CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10
DANIEL'S REAL REASON
Daniel was dead.
Or at least, everyone in the tunnel believed he was.
I couldn't accept it.
Not yet.
I knelt beside him, staring at the blood spreading across his shirt.
My hands were shaking.
"Daniel."
Nothing.
I pressed my fingers against his neck.
A pulse.
Weak.
But there.
"He’s alive."
Luka immediately crouched beside him.
"Move."
I stepped back.
Luka checked Daniel's wound.
"Bullet went through."
"Will he survive?"
"If we get him medical attention."
"Then get him out."
Luka looked toward the tunnel.
"We can't."
"Why?"
"Because Victor sealed the upper exits."
"Then find another way."
"There is one."
Eva pointed toward a narrow corridor.
"Emergency ventilation."
Luka looked at her.
"That tunnel hasn't been used in years."
"Neither has half this building."
He picked Daniel up.
I followed.
Lily was still in my arms.
My mind was screaming.
Victor.
Luka.
Two DNA signatures.
Two men.
One daughter.
And Daniel had known.
But there was something else.
Something I couldn't stop thinking about.
His last words.
I never deserved you.
If he had truly betrayed me from the beginning, why had he come back?
Why warn me?
Why give me the real DNA report?
Why stand between me and Victor?
The answer had to be somewhere.
We reached an abandoned treatment room beneath the old hospital.
Eva locked the door behind us.
Luka placed Daniel on a metal table.
Maria stood beside me.
"Give me the envelope."
I handed it to her.
She opened it again.
Her face went pale.
"The results were manipulated."
"What?"
She pointed to the laboratory seal.
"This laboratory doesn't exist anymore."
"What does that mean?"
"The testing center was destroyed six years ago."
I stared at the report.
"Then how was this done?"
Maria looked at Luka.
"Someone recreated the seal."
Luka shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I know this laboratory."
He took the report.
"The seal is authentic."
Maria frowned.
"That's impossible."
Luka turned the page.
"There is a verification code."
He entered it into his phone.
A result appeared.
AUTHENTIC.
I felt a cold sensation in my stomach.
"Then the report is real."
"Yes."
"Victor and Luka."
He looked at me.
"Apparently."
I glanced at Daniel.
"Then why did he say one of them was lying?"
Luka's expression darkened.
"Because someone is."
Daniel suddenly coughed.
I rushed to him.
"Daniel?"
His eyes opened.
He looked at me.
"You're still here."
"Of course."
He smiled weakly.
"Why?"
"Because you almost died."
"Maybe I should have."
"Don't say that."
He looked away.
"I hurt you."
"Yes."
"I lied."
"Yes."
"I used you."
"Yes."
His eyes filled with tears.
"But I didn't marry you for Lily."
I froze.
"Then why?"
Daniel tried to sit up.
Luka pushed him back.
"Don't."
Daniel looked at him.
"You."
Luka's eyes narrowed.
"What?"
"You were always the problem."
I stepped between them.
"Stop."
Daniel looked at me.
"Do you remember the first time we met?"
"Yes."
"No."
He shook his head.
"You don't."
My chest tightened.
"What do you mean?"
"We met before the wedding."
"At the restaurant."
"No."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"We met six months earlier."
I froze.
"I don't remember."
"I know."
"Why?"
"Because Robert erased that memory."
I stared.
"Why would my father erase my memory of you?"
"Because he didn't want you to know what I had discovered."
"What did you discover?"
Daniel swallowed.
"The truth about Victor."
I frowned.
"Your father."
"Yes."
"What truth?"
Daniel looked toward Luka.
"Tell her."
Luka remained silent.
Daniel laughed weakly.
"Of course."
I turned to Luka.
"What did he discover?"
Luka looked at me.
"Daniel found evidence that Victor was involved in M-17."
"I already know that."
"No."
His expression became serious.
"Daniel discovered that Victor wasn't just an investor."
"What was he?"
"The project's director."
My stomach dropped.
"Director?"
"Marcus created the research."
"Robert modified it."
"Victor controlled the funding."
"Then who controlled the children?"
Luka looked at Daniel.
"Victor."
Daniel nodded.
"He selected them."
I stared.
"Why?"
Daniel's voice was barely audible.
"Because he was looking for someone."
"Who?"
"You."
Silence.
I felt my heart stop.
"Why me?"
"Because Victor knew your DNA could stabilize M-17."
"But he already had Eva."
"Eva wasn't enough."
"Why?"
"She was unstable."
I looked at Eva.
She didn't react.
Daniel continued.
"Victor believed you were the next stage."
"So he wanted me."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't he take me?"
"Robert protected you."
"How?"
"By making you forget."
I shook my head.
"Then Daniel..."
Daniel looked at me.
"I was sent to watch you."
My chest tightened.
"By Victor?"
"Yes."
"You married me because he told you to."
Daniel nodded.
I felt sick.
"Then why did you fall in love with me?"
He looked down.
"That was the mistake."
"What mistake?"
"I stopped following orders."
Silence.
"At first, everything was simple."
He smiled bitterly.
"I was supposed to get close to you."
"Find out what you knew."
"Report your behavior."
"Find out whether you were remembering."
"Then?"
"I met you."
I stared.
"And?"
"You were nothing like what they described."
I felt tears forming.
"What did they describe?"
"An unstable subject."
"A dangerous woman."
"A genetic weapon."
He shook his head.
"But you were just..."
He looked at Lily.
"...you."
I couldn't speak.
"Then why did you cheat on me?"
His eyes closed.
"Because Victor discovered I had changed sides."
"What did he do?"
"He threatened you."
"With what?"
"Your memories."
I frowned.
"He said he'd trigger them."
"What would happen?"
"You'd remember the laboratory."
"You'd remember what they did."
"And?"
"You'd probably lose control."
I stared at him.
"Was that why you left me at the hospital?"
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"Yes."
I didn't understand.
"You abandoned me."
"I had to."
"You walked out with another woman."
"Vanessa."
"You humiliated me."
"I know."
"Why?"
"Because Victor was watching."
I stared.
"He wanted you to hate me."
"Why?"
"So you wouldn't trust me."
Daniel swallowed.
"If you trusted me, you'd follow me."
"And he could find you."
"Yes."
I shook my head.
"So you pretended to betray me."
"Yes."
"Like Luka."
Daniel nodded.
"Like Luka."
I looked at Luka.
He said nothing.
"How many people were pretending to betray me?"
Daniel gave a weak laugh.
"Almost everyone."
I felt tears spill down my face.
"You all decided I couldn't handle the truth."
Daniel reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
"You don't get to touch me."
He stopped.
"I understand."
I looked at him.
"Then what was Vanessa?"
His expression changed.
"She was my handler."
"Your mistress?"
"No."
"Then why did she leave with you?"
"Because Victor wanted you to believe that."
"Was she part of M-17?"
"Yes."
"Did she know about Lily?"
"Yes."
"Did she know you loved me?"
"Yes."
I stared.
"Then why help you?"
"Because she was trying to escape too."
"From Victor?"
"Yes."
"Where is she now?"
Daniel's face became tense.
"Victor has her."
"Alive?"
"I think so."
I looked at Luka.
"We have to find her."
"Not yet."
"Why?"
Daniel whispered:
"Because Vanessa knows where my mother is."
I turned toward him.
"Your mother?"
"Victor took her years ago."
"Why?"
"Because she tried to expose M-17."
I stared.
"Then your mother is one of the people who knows the truth."
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Under St. Agnes."
My heart stopped.
"She's alive?"
"I don't know."
"You said Victor took her."
"He did."
"Then where is she?"
Daniel looked at the floor.
"I've spent six years trying to find her."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because every time I got close, someone disappeared."
"Who?"
"Doctors."
"Scientists."
"Lawyers."
"Even police."
He looked at me.
"That's why I couldn't leave Victor."
I began to understand.
Daniel wasn't simply a coward.
He was trapped.
But that didn't erase what he'd done.
"You still hurt me."
"I know."
"You still lied."
"I know."
"You still made me believe I wasn't worth loving."
His face crumpled.
"I never believed that."
"But you made me believe it."
"I'm sorry."
I looked away.
I couldn't forgive him.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
But I could understand him.
And sometimes understanding someone was more painful than hating them.
Luka suddenly stood.
"Enough."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Daniel isn't telling us everything."
Daniel's expression changed.
"I told her the truth."
"No."
Luka stepped closer.
"You told her why you married her."
"Yes."
"You told her why you left."
"Yes."
"You told her about Victor."
"Yes."
"But you haven't told her about the pregnancy."
Daniel went pale.
I looked at him.
"What about my pregnancy?"
Silence.
"Daniel."
He looked at Luka.
Then at me.
"I found out before Victor."
"How early?"
"Eight weeks."
"That's when I met you."
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"You were already pregnant before that."
I swallowed.
"With Lily."
"Yes."
"Then who was the father?"
Daniel didn't answer.
"Tell me."
He looked at Luka.
"That's why Victor was interested in you."
I shook my head.
"That doesn't answer the question."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Your pregnancy was monitored from the beginning."
"By whom?"
"Victor."
"How?"
"Through Dr. Harris."
I felt sick.
"And the father?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Nobody knew."
"What?"
"The DNA results were inconclusive."
"But the report says Victor and Luka."
"Those are not the original results."
My heart stopped.
I pulled out the envelope.
"What?"
Daniel pointed to it.
"The report you have was generated later."
"By whom?"
"I don't know."
"Then why did you give it to me?"
"Because I found the original."
"Where?"
"In Victor's private archive."
"Where is it?"
Daniel reached inside his jacket.
Nothing.
He frowned.
"It was here."
Luka searched him.
"No."
Daniel looked terrified.
"Someone took it."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
I felt a cold wave pass through me.
Then I remembered the photograph.
ONE OF THEM IS LYING.
I looked at Luka.
"You said you weren't there."
"That night?"
"Yes."
"I wasn't."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Daniel looked at him.
"You were."
Luka's expression hardened.
"Don't."
"I saw you."
"Where?"
"At Victor's house."
"When?"
"The night Elena disappeared."
I stared.
Luka shook his head.
"I went there to rescue her."
"You were already inside."
"I followed Victor."
"You were holding her."
I froze.
"What?"
Daniel looked at me.
"You were unconscious."
I looked at Luka.
"Did you touch me?"
"Yes."
"Did you..."
I couldn't finish.
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"I would never."
Daniel nodded.
"He didn't."
I stared at him.
"Then why is his DNA on the report?"
Daniel swallowed.
"Because Victor used Luka's DNA."
"What?"
"He planted it."
"Why?"
"To create a false father."
My heart raced.
"Why?"
"So everyone would believe Luka was Lily's father."
"Why would Victor do that?"
"Because it would make you trust Luka."
I looked at Luka.
"He wanted me to trust you."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Luka was the only person who could get close enough to you."
My stomach dropped.
"To take Lily."
Silence.
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
Luka looked furious.
"Victor was going to use me."
"Exactly."
"And you knew."
"I suspected."
"Then why didn't you tell Elena?"
"Because I was trying to confirm it."
I looked between them.
"You were all using me."
Daniel lowered his head.
"Yes."
I held Lily closer.
"Never again."
Everyone became silent.
I looked at my daughter.
Then at the DNA report.
Then at Luka.
"If the report is false, who is Lily's father?"
Daniel whispered:
"We need the original."
"Where?"
He looked at the door.
"Victor took it."
"Then we find him."
"No."
Daniel shook his head.
"We don't need Victor."
"Why?"
"Because I know where he keeps the backup."
I stared.
"Where?"
Daniel looked at me.
"Your old house."
My blood ran cold.
"The house Robert left me?"
"Yes."
"Why would Victor keep something there?"
"Because he knows you won't look."
Luka shook his head.
"That's exactly where he wants us to go."
Daniel looked at him.
"Maybe."
"Or it's a trap."
"It probably is."
I looked at both men.
"Then why go?"
Daniel's expression became serious.
"Because there is one thing in that house Victor is more afraid of than the DNA report."
"What?"
"Your mother's original medical file."
I froze.
"My mother."
Daniel nodded.
"Robert hid it there."
"What's inside?"
"The truth about your birth."
I looked at Lily.
Then at the door.
"We're going."
Luka shook his head.
"I'm coming."
"I didn't ask."
"I know."
Daniel slowly stood.
"I'm coming too."
I stared at him.
"You were shot."
"I can walk."
"You're not coming."
"I know where the file is."
I hesitated.
He looked at me.
"If you want the truth, you need me."
I hated that he was right.
We left the underground room through a maintenance tunnel.
The rain had started by the time we reached the surface.
I held Lily under my coat.
Luka walked beside me.
Daniel followed several steps behind.
For the first time, I saw him differently.
Not as my husband.
Not as the man who betrayed me.
But as a man who had been trapped inside the same nightmare.
That didn't make him innocent.
It only made him human.
We reached my old house just before midnight.
The lights were off.
The front door was unlocked.
Luka immediately stopped.
"Someone's been here."
I looked at him.
"How do you know?"
"The lock."
He touched it.
"Forced."
We entered.
The house smelled exactly as I remembered.
Old wood.
Dust.
My father's books.
The piano.
Photographs.
Everything looked untouched.
Too untouched.
Daniel whispered:
"Don't trust it."
I looked at him.
"You know where the file is?"
"Basement."
We descended.
Luka went first.
At the bottom, Daniel pointed toward the wall.
"Behind that."
Luka removed an old panel.
A metal safe appeared.
I entered the combination.
My birthday.
Nothing.
I tried my mother's birthday.
Nothing.
Then Lily's birth date.
Click.
The safe opened.
Inside was a single file.
MARIA MORETTI — SUBJECT ZERO
My hands trembled.
I opened it.
The first page was a photograph.
My mother.
Pregnant.
The date was twenty-five years ago.
The second page showed a laboratory.
The third page showed a medical procedure.
Then I reached the final page.
My blood turned cold.
It wasn't my mother's medical report.
It was mine.
SUBJECT: ELENA MORETTI
STATUS: DECEASED
DATE OF DEATH: MARCH 14, 2001
I stared.
"Deceased?"
Daniel stepped closer.
"Keep reading."
Below it:
CAUSE: FAILED M-17 TRANSFER
My hands went numb.
I looked at Luka.
"If I'm listed as dead..."
"Then who was born that day?"
Nobody answered.
Then I saw the next line.
REPLACEMENT SUBJECT: E-02
My heart stopped.
E-02.
I looked at Eva.
She wasn't in the room.
She had stayed behind at the safe house with Maria.
I whispered:
"E-01 was Eva."
Luka nodded.
"Then E-02 is..."
I couldn't finish.
Daniel did.
"You."
I stared at the page.
My entire life had been built on a dead girl's identity.
But then I saw something handwritten in the margin.
Robert's writing.
E-02 survived.
Then beneath it:
But the child was never Elena.
I felt the room spin.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel reached for the page.
Then stopped.
His face changed.
"What?"
He pointed toward the bottom.
There was one final line.
Written in red.
PATERNAL DNA: UNKNOWN.
And beneath it:
DO NOT TEST UNTIL LILY IS BORN.
I stared.
Robert had known.
He had known Lily would be born.
He had known her DNA would reveal the truth.
And he had deliberately waited.
Then I heard footsteps upstairs.
Slow.
Measured.
Someone was walking through the house.
Luka immediately drew his weapon.
Daniel whispered:
"He's here."
"Victor?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
He looked at the basement door.
"I don't know."
The footsteps stopped.
A man's voice came from above.
"Elena."
My heart stopped.
I knew that voice.
It was impossible.
I hadn't heard it in six years.
But I knew it.
Robert.
My dead father.
The voice continued.
"Close the file."
Luka raised his weapon.
I couldn't move.
Robert spoke again.
"Your mother lied to you."
A pause.
"Victor lied to you."
Another pause.
"Daniel lied to you."
Then:
"Even Luka lied to you."
My hands trembled.
"But there is one person who hasn't."
I looked at Lily.
Robert's voice softened.
"Your daughter."
The basement light went out.
May you like
And in the darkness, a final sentence echoed through the house:
"Because Lily is the only one who knows who her father really is."
