CHAPTER 7 — The Final Operation
CHAPTER 7 — The Final Operation
The police traced Richard's last call.
It came from an abandoned research facility nearly fifty miles outside the city.
By the time officers arrived...
The building was empty.
Except for one thing.
Richard's blood.
There was no body.
Only a long trail leading into the surrounding woods.
No one knew whether he had escaped...
Or been taken.
Meanwhile, Emily was running out of time.
Her blood pressure continued to fall.
Her organs were beginning to fail.
Dr. Carter gathered the surgical team.
"This operation starts in one hour."
Twenty specialists assembled.
Cardiovascular surgeons.
Pediatric surgeons.
Neurosurgeons.
Even experts from neighboring hospitals had volunteered.
No one had ever attempted anything like this.
Before they wheeled Emily toward the operating room, she opened her eyes.
"Mom?"
I leaned over immediately.
"I'm here."
She smiled weakly.
"I'm scared."
"I know."
"What if I don't wake up?"
I felt my heart breaking.
"You will."
"You have too many dreams left."
She squeezed my hand.
"Promise me something."
"Anything."
"If I make it..."
"I want to play soccer again."
My tears finally overflowed.
"You will."
"And I'll be there cheering louder than anyone."
She smiled.
Then the nurses rolled her away.
The operating room doors closed.
And all I could do...
Was wait.
Hour one.
No news.
Hour three.
Still nothing.
Hour five.
Dr. Carter finally emerged.
His surgical gown was stained with blood.
My heart nearly stopped.
"Doctor?"
He looked exhausted.
"We found it."
"What was it?"
He took a long breath.
"It wasn't alive."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"The movement wasn't caused by a creature."
"It was an experimental bio-mechanical implant."
He continued,
"It had grown around Emily's organs over fifteen years."
"It contained microscopic muscle fibers and self-contracting tissue."
"Every movement looked alive because the device responded to electrical signals from her nervous system."
I could barely process the words.
"Can you remove it?"
"We already have."
Hope flooded through me.
"But..."
He looked away.
"There were complications."
My world froze again.
"Emily lost a great deal of blood."
"She's alive."
"But the next twenty-four hours will determine everything."
I collapsed into tears of relief.
She was alive.
For the first time in weeks...
There was hope.
Then Detective Bennett rushed down the hallway.
She was carrying another evidence folder.
"We found the people behind Project Genesis."
She opened the folder.
There were photographs of wealthy investors.
Scientists.
Corporate executives.
One face immediately caught my attention.
A smiling elderly man standing beside Richard.
I recognized him instantly.
He had attended our wedding.
He had held Emily as a baby.
He had eaten dinner in our home dozens of times.
Detective Bennett looked at me gravely.
"Do you know this man?"
May you like
I whispered his name in disbelief.
"My father..."
