CHAPTER 10 — THE FATHER'S WARNING
CHAPTER 10 — THE FATHER'S WARNING
The elevator kept descending.
B17.
The number remained on the screen.
No one spoke.
The deeper we went, the colder the air became.
Emily held my hand so tightly that her fingers had gone white.
“Dad…”
“I’m here.”
“Where are we going?”
I looked at my father.
He was staring at the floor.
“Dad?”
He finally lifted his eyes.
“To the place where everything began.”
The elevator shuddered.
B18.
I frowned.
“There wasn't a B18 on the building plans.”
“No,” my father said.
“Why?”
“Because Adrian didn't want anyone to know it existed.”
I looked at my grandfather.
He was standing in the corner, strangely calm.
“What's down there?”
Adrian smiled.
“The truth.”
My father immediately said:
“Don't listen to him.”
Adrian laughed.
“Still protecting him?”
My father looked at him.
“Still destroying everyone around you?”
The two men stared at each other.
Decades of hatred seemed to fill the elevator.
I stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Neither moved.
I looked at my father.
“You said Emily's birth records were falsified.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He hesitated.
“Because she was never supposed to exist.”
Emily flinched.
I felt my chest tighten.
“What does that mean?”
My father looked at her.
“It means your birth was hidden because Adrian wanted you erased.”
“Why?”
“Because your mother refused to give you to him.”
Emily's face went pale.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“But she died.”
My father nodded.
“After she saved you.”
The elevator continued descending.
B19.
I stared at the number.
“How many levels are there?”
My father whispered:
“Twenty-four.”
“Twenty-four?”
“Yes.”
“And what's at B24?”
He looked at me.
“The original Voss facility.”
I frowned.
“Why have I never heard of it?”
“Because you weren't supposed to remember it.”
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
Cold air rushed inside.
A long corridor stretched ahead.
There were no lights except thin strips embedded in the floor.
My father stepped out first.
Then Noah.
Then my brother.
I kept Emily beside me.
Adrian followed last.
He smiled as he walked.
“You finally came home.”
I looked at him.
“This isn't my home.”
He stopped.
“You'll understand.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I understand one thing.”
“What?”
“You're afraid.”
His smile vanished.
“Of what?”
“Of what we'll find.”
For the first time, he said nothing.
The corridor ended at a massive steel door.
There was no keypad.
No fingerprint scanner.
Only a circular indentation in the center.
My father looked at me.
“Put your hand there.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because it recognizes your bloodline.”
I placed my palm against the metal.
Nothing happened.
Adrian laughed.
“Of course.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“You don't have the key.”
My father stepped forward.
“He does.”
“No.”
Adrian looked at Emily.
“She does.”
Everyone went silent.
Emily stared at him.
“What?”
Adrian smiled.
“Try.”
I shook my head.
“She's not opening anything.”
“Why?”
“Because you don't get to use her anymore.”
My father suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Elias.”
I looked at him.
“She has to.”
“No.”
“If we don't open this door, we may never know what happened to your mother.”
That stopped me.
I looked at Emily.
She was terrified.
I crouched beside her.
“You don't have to do anything.”
She looked at the door.
Then at me.
“I want to know.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded.
“I've spent my whole life being told what I am.”
She placed her hand against the metal.
“I want to know who I am.”
The door opened.
Inside was a laboratory.
Not an office.
Not a vault.
A laboratory.
Glass walls.
Medical equipment.
Old computers.
Rows of locked cabinets.
And in the center...
a hospital bed.
Emily stopped breathing.
I felt my blood run cold.
“This is where?”
My father nodded.
“Here.”
“You said she was born in a hospital.”
“We moved her after the birth.”
“Why?”
“To keep Adrian from finding her.”
Emily walked slowly toward the bed.
Her fingers touched the metal railing.
“I was born here?”
“Yes.”
She turned toward me.
“Why don't I remember?”
“You were a newborn.”
“I mean why doesn't anyone know?”
“Because your birth certificate was created later.”
She looked at my father.
“You lied to me.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
My father lowered his eyes.
“Because it's true.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Sometimes people lie because they're afraid.”
Silence.
She looked at me.
“Dad, were you afraid?”
I nodded.
“Every day.”
“Of Adrian?”
“Of losing you.”
She stepped closer.
“Then why did you let him get close to me?”
I couldn't answer.
Because the truth hurt.
Because I hadn't known.
Because someone had taken my memories.
Because I had trusted people who had betrayed me.
But none of those answers would undo what happened.
“I failed you,” I said.
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
“But you came back.”
She hugged me.
I held her tightly.
“I'll never leave you again.”
Behind us, Adrian laughed.
“How touching.”
I turned.
“Shut up.”
He smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“Your daughter wasn't the only child born here.”
My father froze.
Noah turned.
“What are you talking about?”
Adrian walked toward a row of cabinets.
“Open the third.”
My brother moved first.
He pulled open the cabinet.
Inside were files.
Hundreds.
Children's names.
Birth dates.
DNA records.
Adoption documents.
I looked at my father.
“How many?”
“Twenty-four.”
Emily stared.
“Twenty-four children?”
My father nodded.
“Twenty-four subjects.”
“Subjects?”
I looked at the files.
“What did you do to them?”
My father said nothing.
Adrian answered.
“We studied them.”
“For what?”
“To determine which bloodlines were strongest.”
Emily looked sick.
“You treated children like experiments.”
Adrian smiled.
“History is written by survivors.”
I stepped toward him.
“You're sick.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I was preparing for the future.”
“What future?”
He pointed toward the files.
“One where the world belongs to people who understand power.”
I opened another file.
A photograph fell out.
A baby.
Then another.
Then another.
The last photograph stopped me.
The baby had a small birthmark beneath her left eye.
Emily touched her own cheek.
“I have that.”
I looked at the file.
The name had been blacked out.
But underneath it was a number.
E-17.
My heart began pounding.
“What's E-17?”
My father looked terrified.
“Put it down.”
“Why?”
“Elias.”
“What is E-17?”
He didn't answer.
I looked at Adrian.
He smiled.
“Ask him.”
I turned toward my father.
“Tell me.”
My father finally spoke.
“E-17 was the child Adrian wanted most.”
Emily whispered:
“Me?”
“No.”
My father looked at her.
“You were E-01.”
I stared.
“Then who is E-17?”
My father closed his eyes.
“A child born after you.”
I frowned.
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
Adrian did.
“Your son.”
The room went silent.
Emily stared at me.
“You have a brother?”
I couldn't speak.
My father looked at me.
“You had a son.”
I felt as if someone had struck me.
“What?”
“Before Emily.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You were twenty-four.”
“I didn't have a child.”
“You did.”
“What happened?”
My father looked away.
“He died.”
Adrian laughed.
“No.”
He walked toward me.
“He didn't.”
I stared at him.
“You're lying.”
“He's alive.”
My father whispered:
“Adrian…”
Adrian smiled.
“Your father has been lying to you for twenty-five years.”
I looked at my father.
“Where is my son?”
My father couldn't answer.
I grabbed his coat.
“Where is he?”
He looked at me with tears in his eyes.
“Adrian took him.”
Everything stopped.
The sounds.
The machines.
The air.
Even my heartbeat seemed to disappear.
“What?”
My father whispered:
“I tried to save him.”
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
“You told me he died.”
“Yes.”
“You erased him from my memory.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Adrian used him to control me.”
I released my father's coat.
“What is his name?”
My father looked at me.
“Lucas.”
I repeated it.
“Lucas.”
Emily was crying.
“My brother.”
“Yes.”
“How old is he?”
My father answered:
“Twenty-six.”
I looked at Adrian.
“Where is he?”
Adrian smiled.
“Closer than you think.”
Suddenly, the lights flickered.
A monitor turned on.
A live camera feed appeared.
A young man sat inside a dark room.
He looked around twenty-six.
Dark hair.
Sharp jaw.
A small scar across his eyebrow.
He looked directly into the camera.
Then he spoke.
“Dad?”
I stopped breathing.
Emily covered her mouth.
The young man smiled sadly.
“I knew you'd come.”
My knees almost gave way.
“Lucas.”
The screen flickered.
He continued.
“Don't trust Grandfather.”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
Lucas looked frightened.
“He doesn't want me to leave.”
The video suddenly cut.
A red warning appeared.
SIGNAL LOST.
I turned toward Adrian.
“Where is my son?”
He smiled.
“Alive.”
“Where?”
“You'll find him.”
“Where?”
He pointed toward another corridor.
“At the end.”
I started walking.
My father grabbed me.
“Wait.”
I turned.
“What?”
His face was terrified.
“That's what he wants.”
“I don't care.”
“Elias, listen to me.”
I stopped.
My father stepped closer.
“This is the warning I should have given you twenty-five years ago.”
I stared.
“Then give it to me now.”
He looked toward Adrian.
“Lucas isn't a prisoner.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“He's the guardian.”
“Guardian of what?”
My father's voice dropped.
“The original Voss archive.”
I looked toward the corridor.
“What does that mean?”
“He was raised there.”
My blood went cold.
“By Adrian?”
“Yes.”
“To become what?”
My father looked at me.
“The man who would replace him.”
Silence.
Adrian smiled.
“Now you're beginning to understand.”
We reached the final corridor.
At the end was another door.
This one had no handle.
A screen displayed one sentence.
IDENTIFY YOURSELF.
I stepped forward.
“Elias Voss.”
The screen rejected me.
DENIED.
I tried again.
“Elias Voss.”
DENIED.
Emily stepped forward.
“Emily Voss.”
The screen rejected her.
DENIED.
My father approached.
“Victor Voss.”
DENIED.
Noah stepped forward.
“Noah Voss.”
The screen remained red.
Then Adrian walked forward.
The screen immediately turned green.
WELCOME, FATHER.
Everyone froze.
I looked at Adrian.
“You're the only one who can open it.”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Lucas is inside.”
I stared at the door.
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing.”
“You raised him.”
“Yes.”
“You trained him.”
“Yes.”
“You made him hate us.”
Adrian's smile faded.
“No.”
“What then?”
“I made him understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That family is a weakness.”
The door opened.
A young man stood inside.
Lucas.
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
Twenty-five years of missing memories suddenly crashed through my mind.
A baby crying.
A woman screaming.
My mother holding a newborn.
Adrian standing in a doorway.
My father shouting.
A car.
Blood.
Then a voice.
My own voice.
“Take him.”
I staggered backward.
Lucas stepped toward me.
“Dad?”
I stared at him.
“I remember.”
He froze.
“What?”
“I remember you.”
My father closed his eyes.
Lucas looked at him.
“You told me he would forget.”
My father whispered:
“I was wrong.”
Lucas looked back at me.
“Then you remember what happened?”
I nodded.
“I gave you to Adrian.”
Silence.
Emily stared at me.
“You did?”
I couldn't speak.
Lucas stepped closer.
“You gave me away.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“You chose her.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“You did.”
“No.”
“You said you couldn't protect both of us.”
My heart shattered.
I looked at my father.
“Is that true?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
I remembered.
I had been forced to choose.
Emily had been dying.
Lucas had been healthy.
Adrian had given me one impossible choice.
Save the daughter.
Or save the son.
I had chosen Emily.
And then Adrian had erased the memory.
But Lucas had remembered everything.
My son looked at me.
“You forgot me.”
I whispered:
“I never wanted to.”
He shook his head.
“But you did.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Now you understand why he belongs to me.”
I turned toward him.
“No.”
Lucas looked at Adrian.
“No.”
Adrian frowned.
Lucas stepped toward me.
“I don't belong to anyone.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“What did you say?”
“I said…”
Lucas looked at him.
“I don't belong to you.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“You are mine.”
Lucas shook his head.
“You were never my father.”
The room went silent.
Adrian raised his weapon.
I moved in front of Lucas.
Emily stood beside me.
Noah raised his weapon.
My brother did the same.
My father stepped forward.
Adrian looked around.
“Look at you.”
He laughed.
“The Voss family finally united.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
I looked at Lucas.
“Not the Voss family.”
Then at Emily.
“Just a family.”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
And somewhere above us, sirens began to echo through the underground facility.
The world had finally found the place Adrian had spent decades hiding.
But before we could move, Lucas looked at the wall.
“Dad.”
“What?”
He pointed.
“There.”
A small red light was blinking.
“What is it?”
Lucas whispered:
“The self-destruct system.”
My father froze.
Adrian smiled.
“You're too late.”
A countdown appeared.
10:00
09:59
09:58
Emily grabbed my hand.
“Dad.”
I looked at my son.
My daughter.
My parents.
My brother.
And the man who had destroyed all of us.
Then I realized the terrible truth.
Adrian had never intended to escape.
He intended to bury the entire facility.
With all of us inside.
I looked at the countdown.
09:41.
Then I looked at Adrian.
“You wanted us here.”
He smiled.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because there is one final thing you haven't discovered.”
“What?”
He pointed toward the deepest part of the facility.
“The person who activated the countdown.”
The lights went out.
A door opened somewhere in the darkness.
And a woman's voice whispered:
“Hello, Elias.”
I stopped breathing.
I knew that voice.
My mother's voice.
But she was standing beside us.
Alive.
Terrified.
Which meant the woman in the darkness...
could only be someone else.
Someone who sounded exactly like her.
Someone who had been waiting beneath the city for twenty-five years.
May you like
And when the emergency lights came back on...
Emily was gone.
