CHAPTER 7 — Subject Zero
CHAPTER 7 — Subject Zero
Darkness swallowed the terminal.
Emergency lights flickered red across the floor as frightened passengers searched for loved ones.
The triplets began crying.
I pulled them close.
"It's okay," I whispered, even though I didn't believe it myself.
Then the airport speakers crackled again.
"Please proceed to the nearest exit..."
The normal evacuation announcement suddenly cut off.
The same child's voice returned.
"Subject Zero has been activated."
FBI agents immediately drew their weapons.
"Locate the control room!"
Within seconds, emergency generators restored part of the power.
A large monitor above the departure gates lit up.
Instead of flight information, a live video appeared.
A young man sat in a dark room, his face hidden beneath a hood.
"My name is Noah."
"For twenty-eight years, I have been known only as Subject Zero."
He slowly removed the hood.
Arthur Frost, now in FBI custody, stared in horror.
"No..."
The young man looked almost identical to Desmond.
Same eyes.
Same jawline.
Same expression.
Desmond whispered, "Who is he?"
Victoria answered before anyone else could.
"He was the first child stolen by the organization."
She turned toward me.
"They experimented on children with Frost blood."
My stomach twisted.
"The triplets aren't being hunted because of money."
"They're being hunted because someone believes their DNA is the key to continuing that program."
Noah looked directly into the camera.
"I escaped six months ago."
"I've spent every day searching for the other children."
Then his eyes met mine through the screen.
"Maya..."
"They're coming."
The video suddenly ended.
Minutes later, FBI cyber specialists traced the broadcast.
It hadn't come from outside the airport.
It came from inside.
One abandoned maintenance tunnel.
Agents rushed in.
There they found computers, surveillance equipment...
and hundreds of files.
Every file contained photographs of children.
Some were marked Recovered.
Others...
Missing.
Three files sat separately on the table.
Oliver.
Emma.
Lily.
Each had today's date.
One elderly technician hiding inside surrendered peacefully.
He confessed everything.
The secret organization had been dismantled years earlier, but a handful of former members continued operating independently.
Katherine Sterling had never been the mastermind.
She had been recruited after discovering the Frost family trust.
Ethan Vale had been paid to monitor me.
The fake custody case...
the stolen documents...
the airport rerouting...
all of it had one purpose.
Bring every member of the Frost bloodline to one place.
The FBI arrested everyone involved before sunrise.
May you like
For the first time in years...
the hunt was over.
