CHAPTER 11 — VICTOR BECOMES THE TARGET
CHAPTER 11 — VICTOR BECOMES THE TARGET
The darkness swallowed the mansion.
Victor could hear only Ethan's breathing.
Fast.
Frightened.
Close against his chest.
"Daddy?"
"I'm here."
"Don't let go."
"I won't."
Victor tightened his grip around his son's hand.
Across the room, Clara struck a match.
For one brief second, the flame illuminated terrified faces.
Evelyn.
Edward.
Elena.
Clara.
Serena.
Everyone was staring at the sealed staircase.
Then the match went out.
A metallic sound came from beneath the floor.
Click.
Victor froze.
Another.
Click.
Then a third.
Click.
Three locks.
Opening.
Edward whispered:
"Get Ethan out."
Victor looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because the person beneath us doesn't want Ethan."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Who does he want?"
Edward answered:
"You."
The hidden staircase opened.
Cold air rushed upward.
Victor immediately moved Ethan behind him.
Clara raised her weapon.
"Nobody moves."
A figure appeared at the bottom.
A man in a dark coat.
He slowly walked upward.
Victor recognized him.
Adrian.
But something was wrong.
He wasn't smiling.
He wasn't confident.
He was bleeding.
A dark stain covered his shirt.
Victor aimed his gun.
"Stop."
Adrian stopped.
"Victor."
"Where's the weapon?"
Adrian dropped a pistol onto the floor.
It slid across the marble.
"I didn't come to fight."
Victor didn't lower his gun.
"Then why are you here?"
"To warn you."
"About what?"
Adrian looked toward Edward.
"He's coming."
Edward's face changed.
"Who?"
Adrian whispered:
"The original."
Victor frowned.
"What original?"
Adrian looked at him.
"You."
Victor froze.
"Me?"
"You've been looking for Subject Zero."
"I am Subject Zero."
"No."
Adrian shook his head.
"You were only the first successful subject."
Victor stared.
"Then who is the original?"
Adrian's eyes moved toward Ethan.
Victor immediately stepped in front of his son.
"No."
Adrian shook his head.
"Not Ethan."
"Then who?"
Adrian pointed toward the sealed staircase.
"Your mother."
Victor's blood ran cold.
"Isabella?"
"Yes."
"She's dead."
Adrian gave a bitter smile.
"That's what she wanted everyone to believe."
A sound came from the basement.
A slow clap.
Everyone froze.
Then a woman's voice echoed through the darkness.
"Adrian."
Adrian turned.
The color drained from his face.
"No."
Victor looked toward the staircase.
A woman emerged.
She was old.
Gray-haired.
Thin.
But her eyes were sharp.
Victor recognized her immediately.
Isabella.
His mother.
She looked directly at him.
"My son."
Victor couldn't move.
Ethan whispered:
"Daddy..."
Victor stared.
"You."
Isabella smiled.
"Yes."
"You've been alive."
"For a very long time."
"You watched me."
"Every day."
"Why?"
"Because I needed to know whether they had broken you."
Victor's voice trembled.
"Who?"
"Everyone."
She looked around the room.
"Your father."
"Adrian."
"Evelyn."
"Serena."
"Even me."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"What did you do?"
Isabella stepped closer.
"I created the Trust."
Victor froze.
"No."
"Yes."
"You created everything?"
"I created the structure."
"Your grandfather created the network."
"Edward expanded it."
"Adrian weaponized it."
"And Evelyn tried to destroy it."
Victor stared.
"Then why did you let her die?"
Isabella's expression hardened.
"Because she betrayed me."
Victor's voice rose.
"She protected Ethan."
"She protected you."
"She lied to me."
"Because I ordered her to."
Victor stepped forward.
"Why?"
Isabella looked at him.
"Because the only way to keep you alive was to make you hate the truth."
Victor lowered his weapon slightly.
"Start talking."
Isabella nodded.
"The Trust was created after your grandfather discovered that the Hale family was dying."
Victor frowned.
"Dying?"
"The bloodline was becoming weaker."
"The original inheritance marker was disappearing."
"Your grandfather became obsessed."
"So he began experimenting."
"With children."
Victor looked at Ethan.
"Yes."
"That's where Subject Zero came from."
"Yes."
"But you were the first."
Isabella shook her head.
"No."
"The first was Clara."
Victor looked at Clara.
She went pale.
"I was?"
"Yes."
"You were the first child with the marker."
"But your body rejected the conditioning."
"Your grandfather thought you were useless."
"So he moved to Victor."
Victor stared.
"And I survived."
"You did more than survive."
"You adapted."
"The Trust recognized you."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"That's why I could activate it."
"Yes."
"And Ethan?"
Isabella looked at the boy.
"He inherited the marker."
Victor's face hardened.
"Then why is everyone trying to kill him?"
"Because the person who controls Ethan controls the Trust."
Victor nodded.
"And you?"
Isabella smiled sadly.
"I never wanted the Trust."
"Then why create it?"
"To protect my children."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"From whom?"
Isabella looked toward Edward.
"From him."
Edward's face remained expressionless.
Victor turned.
"My father?"
Isabella nodded.
"Edward wanted the Trust for himself."
"But you stopped him."
"I tried."
"Then why did you disappear?"
"Because Edward threatened to kill you."
Victor stared.
"He took you."
"Yes."
"He told me you were dead."
"Yes."
"He erased my memories."
"Yes."
Victor looked at Edward.
Edward said nothing.
Victor's voice became bitter.
"Why didn't you come back?"
Isabella looked at him.
"Because every time I tried, someone died."
Victor went still.
"Who?"
"Your first teacher."
"Your childhood doctor."
"Your driver."
"Your nanny."
"Your friends."
"All of them."
Victor's face hardened.
"Edward killed them?"
"No."
Isabella looked at Adrian.
"Adrian did."
Adrian lowered his head.
"I was following orders."
Victor looked at him.
"Whose?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Isabella did.
"Mine."
Silence.
Victor stared.
"You ordered them killed?"
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"I ordered them removed."
"They weren't supposed to die."
"But they did."
"And I have carried that guilt every day."
Victor shook his head.
"You murdered people."
"I did what I thought would keep you alive."
"You became the thing you were fighting."
Isabella whispered:
"Yes."
A loud explosion shook the mansion.
The windows rattled.
Ethan screamed.
Victor grabbed him.
"What was that?"
Edward looked toward the entrance.
"They're here."
"Who?"
"Everyone."
Victor frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Edward moved toward the window.
Outside, black vehicles were surrounding the mansion.
Not police.
Not Hale security.
Men in tactical clothing.
Dozens.
Victor looked at Isabella.
"Who are they?"
"The remaining members of the network."
"How did they find us?"
Isabella answered:
"Because I brought you all together."
Victor stared.
"You did this?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To end it."
Another explosion.
The front gate collapsed.
Clara ran toward the security room.
"We're surrounded."
Victor looked at Ethan.
Then at the others.
"Can we get out?"
"No."
"How long?"
"Minutes."
Victor's mind raced.
Isabella walked toward him.
"You have to make a choice."
Victor stared.
"What choice?"
"Destroy the Trust."
"How?"
"With Ethan."
Victor's face hardened.
"No."
"His blood can unlock the original chamber."
"And once it opens?"
"The Trust will be destroyed."
Victor looked at Ethan.
"What happens to him?"
"Nothing."
"You promise?"
Isabella hesitated.
Victor's expression changed.
"You're not sure."
Isabella looked away.
"The process has never been tested."
Victor shook his head.
"Then no."
"You don't understand."
"I understand perfectly."
"The Trust is coming for my son."
"Then I'll destroy it without using him."
Isabella's eyes hardened.
"You can't."
"Watch me."
The front doors exploded.
Armed men rushed into the mansion.
Victor fired toward the ceiling.
"Everyone down!"
Clara returned fire.
Edward pulled Elena behind a pillar.
Adrian grabbed Serena.
Evelyn dragged Ethan toward the staircase.
Victor shouted:
"Get him downstairs!"
They moved.
The mansion became chaos.
Gunfire.
Shouting.
Breaking glass.
Victor fought his way through the attackers.
He didn't care about the Trust anymore.
He cared about one thing.
Ethan.
Then a man appeared behind him.
Victor turned.
Too late.
The man struck him across the head.
Victor fell.
His vision blurred.
Ethan screamed:
"Daddy!"
Victor tried to stand.
A second man grabbed him.
Then a third.
They dragged him toward the center of the room.
A spotlight turned on.
Isabella stood above him.
Victor looked up.
"What are you doing?"
She didn't answer.
A metal collar was placed around his neck.
Victor struggled.
"What is this?"
Isabella whispered:
"The final conditioning device."
Victor froze.
"No."
She looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
Victor stared.
"You said you wanted to protect me."
"I do."
"Then why?"
"Because you're the target."
"Not Ethan."
Victor's eyes widened.
"What?"
Isabella looked toward the soldiers.
"They never wanted Ethan."
"They wanted you."
Victor's breathing stopped.
"Why?"
"Because you're the only person who can activate the Trust."
"But Ethan has the marker."
"Yes."
"Then why me?"
Isabella whispered:
"Because the Trust recognizes your mind."
Victor stared.
"What does that mean?"
"It means the Trust isn't controlled by blood."
"It's controlled by memory."
Victor's face went pale.
"That's why you erased me."
"Yes."
"You made me forget."
"Yes."
"Then you made me remember."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because the final door requires both."
Victor looked toward Ethan.
"Both what?"
Isabella answered:
"Your memory."
"And his blood."
Ethan was brought into the room.
Victor struggled against the restraints.
"Don't touch him!"
Ethan was crying.
"Daddy!"
"I'm here!"
Isabella looked at Ethan.
"I'm sorry."
Victor shouted:
"Don't!"
The machine activated.
A low hum filled the room.
Victor's vision blurred.
Memories flooded back.
Evelyn.
The hospital.
The crash.
The Trust.
His wedding.
Ethan's birth.
Serena.
Adrian.
Edward.
Isabella.
Then—
another memory.
One Victor had never seen.
He was standing in a hospital room.
Eighteen years ago.
Evelyn lay on the bed.
Victor stood beside her.
But there was another woman.
Serena.
Holding a newborn Ethan.
Evelyn whispered:
"Take him."
Serena nodded.
Victor looked confused.
"Why?"
Evelyn looked at him.
"Because if he stays with us, he'll die."
Victor shook his head.
"No."
"Listen to me."
She took his hand.
"You have to forget."
"Why?"
"Because they will use your memories to find him."
Victor began crying.
"I don't want to forget you."
Evelyn smiled.
"You won't."
She kissed his forehead.
"You'll remember me when it's safe."
Then she looked toward the camera.
"And when you do..."
Her expression became cold.
"...you must kill the person who started all of this."
The memory stopped.
Victor opened his eyes.
He stared at Isabella.
"You knew."
She nodded.
"Evelyn asked me to erase your memories."
Victor's face twisted.
"You weren't protecting me."
"You were protecting Ethan."
"Yes."
Victor looked toward his son.
Ethan was crying.
Then Victor noticed something.
The machine had stopped.
The collar unlocked.
The soldiers stepped backward.
Isabella looked terrified.
"What happened?"
Victor slowly stood.
A symbol appeared on the wall.
The Trust had activated.
But not for Ethan.
For Victor.
A voice filled the room.
Not Adrian.
Not Evelyn.
Not Edward.
A new voice.
Cold.
Mechanical.
SUBJECT ZERO CONFIRMED.
Victor stared.
PRIMARY BENEFICIARY: VICTOR HALE.
Isabella's face went white.
"No."
Victor looked at her.
"What?"
She stepped backward.
"The Trust chose you."
Victor stared at the symbol.
"What does that mean?"
"It means..."
Isabella's voice broke.
"...Ethan was never the heir."
Victor turned toward his son.
"Then who is?"
The machine answered.
PRIMARY HEIR CONFIRMED.
Victor's name appeared.
VICTOR HALE.
Victor stared.
All his life—
he had been protecting Ethan from the Trust.
But the truth was far worse.
The Trust had been protecting itself from Victor.
A gunshot cracked through the room.
Isabella fell.
Victor turned.
Adrian stood behind her.
Blood spread across Isabella's chest.
"Mom!"
Victor rushed toward her.
She looked up at him.
Her lips moved.
"Run."
Victor stared.
"From whom?"
Isabella's eyes widened.
"Not Adrian."
Victor turned.
Adrian had dropped his weapon.
He was staring at the doorway.
Everyone else was staring too.
A man walked slowly into the room.
Victor recognized him instantly.
The man from the screens.
The man who had watched him for thirty-one years.
The man with the black ring.
Adrian whispered:
"Impossible."
Victor raised his gun.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled.
"My name is Michael Hale."
Victor's face went pale.
Edward stared at him.
"No."
Michael looked at Edward.
"Hello, brother."
Victor froze.
Edward's brother.
The man everyone believed had died.
Michael smiled.
"I've come to collect what belongs to me."
He looked at Victor.
"You're not the heir."
He looked at Ethan.
"Neither is he."
Then he pointed toward the dead Isabella.
"The Trust belongs to her."
Victor stared.
"She's dead."
Michael smiled.
"That's why the Trust has been waiting."
Victor frowned.
"For what?"
Michael's eyes moved toward the blood spreading across the floor.
"For her blood."
Victor understood.
The blood was flowing toward the Trust symbol.
The machine began to activate again.
Michael whispered:
"The final beneficiary has awakened."
Victor grabbed Ethan.
"Run."
But the doors slammed shut.
The mansion went dark.
And from every speaker in the building came the same sentence:
TARGET ACQUIRED: VICTOR HALE.
May you like
Then—
ELIMINATION PROTOCOL INITIATED.
