CHAPTER 6 — THE NAME ON THE LIST
CHAPTER 6 — THE NAME ON THE LIST
For several seconds, nobody breathed.
My gun remained pointed at Jonathan.
My mother stood against the wall.
Daniel stared at her as if he no longer recognized the woman who had just embraced him.
And I...
I couldn't make my mind accept what I'd heard.
“Say it again.”
Jonathan didn't move.
“I said your mother pulled the trigger.”
My fingers tightened around the gun.
“You're lying.”
“I wish I were.”
My mother shook her head violently.
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“No, Lena. That's not what happened.”
I turned toward her.
“Then tell me what happened.”
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
“Tell me!”
She flinched.
“I didn't kill your father.”
“Jonathan says you did.”
“He wasn't there.”
Jonathan's face hardened.
“I was.”
My mother looked at him.
“You saw the aftermath.”
“I saw the gun.”
“You saw what they wanted you to see.”
“Isabella—”
“You know I loved Alexander.”
“Then explain the blood.”
My mother closed her eyes.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“I tried to save him.”
I lowered the gun slightly.
“From who?”
She whispered:
“From himself.”
I stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Before she could answer, another explosion shook the mansion.
The ceiling cracked.
Dust rained down.
Marcus grabbed my shoulder.
“We have to move.”
My mother pointed toward the hidden passage.
“Now.”
We ran.
The tunnel was barely wide enough for two people.
Marcus went first.
Daniel followed.
My mother was behind him.
Jonathan stayed at the back.
I remained in the middle.
I couldn't stop thinking about his words.
Your mother killed your father.
Every memory I had of her suddenly felt different.
Her smile.
Her voice.
The way she used to hold my hand.
The night she disappeared.
Was it all a lie?
I turned.
“Jonathan.”
“Yes?”
“If you knew my mother killed my father, why did you bring me to her?”
“Because she didn't.”
I stopped.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“I said she pulled the trigger.”
I stared at him.
“But?”
“But she didn't kill him.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It will.”
“Then explain.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother has to tell you.”
I looked ahead.
“Mom?”
She kept walking.
“Mom!”
She stopped.
Her shoulders trembled.
“I need you to tell me.”
She whispered:
“Not here.”
“You've been saying that all night.”
“Because we're being hunted.”
“Then tell me while we run.”
She turned around.
Her face was devastated.
“Your father asked me to kill him.”
I froze.
“What?”
She nodded.
“He knew they were coming.”
“Who?”
“Crane's men.”
“Why would Dad ask you to kill him?”
“Because he had something inside him.”
I stared.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Not something.”
“Someone.”
My blood ran cold.
“What are you talking about?”
“Your father had been infected.”
“By what?”
“A virus.”
Daniel gasped.
My mother continued.
“They were experimenting on the subjects.”
“They wanted to create biological weapons.”
My stomach turned.
“Dad was infected?”
“Yes.”
“And you killed him?”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“I tried to.”
The tunnel went silent.
“I shot him.”
My heart broke.
“But he survived.”
Jonathan nodded.
“He survived.”
My mother continued.
“He begged me to leave him.”
“I refused.”
“He told me if I stayed, they would take you.”
“So I ran.”
“And I thought he died.”
She wiped her tears.
“I didn't know Victor had taken him.”
I looked at Jonathan.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe my father was dead.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
I turned away.
“I don't know who to believe anymore.”
We emerged from the tunnel beneath an old stone chapel.
The storm had grown violent.
Rain hammered the roof.
Marcus checked the windows.
“No one's followed us.”
Jonathan looked toward the forest.
“They will.”
“How long?”
“Minutes.”
My mother moved toward the altar.
She touched a stone beneath it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was another folder.
She removed it.
“This is why they came.”
I took it.
The cover was marked:
THE NAME ON THE LIST
I opened it.
The first page contained thirty-seven names.
Each one had a number.
Subject 001.
Subject 002.
Subject 003.
And so on.
Beside each name was a status.
DECEASED.
TRANSFERRED.
MISSING.
TERMINATED.
My hands shook.
“What is this?”
“The original list.”
“Of the children?”
“Yes.”
I turned the page.
There were photographs.
I recognized some of them from the laboratory.
Children I'd never known existed.
One little girl.
A boy with a scar.
Twin sisters.
A teenager.
Some had been crossed out.
Some had red circles around their photographs.
I reached the final page.
Five names remained uncrossed.
001 — ELENA VALE
002 — DAMIAN BLACKWOOD
003 — DANIEL VALE
004 — JONATHAN BLACKWOOD
005 — ______
The fifth name had been deliberately removed.
I looked at my mother.
“Who is number five?”
She looked away.
“Mom.”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I swear I'm not.”
Jonathan stepped closer.
“I know.”
I looked at him.
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
I pointed at the page.
“Who is Subject 005?”
Jonathan's jaw tightened.
“Someone you know.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
“Someone who has been near you for years.”
I thought of everyone.
Marcus.
Damian.
Harrison.
Crane.
My father.
Victor.
“No.”
Jonathan nodded.
“Yes.”
“Tell me.”
He looked at the folder.
“The fifth subject was never supposed to survive.”
“Why?”
“Because Subject 005 wasn't an experiment.”
“What was it?”
“A replacement.”
“For whom?”
Jonathan looked at me.
“For you.”
The words made no sense.
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Who replaced me?”
“A child who looked almost exactly like you.”
I felt sick.
“What?”
“Victor lost track of you.”
“So he created another girl.”
My mother spoke softly.
“No.”
I looked at her.
“She wasn't created.”
“She was born.”
“Where?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“At the same hospital where you were born.”
My blood turned cold.
“When?”
“Three minutes after you.”
I stared at her.
“You're saying there was another baby?”
“Yes.”
“And she looked like me?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she now?”
My mother didn't answer.
Jonathan did.
“She's alive.”
I stepped back.
“Who is she?”
Jonathan whispered:
“Your sister.”
Thunder exploded overhead.
I couldn't move.
“My sister?”
My mother nodded.
“She was born from the same genetic program.”
“But you said Daniel was my brother.”
“He is.”
“And now you're saying I have a sister?”
“You have more family than you were ever told.”
I looked at the list.
Five surviving subjects.
Four names.
One blank.
“You're saying she's number five.”
“Yes.”
“What is her name?”
My mother began crying.
“She doesn't have one.”
“Everyone has a name.”
“Not her.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor didn't want her to.”
Jonathan answered:
“He called her Subject Five.”
I stared at the page.
“Where is she?”
“Close.”
“How close?”
Jonathan looked at me.
“Closer than you think.”
The chapel doors suddenly slammed open.
Marcus raised his gun.
A figure stood in the doorway.
Damian.
He was soaked from the rain.
His face was bruised.
Blood ran down his forehead.
I aimed my weapon at him.
“Don't move.”
He raised both hands.
“I'm not here to fight.”
“You lied to me.”
“I know.”
“You knew about Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the program.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my father.”
Damian's expression broke.
“I loved your father.”
I lowered the gun slightly.
“Then why did you help Victor?”
“I didn't.”
“Jonathan says you did.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“I never said that.”
Damian looked at him.
“You should.”
Jonathan stared back.
Damian stepped inside.
“I found out three days ago.”
“About what?”
“The list.”
He looked at me.
“The original list.”
“Who gave it to you?”
“Victor.”
“Victor is dead.”
“I know.”
“Then how?”
Damian reached into his coat.
He removed a small black envelope.
“He left it for me.”
I stared.
“Why?”
“Because he knew he was going to die.”
“What did it say?”
Damian handed it to me.
Inside was one photograph.
A newborn baby.
On the back:
SUBJECT 005.
And beneath it...
a name.
I read it.
My hands went numb.
LENA VALE.
I looked up.
“That can't be right.”
Damian shook his head.
“It is.”
I looked at my mother.
“What does this mean?”
She began to cry.
“I changed the records.”
“Why?”
“Because you weren't supposed to be Subject 005.”
“Then who was?”
She looked at Daniel.
“Your sister.”
I stared at the photograph.
The baby looked like me.
Same eyes.
Same birthmark.
Same tiny scar near the left ear.
I couldn't understand.
“If that's my sister...”
I turned the photograph over again.
“Why does it have my name?”
My mother whispered:
“Because she took your identity.”
The room went silent.
I looked at Jonathan.
“What happened?”
He answered:
“When Victor discovered the fifth subject was unstable, he ordered her termination.”
My mother shook her head.
“I refused.”
“So you switched the identities.”
“Yes.”
“You gave her my name.”
“I gave her your life.”
I felt my throat close.
“Where did you send me?”
“To a family outside the city.”
“Why?”
“To keep you alive.”
I looked at her.
“And my sister?”
“She stayed with Victor.”
My heart broke.
“You abandoned her.”
“No.”
My mother sobbed.
“I tried to save both of you.”
“But she became Subject 005.”
“Yes.”
“And I became Subject 001.”
“Yes.”
I looked at the list.
The truth was finally beginning to form.
I hadn't been the original Subject 001.
I had inherited someone else's identity.
My entire childhood...
had been built on a lie designed to keep two children alive.
But one of us had paid the price.
My sister.
Damian suddenly looked toward the chapel windows.
“We have to leave.”
Marcus nodded.
“Why?”
“Because Crane knows.”
“Knows what?”
“That Daniel survived.”
Jonathan stepped toward him.
“How?”
Damian looked at me.
“Because I told him.”
Silence.
I stared at Damian.
“You what?”
“I had no choice.”
“You betrayed us.”
“I was being followed.”
“You could have warned us.”
“I tried.”
“You sent us here.”
“I sent you to the only place I knew Crane couldn't enter.”
My mother suddenly gasped.
“That's impossible.”
“What?”
“He owns the chapel.”
Damian shook his head.
“Not anymore.”
My mother looked terrified.
“What did you do?”
“I transferred the property.”
“To whom?”
Damian looked at me.
“To Elena.”
I stared at him.
“You made me the owner?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor changed his will.”
“Everyone keeps talking about that.”
Damian stepped closer.
“He didn't just leave you his money.”
“What did he leave me?”
“The Blackwood empire.”
I froze.
“Why?”
Damian whispered:
“Because he knew you were the only person capable of destroying it.”
My mother shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“He would never do that.”
Damian looked at her.
“He already did.”
Then the chapel windows exploded.
Gunfire ripped through the room.
Everyone dropped.
Marcus shouted:
“GET DOWN!”
I pulled Daniel beneath the altar.
My mother screamed.
Jonathan returned fire.
Damian grabbed a fallen weapon.
Outside, headlights appeared through the rain.
Dozens of vehicles.
Men surrounded the chapel.
Then a loudspeaker crackled.
A man's voice echoed through the storm.
“ELENA VALE!”
I knew the voice.
Senator Harold Crane.
“Hand over Daniel.”
No one moved.
Crane continued.
“And I'll let the rest of you live.”
Damian whispered:
“He won't.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I saw his orders.”
“What orders?”
Damian's face was grim.
“He didn't come for Daniel.”
“Then why?”
He looked at my mother.
“He came for her.”
My mother went pale.
“Why me?”
Damian answered:
“Because she is the only person alive who knows where Alexander hid the original M-17 evidence.”
I looked at my mother.
“Do you know?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
She reached into her coat.
She removed a small key.
Then she looked at me.
“Inside the place where your father died.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
She whispered:
“Blackwood Tower.”
Outside, Crane shouted again.
“Last chance!”
The chapel doors began to shake.
Men were preparing to break through.
My mother closed her fingers around the key.
“If we go there, everything ends.”
I looked at the key.
“What is it?”
“The key to your father's final room.”
“And what's inside?”
She stared at me.
“The truth about Subject 005.”
The doors exploded inward.
Gunmen stormed the chapel.
Marcus fired.
Damian returned fire.
Jonathan pulled my mother toward the hidden tunnel.
Daniel grabbed my hand.
We ran.
But as I entered the darkness, I looked back once.
Crane stood in the doorway.
He wasn't shooting.
He was smiling.
And beside him stood a woman.
Young.
Dark-haired.
Her eyes were identical to mine.
She looked directly at me.
Then smiled.
I stopped.
Daniel pulled my hand.
“Elena, run!”
I couldn't.
I was staring at the face I had spent my entire life never knowing.
My sister.
Subject 005.
She raised one finger to her lips.
Be quiet.
Then Crane put his hand on her shoulder.
And I understood something even more terrifying.
She wasn't his prisoner.
She was working with him.
May you like
My sister had chosen a side.
And she had just helped them find us.
