CHAPTER 4 – THE EXPERIMENT FILE
CHAPTER 4 – THE EXPERIMENT FILE
"I've never been in that program," I whispered.
Marco shook his head.
"You were."
He enlarged the screen.
Age: Five years old.
Status: Subject transferred.
Unknown Guardian Authorization.
"What is this?"
"I don't know."
Dominic's face had gone pale.
"I do."
Every eye turned toward him.
"My father."
The words landed like a bomb.
"He invested in medical research years before he built his criminal empire."
"You think he started this?"
"I think he paid for it."
Marco opened another encrypted folder.
Most of the files had been deleted.
Only fragments remained.
One sentence survived.
Project Genesis: Children with compatible genetic profiles will become Phase Two.
"What does that even mean?"
No one answered.
Then Dominic slowly reached for the envelope my mother had left behind.
"It's time."
He carefully opened the brittle paper.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Not to me.
To him.
Dominic,
If you're reading this, Elena is gone... and so am I.
They discovered what we found inside Saint Catherine Hospital.
The children were never patients. They were inventory.
We copied enough evidence to destroy Apex, but we had only seconds before they found us.
I split the evidence into two vaults.
One key stayed with you.
The second stayed with my daughter.
Protect her, because once they realize who she is... they will hunt her harder than they hunt you.
My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped the letter.
"My mother knew his wife?"
Dominic nodded slowly.
"They were friends."
"No."
"They became partners."
Everything I believed about my mother's quiet life unraveled in seconds.
She hadn't died because of unpaid medical bills.
She had died because she uncovered something worth killing for.
Marco suddenly looked toward the warehouse windows.
"Boss..."
Headlights.
At least a dozen.
Black SUVs surrounded the building from every direction.
"They found us already?"
"No."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"They never lost us."
Floodlights ignited outside.
A voice boomed through loudspeakers.
"Dominic Moretti!"
"You have one minute."
"Return the twins."
"And surrender Emily Bennett."
I stared at Dominic.
"They know my name."
He looked toward the sleeping babies.
"No."
"They know exactly who you really are."
Before I could ask what he meant...
Marco slowly raised his pistol.
Not toward the doors.
Toward me.
"I'm sorry, Boss," he said, his voice breaking.
"They have my daughter."
Dominic's eyes widened.
"What have you done?"
Marco lowered his head.
May you like
"I told them where to find us."
The warehouse doors exploded inward.
