Chapter 8 - The BrotherDaniel stood before me.
Alive.
Unarmed.
Smiling.
“No.”
I stepped backward.
“You're here.”
“Yes.”
“But Marcus…”
“Was another name.”
The man I'd known as my brother looked almost amused.
Grandmother closed her eyes.
Admiral Reed raised his weapon.
“Daniel Vale.”
Daniel lifted his hands.
“Careful, Admiral.”
“You have nowhere to go.”
Daniel smiled.
“I have everywhere to go.”
He looked at me.
“I've been waiting seven years for this.”
I stared.
“You tried to kill me.”
“No.”
“You sold my authorization.”
“Yes.”
“You put me on that ship.”
“Yes.”
“So what part of that isn't trying to kill me?”
Daniel's smile disappeared.
“I tried to stop Helix.”
I laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I needed money.”
“You betrayed me.”
“Yes.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“But I never ordered your death.”
He looked at Father.
“He did.”
Father stepped forward.
“Daniel.”
Daniel turned toward him.
“You should have told her.”
Father whispered.
“She wouldn't have believed you.”
“She doesn't believe any of us now.”
He was right.
Daniel reached into his coat.
Reed aimed instantly.
“Slowly.”
Daniel removed a drive.
“I stole this from Helix.”
He tossed it onto the table.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The original subject file.”
“For me?”
“For Vivian.”
My stomach tightened.
I picked it up.
“What is Vivian?”
Daniel stared at me.
“The first successful artificial replacement.”
I shook my head.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“She was created from your mother's DNA.”
I looked at Grandmother.
She nodded.
My world fractured.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You raised her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Grandmother's face hardened.
“Because the real Vivian died.”
Silence.
I remembered my sister.
Her smile.
Her cruelty.
Her obsession with Father's approval.
Suddenly everything looked different.
“How?”
“Disease.”
Grandmother spoke softly.
“When she was five.”
“And you replaced her?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Grandmother looked at Daniel.
He answered.
“Helix.”
My knees weakened.
“They cloned her?”
“Not exactly.”
Daniel explained.
“They recreated her genetic profile.”
“Why?”
“To test whether personality could be reproduced.”
I stared at him.
“Was it?”
Daniel's face fell.
“No.”
“Then what am I looking at?”
He whispered:
“A person shaped by other people's expectations.”
I thought about Vivian.
She'd never simply hated me.
She'd feared me.
Because my existence disproved her identity.
I heard footsteps behind us.
Vivian entered the chamber.
She was pale.
She had heard everything.
“No.”
Grandmother looked at her.
“It's time.”
Vivian stared at me.
“Tell her.”
I couldn't speak.
Vivian stepped forward.
“I know.”
Her voice trembled.
“I've known for years.”
I looked at her.
“Why did you hate me?”
Tears appeared in her eyes.
“Because you were real.”
The answer cut deeper than any insult.
“You had memories.”
“You had Mother's face.”
“You had everything I was supposed to have.”
She wiped her eyes.
“And everyone kept telling me I wasn't enough.”
I said nothing.
Vivian stepped closer.
“I thought if I erased you, I would finally become their daughter.”
I looked toward Father.
“You knew.”
He nodded.
“You let her believe it.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
“You destroyed both of us.”
He lowered his head.
“Yes.”
The countdown on the monitor reached one minute.
Daniel looked at it.
“We're out of time.”
Reed turned.
“What happens at zero?”
Daniel answered.
“Every copy of Helix's data is transmitted.”
“To whom?”
“The network.”
“And what does it contain?”
He looked at me.
“The identities of every operative.”
My blood turned cold.
“Then we destroy it.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Too late.”
The countdown hit ten seconds.
Then the screen went black.
Nothing happened.
I looked at Daniel.
“What now?”
He smiled.
“Now they know we're here.”
An alert appeared.
PHASE TWO ACTIVE.
Then another message.
ELENA VALE: TERMINATION AUTHORIZED.
Outside, engines roared.
Dozens of vehicles approached the estate.
Admiral Reed loaded his weapon.
“How many?”
Daniel looked at the radar.
“Enough to kill everyone in this room.”
I tightened my grip.
“Then we make sure they regret coming.”
He looked at me.
For the first time in seven years, my brother and I stood on the same side.
But I had one question left.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“Who is the man behind Helix?”
Daniel looked toward my father.
Then he whispered:
“Our president.”
May you like
I stared at him.
And somewhere above us, the first helicopter opened fire.
