement infant removed.
Victor stared.
His daughter...
Had not been replaced.
The operation had failed.
Harris had lied.
Again.
Victor laughed.
A quiet, exhausted laugh.
"They're still trying."
Catherine tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
Victor looked directly at her.
"They need me to doubt Emma."
"They need me to push her away."
He closed the file.
"I'm done believing anything they say."
For the first time...
Catherine's expression changed.
A tiny smile appeared.
"Good."
Victor frowned.
"You wanted me to find this."
She nodded.
"Your grandfather once told me..."
She looked out the window toward the hidden tunnels.
"...the only Blackwood capable of destroying the Twelve..."
"...would be the one who questioned everyone."
"Even himself."
An alarm suddenly interrupted them.
CRITICAL ALERT
VAULT CORE BREACHED
Victor's blood ran cold.
The countdown dropped rapidly.
18:22
18:21
The timer had skipped more than ten minutes.
"What happened?"
Catherine checked another monitor.
Her face finally lost all composure.
"Hartman."
The live feed switched to the Vault.
Hartman stood beside Elena.
His pistol rested against her temple.
But that wasn't the terrifying part.
He had connected dozens of explosive charges around the AI core.
Victor whispered,
"No..."
Hartman smiled directly into the camera.
"Victor."
"I've grown tired of secrets."
Victor glared at him.
"What do you want?"
Hartman looked almost disappointed.
"I wanted perfection."
He gently touched the central server.
"But perfection keeps choosing love."
He looked at Elena.
"She chose her children."
He looked at Victor.
"You chose your family."
He laughed.
"I should've eliminated all of you years ago."
Victor turned to Catherine.
"Can we stop him?"
She answered honestly.
"No."
"If those explosives detonate..."
"The entire underground complex collapses."
Victor looked at the countdown.
17:39
Too little time.
Too much distance.
Suddenly...
Emma's voice echoed through the control room radio.
"Dad!"
Victor grabbed the microphone.
"Emma!"
"We're at the western tunnel!"
"Serena..."
Her voice cracked.
"...she's still alive."
Victor closed his eyes in relief.
"Listen carefully."
"Hartman's inside the Vault."
"I know."
Emma's breathing steadied.
"That's why I'm going there."
"No!"
Victor shouted.
"Stay away from him!"
Emma answered quietly.
"I've spent sixteen years running."
"I'm done."
The transmission cut off.
Victor ran for the exit.
Catherine called after him.
"If you follow her..."
"You'll both die."
Victor didn't stop.
Without looking back, he answered:
"Then we'll die as a family."
He disappeared into the tunnel.
Catherine remained alone.
She stared at an old photograph hidden inside her desk drawer.
It showed a much younger version of herself.
Standing beside Victor's grandfather.
Both smiling.
Tears quietly rolled down her face.
She whispered to the empty room:
"I hope... you were right."
Deep inside the Vault...
Hartman tightened his grip on Elena.
The countdown reached:
15:00
Footsteps echoed through the darkness.
Hartman smiled.
"Right on time."
He expected Victor.
Instead...
Emma stepped into the light alone.
She raised her pistol.
"I came."
Hartman laughed.
"I knew you would."
Emma's hands didn't shake.
"You wanted me."
"Leave them out of this."
Hartman nodded approvingly.
"Still willing to sacrifice yourself."
Emma frowned.
"What?"
Hartman looked at Elena.
Then back at Emma.
"She never told you."
Elena suddenly screamed,
"EMMA, DON'T LISTEN!"
Too late.
Hartman smiled.
"The reason Elena recognized you..."
"...wasn't because you replaced her daughter."
Emma's heart pounded.
Hartman spoke slowly.
Carefully.
Each word landing like a knife.
"She recognized you..."
"...because you're my daughter."
Emma's pistol slipped from her hand.
May you like
The metallic sound echoed through the Vault.
END OF CHAPTER 14
