Chapter 10 — The Moretti Bloodline
Chapter 10 — The Moretti Bloodline
The woman standing at the end of the corridor had my face.
Not similar.
Not familiar.
Mine.
The same dark eyes.
The same shape of the mouth.
The same small scar beneath the chin.
Even the same slight tilt of the head when she was suspicious.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Luka whispered:
“Evelyn.”
The woman smiled.
“So you remember me.”
Luka looked as if someone had struck him.
“My grandmother is dead.”
“Your grandmother died twenty-eight years ago.”
“That isn't possible.”
She glanced at me.
“Neither was Hannah.”
My blood ran cold.
I looked at my mother.
She was staring at the woman with absolute terror.
“You know her.”
My mother couldn't answer.
“Mom.”
Her lips trembled.
“Yes.”
“Who is she?”
My mother finally whispered:
“Your biological mother.”
The words struck harder than anything else that night.
I looked at the woman.
“You're Evelyn.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“The photograph.”
“Yes.”
“The woman in my father's archive.”
“Yes.”
“The woman who was supposed to be dead.”
A faint smile appeared.
“Many people have believed that.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Why did everyone tell me you were dead?”
She looked at my mother.
“Because it was easier.”
My mother lowered her eyes.
I stepped toward Evelyn.
“Did you abandon me?”
“No.”
“Did you give me away?”
“No.”
“Then what happened?”
Evelyn's expression changed.
“I was taken.”
“By whom?”
“M-17.”
I stared.
“But you were one of its creators.”
She nodded.
“I was.”
“Then why would they take you?”
“Because I tried to destroy it.”
I felt a chill.
“You betrayed your own program.”
“Yes.”
“And my father?”
“He helped me.”
I looked toward the baby behind the glass.
“Then why did he create M-17?”
Evelyn sighed.
“Because we believed we could control it.”
She looked at me.
“We were wrong.”
Agent Mercer raised his weapon.
“Evelyn Moretti, step away from the children.”
She smiled.
“You don't understand what you're looking at.”
“I understand enough.”
“No.”
She pointed toward the baby.
“That child contains the archive you have spent years trying to find.”
Mercer froze.
“You knew?”
“I helped create it.”
“Then tell me how to access it.”
Evelyn looked at me.
“Not him.”
Her eyes settled on me.
“Her.”
Mercer frowned.
“Hannah?”
Evelyn nodded.
“She is the only one who can open it.”
I shook my head.
“I don't know how.”
“You already did.”
“When?”
“When you touched him.”
I remembered the flood of memories.
The children.
The hospitals.
The contracts.
The names.
I felt sick.
“You put all of that inside him.”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Your father.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew the program would eventually turn against him.”
She stepped closer.
“He needed a living vault.”
I looked at the baby.
“And he made him.”
“Yes.”
“Why a child?”
“Because children are harder to search for.”
I stared.
“You turned a baby into evidence.”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Your father did.”
“And you allowed it.”
“I tried to stop him.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“I didn't.”
For the first time, she looked ashamed.
Emma stepped closer to me.
“Mommy.”
I turned.
She held my hand.
“Is she your mother?”
I looked at Evelyn.
“Yes.”
Emma studied her.
“She looks like you.”
“I know.”
“Is she nice?”
Evelyn smiled sadly.
“I wasn't always.”
Emma looked at her seriously.
“Are you going to take my mommy away?”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
Emma nodded.
Then she whispered:
“Everyone says that.”
Evelyn's expression broke.
“I know.”
Emma looked at the baby.
“Can we take him too?”
I looked at Evelyn.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether he is safe.”
Evelyn's gaze hardened.
“He won't be safe anywhere unless M-17 is destroyed.”
I stared.
“Then destroy it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the people who control it are no longer inside the organization.”
I frowned.
“Then who?”
Evelyn looked at Mercer.
“The government.”
The room went silent.
Mercer stiffened.
“That's an accusation.”
“It isn't.”
She pointed toward him.
“Three federal agencies received funding from M-17.”
Mercer's expression changed.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
Evelyn smiled.
“It's documented.”
She looked at me.
“That's why your father hid the archive.”
“And that's why the state laboratory has my DNA.”
“Yes.”
“Someone inside the government is working with them.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Mercer.
He slowly lowered his weapon.
“I need proof.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You're standing beside it.”
A screen on the wall suddenly turned on.
Rows of names appeared.
Politicians.
Judges.
Doctors.
Police officers.
Federal officials.
I stared.
“Those are all M-17 members?”
“No.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Some are buyers.”
“Buyers?”
“People who purchased children.”
My stomach turned.
“How many?”
“Four hundred and twelve.”
“And the others?”
“Intermediaries.”
I stared at the list.
Then I saw a familiar name.
THOMAS MERCER.
My heart stopped.
I looked at him.
“No.”
Mercer stared at the screen.
His face had gone white.
“That's not me.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Not you.”
She pointed to another line.
“Your father.”
Mercer's eyes widened.
“My father?”
“Jonathan Mercer.”
He stepped backward.
“My father died before I joined the Bureau.”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“He was one of M-17's original financial architects.”
Mercer looked sick.
“And you knew?”
“I knew everyone.”
I looked at him.
“Then why did you bring us here?”
Mercer looked at me.
“Because I thought I was investigating the program.”
Evelyn's smile disappeared.
“You were.”
“What?”
“You were investigating the wrong version.”
She pointed at the screen.
“The program you're hunting is the one your father created.”
Mercer frowned.
“Then what's the other one?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“The one your government created after your father died.”
Daniel finally spoke.
“How did they get control?”
Evelyn turned toward him.
“You know.”
He shook his head.
“I know some of it.”
“Tell her.”
Daniel looked at me.
“After your father died, M-17 was supposed to disappear.”
“But it didn't.”
“No.”
“The government took over.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they realized the database could identify anyone with a genetic connection to the program.”
I understood.
“They could track people.”
“Yes.”
“Manipulate them.”
“Yes.”
“Blackmail them.”
“Yes.”
“Replace them.”
Daniel nodded.
“And control inheritance.”
My stomach tightened.
“So the children weren't the goal.”
“No.”
“The bloodlines were.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Amelia.
“Then why do they want her?”
Daniel answered:
“Because she is the first child born outside the program who carries the original sequence.”
“And Emma?”
“She was the first controlled subject to survive.”
I looked at my daughters.
“One was born naturally.”
“Yes.”
“One was created.”
“Yes.”
“And together…”
“They prove the program can be reversed.”
I stared at Evelyn.
“That's why they want both.”
“Yes.”
A loud metallic sound echoed from the corridor.
Mercer looked toward the door.
“We need to move.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“They're already here.”
The lights flickered.
Then every screen went black.
A voice came through the intercom.
“Evelyn.”
She froze.
I recognized the voice.
Marco.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You should have stayed afraid.”
A pause.
Then Marco said:
“Bring Hannah to the upper floor.”
“No.”
“You know what happens if you refuse.”
“I know.”
A gunshot echoed.
Someone screamed.
The basement door slammed open.
Armed men poured inside.
Mercer shouted:
“Protect the children!”
Luka grabbed Emma.
Daniel grabbed Amelia.
I ran toward the glass chamber.
The baby began crying.
I reached for the door.
It wouldn't open.
A red warning appeared.
M-17 CONTAINMENT ACTIVE.
I panicked.
“Evelyn!”
She ran toward me.
“Don't touch the controls.”
“Why?”
“They'll trigger the memory purge.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“If the system detects unauthorized access, it destroys the archive.”
I stared at the baby.
“No.”
Evelyn grabbed my wrist.
“You need to open it manually.”
“How?”
“With your memory.”
I shook my head.
“I don't know how.”
“You did it once.”
“When?”
“When you were sixteen.”
“I don't remember.”
“You will.”
Gunfire erupted behind us.
Luka shouted:
“Get down!”
I crouched beside the glass.
The baby looked at me.
His crying stopped.
I placed my hand against the glass.
“Please.”
The monitor flickered.
GENETIC SOURCE DETECTED.
Then:
MEMORY SOURCE DETECTED.
I closed my eyes.
I remembered the red room.
My younger self.
A keyboard.
A code.
My father's voice.
“Only you can open it.”
I whispered:
“Seventeen.”
Nothing.
I tried again.
“Zero.”
The monitor changed.
ACCESS DENIED.
Evelyn shouted:
“Not numbers!”
“What?”
“Your first memory!”
I closed my eyes.
A river.
A red door.
A newborn.
My father's hand.
My mother's voice.
And a lullaby.
I whispered the words.
The monitor flashed.
ACCESS GRANTED.
The glass chamber opened.
The baby began crying.
I lifted him into my arms.
The moment I touched him—
the memories returned.
Not mine.
His.
Hundreds of voices.
Children crying.
Mothers screaming.
Doctors signing documents.
Money changing hands.
And one voice above all others.
My father's.
“Never let them own the bloodline.”
Then another voice.
Evelyn's.
“Then we have to hide the children.”
My father answered:
“Not hide them.”
A pause.
“Free them.”
The memory changed.
I saw my father holding newborn Emma.
He kissed her forehead.
Then he handed her to a woman.
Not Marco.
Not my mother.
A stranger.
My father whispered:
“Raise her far away.”
The woman nodded.
Then my father turned toward the camera.
“If Hannah ever remembers…”
He paused.
“…tell her I was wrong.”
The memory ended.
I opened my eyes.
Evelyn was crying.
“What did you see?”
I looked at her.
“My father knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That M-17 couldn't be destroyed.”
She stared.
“Then what?”
“He wanted to expose it.”
“How?”
I looked at the baby.
“Through the children.”
Evelyn nodded.
“That was his final plan.”
A man appeared behind us.
Marco.
He pointed a gun at Evelyn.
“Enough.”
Luka raised his weapon.
“Drop yours.”
Marco laughed.
“You're still pretending you're in control.”
He looked at me.
“Give me the child.”
“No.”
“Hannah.”
“No.”
“He belongs to M-17.”
I held the baby tighter.
“He belongs to me.”
Marco's eyes hardened.
“Then I'll take him.”
He raised the gun.
A shot rang out.
But Marco wasn't the one who fired.
Daniel stood behind him.
Marco stumbled.
He dropped the weapon.
Luka rushed forward and disarmed him.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Daniel stared at his own shaking hand.
“I told you.”
Marco looked at him.
“You chose them.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
“You'll regret it.”
“I already regret everything.”
Mercer arrested Marco.
Then turned toward Evelyn.
“You're under arrest too.”
She didn't resist.
Before Mercer could put the cuffs on her, she looked at me.
“You need to hear the last part.”
“What?”
“Your father didn't die seven years ago.”
I froze.
“I know.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You think he survived.”
“Yes.”
“He did.”
“Where is he?”
Evelyn's eyes filled with tears.
“He's been alive this entire time.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“Inside the Moretti estate.”
Luka went pale.
“My estate?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Beneath it.”
The Moretti estate was three hours away.
We arrived before sunrise.
The mansion looked exactly as I remembered.
Elegant.
Silent.
Dead.
Luka led us through the east wing.
Then down a staircase hidden behind a library wall.
At the bottom was a steel door.
No lock.
Only a biometric scanner.
Evelyn placed her hand against it.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with monitors.
One chair.
One desk.
And one man.
He sat facing away from us.
Older.
Thinner.
Gray hair.
I knew him instantly.
My heart stopped.
“Dad?”
The chair moved.
He turned.
His eyes met mine.
And for a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he smiled.
“Hannah.”
I couldn't breathe.
I walked toward him.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
“You let me think you abandoned me.”
“I had to.”
“You let me lose my daughter.”
His face collapsed.
“I know.”
I slapped him.
The sound echoed through the room.
He didn't move.
I hit him again.
“You took my child.”
“I know.”
“You let my mother sacrifice her.”
“I know.”
“You let Daniel lie to me.”
“I know.”
“You let M-17 take thousands of children.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I tried to stop it.”
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
I stood over him.
“Why?”
He looked at Amelia.
Then Emma.
Then the baby in my arms.
“Because I believed I could build something evil and control it.”
He looked at Evelyn.
“I was wrong.”
I shook my head.
“You made me part of it.”
“I did.”
“You used my memories.”
“Yes.”
“You made me forget.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He whispered:
“Because you were the only person who could destroy me.”
I stared.
“What?”
“You were the creator.”
“I was sixteen.”
“You were brilliant.”
“I was a child.”
“You were my daughter.”
He looked at me.
“And I was afraid of what you would become if you remembered everything.”
I felt tears burn my eyes.
“You were afraid of me?”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“I was afraid of the people who would use you.”
I looked at the baby.
“What is he?”
My father smiled sadly.
“He is the archive.”
“And Amelia?”
“The key.”
“Emma?”
“The proof.”
“And me?”
He stared into my eyes.
“The witness.”
I didn't understand.
“What witness?”
He pointed toward the monitors.
Every screen displayed the same image.
M-17.
Then a message appeared.
FINAL PROTOCOL READY.
My father's face became serious.
“Your memory was never erased.”
I froze.
“What?”
“It was hidden.”
“Where?”
He looked at the baby.
“Inside him.”
I stared.
“So when I touched him…”
“You remembered.”
“And now?”
“You remember everything.”
I looked at the screens.
“Then what's the final protocol?”
My father hesitated.
“The destruction of M-17.”
Hope flickered inside me.
“How?”
He looked at me.
“By exposing everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Every doctor.”
“Every politician.”
“Every buyer.”
“Every official.”
“Every family.”
I stared.
“And what happens to the children?”
“They go home.”
I looked at Emma.
Then Amelia.
Then the baby.
I whispered:
“Then let's finish what you started.”
My father smiled.
“No.”
He shook his head.
“You finish what I failed to do.”
Then every monitor suddenly turned red.
A countdown appeared.
00:59:59
I stared.
“What is that?”
My father's expression changed.
“The final protocol has already started.”
“Who activated it?”
He looked at me.
“You did.”
My blood froze.
“When I opened the archive?”
He nodded.
“And now?”
“Everyone connected to M-17 has one hour.”
“To do what?”
My father looked at me.
“To choose.”
The countdown continued.
00:59:42
And somewhere across the country, thousands of people were about to receive the same message.
A message that would expose the greatest secret their families had ever buried.
But there was one final problem.
My father leaned closer.
“Someone inside this room is still working for them.”
I looked at everyone.
Luka.
Daniel.
My mother.
Evelyn.
Mercer.
Even my father.
May you like
Someone had betrayed us.
And the countdown had already begun.
