CHAPTER 7 — THE NIGHT CHARLOTTE'S MOTHER DIED
CHAPTER 7 — THE NIGHT CHARLOTTE'S MOTHER DIED
Charlotte fell through darkness.
There was no time to scream.
The floor vanished beneath her, and gravity took control.
She struck something hard.
Then something softer.
Then nothing.
For several seconds, she couldn't tell whether she was alive.
A ringing filled her ears.
Her body refused to move.
Then she heard water dripping somewhere nearby.
One drop.
Then another.
Then another.
Charlotte opened her eyes.
A dim red light flickered above her.
She was lying on a concrete floor.
Blood ran from her forehead.
Her shoulder burned.
But she was alive.
“Charlotte!”
Lucas's voice.
She turned.
He was climbing down through the opening above her.
“Are you hurt?”
“My shoulder.”
“Can you stand?”
“I think so.”
Lucas helped her up.
Charlotte looked around.
The room was enormous.
Concrete walls.
Old pipes.
Rusting steel doors.
Rows of abandoned equipment.
It looked less like a hotel basement and more like a forgotten underground facility.
Then Charlotte noticed the walls.
Photographs.
Hundreds of them.
Children.
Adults.
Families.
Every photograph had a number beneath it.
She stepped closer.
“Lucas…”
He stared at the photographs.
“Oh God.”
Charlotte touched one.
A little girl smiled at the camera.
Beneath her:
SUBJECT 014 — DECEASED
Charlotte's stomach turned.
Another photograph.
SUBJECT 027 — TRANSFERRED
Another.
SUBJECT 031 — MISSING
She turned toward Lucas.
“This is the laboratory.”
He nodded.
“The original one.”
Charlotte's voice shook.
“How many people were here?”
Lucas didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
Then a speaker crackled overhead.
Static.
A woman's breathing.
Charlotte froze.
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then Evelyn's voice.
“Charlotte.”
Charlotte ran toward the nearest speaker.
“Mom! Where are you?”
“Don't come looking for me.”
“Where are you?”
“Below you.”
Charlotte looked at the floor.
“What?”
“I'm below you.”
Lucas stared at the concrete.
“There are more levels.”
Evelyn continued.
“You have to leave.”
Charlotte shook her head.
“I'm not leaving you again.”
A long pause.
Then her mother whispered:
“You already did.”
Charlotte froze.
“What?”
“You don't remember.”
“Remember what?”
The speaker went silent.
Charlotte looked at Lucas.
“What does she mean?”
He didn't answer.
“Lucas.”
He swallowed.
“I think your mother is talking about the night of the fire.”
Charlotte's heart stopped.
THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE
Charlotte had spent years believing her mother died in an accident.
A car crash.
A fire.
A funeral she could barely remember.
But something had always felt wrong.
There were no photographs of the accident.
No public investigation she had ever been allowed to read.
No body.
No grave.
Only a closed casket.
Her mother had supposedly died when Charlotte was nineteen.
Yet the evidence kept contradicting itself.
Her mother had been alive yesterday.
She was alive now.
Charlotte suddenly realized something.
“If she survived the fire…”
Lucas looked at her.
“Then someone wanted everyone to believe she didn't.”
“Why?”
“Because the person who caused it needed your mother gone.”
Charlotte stared at the old laboratory.
“Adrian.”
Lucas shook his head.
“No.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Lucas looked toward the darkness.
“I don't know.”
A metallic door slammed somewhere below them.
Charlotte flinched.
Then footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Someone was coming.
Lucas grabbed her hand.
“Hide.”
They ducked behind a large steel cabinet.
A man walked into the room.
Charlotte recognized him.
Thomas.
Vivienne's father.
He was carrying a flashlight and a pistol.
He looked older than he had upstairs.
More exhausted.
More dangerous.
He stopped beside the photographs.
“Charlotte.”
She stepped out.
Thomas lowered the gun immediately.
“You shouldn't be here.”
Charlotte glared at him.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Thomas sighed.
“You don't understand what this place is.”
“Then explain it.”
“This was where your grandfather conducted the first experiments.”
“On children?”
“Yes.”
“Was my mother involved?”
Thomas hesitated.
“Yes.”
Charlotte felt something inside her break.
“She told me she wasn't.”
“She lied.”
“Why?”
“Because she wanted you to survive.”
Charlotte shook her head.
“Everybody uses that excuse.”
Thomas looked at her.
“Because it happens to be true.”
THE RECORDING
Thomas led them through a corridor.
At the end was a room containing an old monitor.
He switched it on.
The screen flickered.
A date appeared.
SEPTEMBER 18 — SEVEN YEARS EARLIER
Charlotte's breath caught.
Thomas pressed play.
The recording showed Evelyn.
She looked younger.
Terrified.
She was standing inside the same laboratory.
A man stood opposite her.
Charlotte recognized him immediately.
Her grandfather.
He was alive in the recording.
“You can't take her,” Evelyn said.
Her father answered:
“She belongs to the bloodline.”
“She belongs to me.”
“You don't understand what she is.”
“She is my daughter.”
“She is the key.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“She is a child.”
The older man stepped closer.
“If you take Charlotte away, the inheritance dies with you.”
“Good.”
He stared at her.
“You would destroy everything?”
“Yes.”
“For her?”
“For my daughter.”
The recording ended.
Charlotte stared at the blank screen.
“My grandfather wanted me.”
Thomas nodded.
“More than anything.”
“Why?”
“Because you were the first child in generations to inherit the trait.”
“What trait?”
Thomas looked at her.
“Resistance.”
“To what?”
“Almost everything.”
Charlotte frowned.
Thomas continued.
“Certain diseases. Toxins. Some forms of infection.”
Charlotte remembered the poisoned tea.
The laboratory.
The blood tests.
The strange illness when she was eleven.
Suddenly everything made terrible sense.
“That's why they tested me.”
“Yes.”
“That's why Adrian wants me.”
“Yes.”
“That's why Victor kept my medical records.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte looked at Lucas.
“And that's why my mother changed the inheritance.”
Lucas nodded.
“She didn't want the empire.”
“She wanted me free.”
“Yes.”
Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.
Then she noticed something on the recording.
Behind her grandfather was a second man.
She froze.
“Stop.”
Thomas paused the video.
Charlotte pointed.
“Who is that?”
Thomas looked.
His face changed.
“That can't be.”
“Who?”
Thomas stepped closer to the screen.
The man's face was partially obscured.
But there was no mistaking him.
It was Victor Lang.
Charlotte's voice became cold.
“Victor was there.”
“Yes.”
“And my grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“What were they discussing?”
Thomas looked at her.
“The fire.”
THE PLAN
Thomas restarted the recording.
Victor's voice became audible.
“If the girl disappears, the board will accept the transfer.”
Evelyn turned toward him.
“You're talking about killing my daughter.”
Victor remained calm.
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Making her disappear.”
“My daughter is nineteen.”
“She can survive.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“You're insane.”
Victor smiled.
“Perhaps.”
Her father interrupted.
“The fire will happen at 11:40.”
Evelyn went pale.
“You planned it.”
Victor nodded.
“The vehicle has already been prepared.”
Charlotte's hands began shaking.
The fire.
Her mother's death.
It had been planned.
Then Evelyn said something that made Charlotte's blood run cold.
“You won't kill me.”
Victor smiled.
“No.”
He looked toward Charlotte.
“We will kill the woman you think you are.”
The recording ended.
Charlotte stared at the screen.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas didn't answer.
Lucas whispered:
“Your mother knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That they planned to replace you.”
Charlotte turned.
“What?”
Lucas looked at her.
“They didn't want to kill you.”
“They wanted to erase you.”
THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED
Charlotte felt dizzy.
“How?”
Lucas explained.
“Your grandfather had doctors prepare a false medical record.”
“For me?”
“Yes.”
“They would declare me mentally unstable.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“They would send you away.”
“Where?”
“An institution.”
Charlotte stared at him.
“And my mother?”
“She refused.”
“So they started the fire.”
Lucas nodded.
“But she escaped.”
Charlotte looked at the recording again.
“What happened that night?”
Thomas answered.
“Your mother changed cars.”
“Like Vivienne said.”
“Yes.”
“She knew the fire was coming.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she disappear?”
Thomas looked away.
“Because she made a deal.”
“With whom?”
“Me.”
Charlotte stared.
Thomas continued.
“I helped her escape.”
“Where did she go?”
“She stayed underground.”
“For seven years?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
Charlotte shook her head.
“But I was told she died.”
“That was the point.”
“Who knew?”
“Me.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Adrian?”
“No.”
“Lucas?”
He hesitated.
“Eventually.”
Charlotte stared at Lucas.
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“You knew my mother was alive for three years?”
“I couldn't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian was watching me.”
Charlotte stepped closer.
“You all made decisions about my life.”
Lucas lowered his eyes.
“You're right.”
“I had a funeral for her.”
“I know.”
“I cried for years.”
“I know.”
“You let me.”
Lucas's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
Charlotte slapped him.
The sound echoed through the underground room.
Lucas didn't move.
“Don't ever say that again.”
He nodded.
“I deserve that.”
THE LAST NIGHT
Thomas suddenly looked toward the corridor.
“We have to move.”
“Why?”
“Because someone activated the lower security system.”
Charlotte frowned.
“Who?”
Thomas checked his device.
His face went pale.
“Victor.”
Lucas swore.
“He found the entrance.”
Thomas grabbed Charlotte.
“Come on.”
They ran.
Behind them, alarms began screaming.
Red lights flashed.
Steel doors slammed shut one after another.
Charlotte looked back.
Men were entering the laboratory.
At the front was Victor.
He was walking slowly.
Calmly.
As though he owned the place.
“Charlotte!”
She kept running.
Victor's voice echoed behind her.
“You should have stayed upstairs!”
Charlotte shouted back:
“You should have destroyed the safe!”
Victor laughed.
“I tried!”
She stopped.
Lucas grabbed her.
“Keep moving!”
But Charlotte turned.
Victor stood at the end of the corridor.
His expression was no longer controlled.
He looked furious.
“You want to know what happened the night your mother died?”
Charlotte froze.
Victor smiled.
“I'll tell you.”
He raised his voice.
“Your mother wasn't the one who started the fire.”
Charlotte stared.
“What?”
Victor pointed at Thomas.
“He did.”
Thomas went still.
Charlotte looked at him.
“Thomas?”
Victor laughed.
“Ask him.”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Charlotte whispered:
“Is it true?”
Thomas didn't answer.
“Is it true?”
Finally, he nodded.
“Yes.”
Charlotte's heart shattered.
“You started the fire?”
Thomas's voice broke.
“I started part of it.”
“Why?”
“To create a distraction.”
“For what?”
“To get your mother out.”
Charlotte stared.
“You risked killing everyone.”
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice!”
Thomas looked at her.
“I chose your mother.”
Charlotte's eyes filled with tears.
“And people died.”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
Thomas lowered his head.
“Four.”
Silence.
Charlotte felt sick.
“Who?”
Thomas couldn't answer.
Victor did.
“Your grandfather.”
Charlotte stared.
“What?”
“Your grandfather died in the fire.”
Thomas looked at Victor.
“You know that's not true.”
Victor smiled.
Charlotte turned.
“What does he mean?”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“Your grandfather survived.”
Charlotte's heart stopped.
“He survived?”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Victor looked at the darkness behind her.
“Closer than you think.”
THE ROOM BENEATH THE ROOM
A steel door opened behind Charlotte.
She turned.
A hidden elevator waited.
Thomas looked terrified.
“No.”
Charlotte stepped toward it.
“What's down there?”
Thomas grabbed her arm.
“Nothing good.”
She pulled free.
“I'm going.”
Lucas followed.
“I'm coming.”
Thomas sighed.
“Then I'm coming too.”
The three entered.
The doors closed.
The elevator descended.
One level.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Then the display changed.
S-00
Charlotte stared.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
A massive chamber stretched before them.
In the center was a glass room.
Inside sat a woman.
Charlotte stopped breathing.
Her mother.
Evelyn looked older.
Thinner.
But alive.
Charlotte ran.
“Mom!”
Evelyn lifted her head.
Her eyes widened.
“Charlotte?”
Charlotte pressed both hands against the glass.
“Mom!”
Evelyn began crying.
“You shouldn't have come.”
Charlotte laughed through her tears.
“You've been saying that my whole life.”
Evelyn stepped toward the glass.
“I'm sorry.”
Charlotte shook her head.
“No.”
“I tried to protect you.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you abandoned me.”
Evelyn's face crumpled.
“I know.”
“Why?”
Her mother pressed her hand against the glass.
“Because the night of the fire…”
She stopped.
Charlotte waited.
“The person who started it wasn't Victor.”
Charlotte's blood ran cold.
“Who was it?”
Evelyn looked beyond Charlotte.
At Thomas.
Thomas lowered his head.
Then Evelyn whispered:
“Your father.”
Charlotte froze.
“I don't have a father.”
Her mother shook her head.
“You do.”
Charlotte's heart stopped.
“Who?”
Evelyn looked directly into her eyes.
And said:
“Lucas's father.”
Silence.
Charlotte turned slowly toward Lucas.
Lucas looked as shocked as she was.
“That isn't possible.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“I wish it wasn't.”
Then the lights in the chamber went out.
A man's voice echoed through the darkness.
“Hello, Charlotte.”
She froze.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it in childhood photographs.
In old family recordings.
Her grandfather.
The man everyone believed had died in the fire.
The lights came back.
An elderly man stood behind Lucas.
Charlotte stared at him.
May you like
Her grandfather smiled.
“You've finally come home.”
