Chapter 3 - THE SAFE ROOMThe safe room was hidden beneath Blackwell House.
Rhea would never have guessed it existed.
There were no visible doors.
No keypad.
No handle.
Ezra placed his mechanical fingers against the side of a stone wall.
A quiet click sounded.
Part of the wall moved.
Inside was a reinforced chamber containing weapons, computers, medical equipment, emergency supplies, and enough food to survive for weeks.
Rhea stared.
"You built a bunker."
"My father did."
"Why?"
"Because he didn't trust anyone."
She looked at him.
"Not even Gregor?"
"Especially Gregor."
Ezra walked to a monitor.
Security feeds covered the screen.
Every angle of the property was visible.
"The sniper is gone."
"How?"
"He had an extraction route."
Rhea wrapped her arms around herself.
"People have died because of me."
"No."
"They're after me."
"They're after something you represent."
"What does that mean?"
Ezra didn't answer.
Instead, he opened a file.
Inside was an old photograph.
A woman stood beside a young Ezra.
Beside her was another little boy.
Rhea stared.
"Gus?"
Ezra nodded.
"Your brother knew my family."
Rhea stepped closer.
"My brother knew your father?"
"Yes."
She looked at the photograph again.
"How?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"My father kept secrets from everyone."
Ezra opened another file.
There was a handwritten note.
The ink was faded.
Rhea read it.
The Connolly boy must never remember what he saw.
Her stomach turned.
"What did Gus see?"
Ezra's face hardened.
"I don't know."
Rhea pointed at the photograph.
"Then why is he in this picture?"
"Because he was here."
"When?"
"Seventeen years ago."
Rhea shook her head.
"My brother was nine."
Ezra said nothing.
"Why would your father have a nine-year-old child inside this house?"
"That's what we're going to find out."
A sound came from the ventilation system.
Rhea looked up.
"Did you hear that?"
Ezra raised his gun.
Another sound.
Metal scraping.
Then silence.
Ezra motioned for her to stay back.
He reached for the vent.
A small object dropped through the opening.
A USB drive.
Rhea stared at it.
Ezra examined the label.
There was only a single word.
RHEA.
Her mouth went dry.
"I didn't put that there."
"I know."
Ezra connected it to an isolated computer.
A video opened.
A man appeared on screen.
Rhea didn't recognize him.
Ezra did.
His face went pale.
"Who is that?"
"My father."
The video was old.
Ezra Blackwell Sr. sat behind a desk.
He looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, I'm dead."
Rhea felt chills.
The older man continued.
"Ezra, if you survived the explosion, then they failed to kill you."
Ezra stared.
"Gregor will tell you the attack was meant for someone else."
A pause.
"It wasn't."
Rhea leaned closer.
"The explosion was designed to destroy the evidence stored in your vehicle."
Ezra's expression tightened.
"Evidence of what?"
His father's voice answered.
"Project Lazarus."
The screen flickered.
Rhea looked at Ezra.
"What's Project Lazarus?"
His father continued.
"A private program involving Blackwell Holdings, government contractors, and illegal medical experimentation."
Rhea's blood ran cold.
"I built the program."
Ezra's jaw tightened.
"But when I discovered what they were doing, I tried to destroy it."
The recording crackled.
"Gregor stopped me."
Then the screen changed.
Photographs appeared.
Medical files.
Patients.
Names.
Children.
Rhea's breath caught.
She recognized one of the hospitals.
"It can't be."
Ezra looked at her.
"What?"
"That hospital."
"What about it?"
"I trained there."
The video continued.
"One child survived the final trial."
A photograph appeared.
The image showed a little boy.
Rhea froze.
She knew that face.
Not from the hospital.
From home.
It was Gus.
Her brother.
The video ended.
Silence filled the room.
Rhea couldn't breathe.
"Gus was part of Project Lazarus."
Ezra stared at the screen.
Then a hidden message appeared.
THE BOY REMEMBERS.
A second line appeared.
THE GIRL DOES TOO.
Rhea's heart stopped.
"No."
Ezra turned toward her.
"What?"
"My memories."
"What about them?"
"I don't remember anything from when I was six."
Ezra stared.
"When did your memories become clear?"
Rhea shook her head.
"After the accident."
"What accident?"
She looked at him.
"The one that killed our parents."
Ezra went completely still.
Rhea whispered:
"My parents didn't die in an accident."
The door to the safe room suddenly slammed.
Someone was outside.
Ezra raised his weapon.
A voice came through the steel.
Gregor.
"Ezra."
Rhea's pulse exploded.
Gregor continued.
"You finally opened the room."
Ezra's eyes narrowed.
"How did you get inside?"
Gregor laughed softly.
"Because I designed it."
The locks began to release.
Rhea looked at Ezra.
"He built your safe room."
Ezra stared at the door.
Then the first lock clicked open.
And another.
And another.
Gregor's voice became colder.
"Time to remember, Rhea."
May you like
The final lock released.
The door began to open.
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