Chapter 13 — The Trial of the Liars
Chapter 13 — The Trial of the Liars
The door beneath Chicago opened at 5:42 in the morning.
We heard it before we saw it.
A metallic groan traveled through the underground facility.
Then came footsteps.
Many footsteps.
My stomach tightened.
Luka stood beside me.
His face was pale, but his eyes were steady.
The countdown on the monitor continued.
01:48:19
Ethan stared at the number.
"What happens when it reaches zero?"
Charles answered:
"The containment system opens."
"Containment for what?"
Charles looked at me.
"Everyone they've been keeping underneath the Foundation."
My blood went cold.
"Everyone?"
"Test subjects."
Luka's expression hardened.
"How many?"
Charles hesitated.
"Twenty-seven."
Miriam shook her head.
"Twenty-eight."
Everyone looked at her.
She swallowed.
"One was born last week."
I felt sick.
"Where?"
Miriam pointed toward the lower levels.
"The nursery."
I stared at her.
"They've been keeping babies here?"
"No."
She looked at Hope.
"Not babies."
I understood.
"Children born with M-17."
Miriam nodded.
"Twenty-eight."
Luka's hands curled into fists.
"We're getting them out."
Charles stepped forward.
"You can't."
"Watch me."
"The facility is already compromised."
"Then we move faster."
Charles shook his head.
"You don't understand what will happen if those children leave."
Luka looked at him.
"They're children."
"They could be dangerous."
"Because of what you did to them."
Charles flinched.
Luka walked past him.
I followed.
We reached the lower level through a maintenance shaft.
The air became colder.
The walls changed from white to concrete.
There were no windows.
No decorations.
Only numbers.
M-01
M-02
M-03
Each door had a small observation window.
Behind the first was a boy.
Maybe eight years old.
He sat on the floor drawing circles.
He looked up.
His eyes met mine.
He smiled.
I stopped.
"What's your name?"
He didn't answer.
Luka crouched.
"I'm Luka."
The boy whispered:
"Subject Twelve."
My chest hurt.
"That's not your name."
He looked confused.
"That's what they call me."
Luka held out his hand.
"Then we'll find you a real one."
The boy stared at him.
"Are you Subject Zero?"
Luka went still.
"Who told you that?"
"Dr. Vale."
Miriam appeared behind us.
She lowered her eyes.
"He's right."
Luka turned.
"How many of them know me?"
"All of them."
"Why?"
"Because you were their proof."
His expression hardened.
"Proof of what?"
"That survival was possible."
Luka looked through the window.
The boy pressed his hand against the glass.
"Please."
Luka stepped toward the door.
He ripped the electronic panel from the wall.
The lock released.
The boy stumbled out.
Luka caught him.
"You're safe."
The boy looked at me.
"Is she my mother?"
I couldn't answer.
Luka looked at me.
I swallowed.
"No."
The boy's face fell.
"But she looks kind."
My eyes burned.
I touched his hair.
"I can still be kind."
He smiled.
"Then can I come with you?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
One child became two.
Then three.
Then five.
Soon the corridor filled with small hands reaching for ours.
Children who had never seen sunlight.
Children who didn't know birthdays.
Children who had numbers instead of names.
And every one of them looked at Luka as though he were a legend.
He hated it.
Because he knew the truth.
He hadn't been their savior.
He had been their blueprint.
We reached the final chamber.
The door was different.
Black steel.
No number.
No window.
Charles stopped.
"We shouldn't open this."
Luka looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because there is something inside that cannot be controlled."
"Then we destroy it."
Charles shook his head.
"You don't understand."
Luka grabbed his coat.
"Tell me."
Charles looked at me.
"It contains the original M-17 archive."
"So?"
"Every experiment."
"Every subject."
"Every death."
I stared at him.
"And that's why you're afraid."
Charles nodded.
"Because if the archive becomes public, everyone involved will be exposed."
Luka released him.
"Open it."
Charles entered the code.
The door opened.
Inside were thousands of files.
Paper.
Hard drives.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Video tapes.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
Government seals.
Pharmaceutical contracts.
I stared at the shelves.
"All of this?"
Charles nodded.
"Thirty years."
I pulled out a file.
The first page contained my name.
ELENA CARTER
Under it:
STATUS: PRIMARY CARRIER
I turned the page.
My entire childhood was documented.
Every illness.
Every vaccination.
Every blood test.
Every psychological evaluation.
Every romantic relationship.
Every pregnancy appointment.
I felt nauseated.
"They monitored me my entire life."
Charles didn't answer.
I opened another file.
ETHAN MORETTI
I froze.
His records began when he was seventeen.
Then I found another.
LUKA MORETTI
My hands trembled.
His file was thick.
Hundreds of pages.
But the final page contained something I hadn't expected.
A photograph.
Luka as a baby.
Ethan holding him.
And beside them...
Charles.
I looked at my father.
"You knew Ethan was his father."
Charles closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"All these years?"
"Yes."
"You let me marry him."
"I didn't know you would."
"But you knew who he was."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Ethan's blood was part of the M-17 sequence."
I laughed bitterly.
"So my marriage was an experiment."
"No."
"Wasn't it?"
He looked at me.
"Not at first."
"Then when?"
"The day I discovered you were pregnant."
My heart stopped.
"You knew?"
"Yes."
"And that's when you started manipulating everything."
"I thought the baby would activate M-17."
"So you allowed Ethan to leave."
"I arranged it."
I stared at him.
"You destroyed my family."
"I believed I was saving your child."
"You don't get to decide that."
"I know."
Luka stepped between us.
"Enough."
Charles looked at him.
"You don't understand what I sacrificed."
Luka's voice was cold.
"You sacrificed everyone except yourself."
Charles went silent.
Then the door behind us slammed shut.
We turned.
Victoria stood there.
Alive.
Blood still staining her clothes.
She held a tablet.
"Touching."
My mother stepped forward.
"You."
Victoria smiled.
"Yes."
Luka moved in front of Hope.
Victoria looked at him.
"Still protecting everyone."
"You're done."
"No."
She lifted the tablet.
"I'm just getting started."
The screens around the archive turned on.
A live video appeared.
A courtroom.
Dozens of reporters.
Judges.
Government officials.
Police.
Victoria smiled.
"Welcome to the trial."
I stared.
"What trial?"
"Yours."
She pressed a button.
The screen changed.
A headline appeared.
ELENA CARTER ACCUSED OF CHILD ABDUCTION AND GENETIC TERRORISM
My blood ran cold.
"What?"
Victoria continued.
"Your fingerprints were found in the laboratory."
"Because I was there."
"Your DNA was found on the research equipment."
"Because it's my DNA."
"Your signature authorizes the illegal experiments."
"I never signed anything."
Victoria smiled.
"Unfortunately, the documents say otherwise."
Luka looked at Charles.
"She forged them."
Charles nodded.
"Yes."
"Then prove it."
Charles looked toward the cameras.
"I will."
Victoria laughed.
"Too late."
She pressed another button.
Police sirens echoed above us.
"They're coming."
My mother grabbed my hand.
"What do we do?"
I looked at the children.
Then Hope.
Then Luka.
"We tell the truth."
Victoria laughed.
"Truth?"
She stepped closer.
"You think truth matters?"
She pointed at the screens.
"People believe documents."
She pointed at me.
"Not women like you."
My anger rose.
"What kind of woman am I?"
"The kind who married into money."
She smiled.
"The kind who became pregnant."
"The kind who claims she was betrayed."
She leaned closer.
"But the public will see a greedy woman who murdered her husband."
I froze.
"My husband?"
"Ethan."
My stomach dropped.
"He's alive."
Victoria shook her head.
"Not anymore."
Luka turned.
"What?"
Victoria looked at him.
"Your father died twenty minutes ago."
Silence.
I couldn't breathe.
"No."
Victoria's smile disappeared.
"Charles ordered it."
Everyone turned toward my father.
He looked horrified.
"I didn't."
Victoria pressed the screen.
A video appeared.
Charles entering a room.
Ethan sitting inside.
Then the video cut.
A gunshot.
Ethan fell.
I covered my mouth.
Luka stared at the screen.
"No."
Charles stepped forward.
"It's fake."
Luka looked at him.
"You killed him."
"I didn't."
"You lied to him."
"I was trying to protect him."
"You killed him."
"No."
Luka's voice broke.
"You took everything."
Charles shook his head.
"Look at the timestamp."
I looked.
The footage was dated two days earlier.
Ethan was still alive then.
But the video had been edited.
Miriam stepped forward.
"Deepfake."
Victoria's smile faded.
Miriam looked at her.
"You altered the footage."
Victoria's face hardened.
"Prove it."
Miriam picked up a drive.
"I can."
She connected it to the archive computer.
The screen changed.
A forensic analysis appeared.
VIDEO MANIPULATION DETECTED
Victoria stepped backward.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
Miriam continued.
"Every piece of evidence against Elena was generated."
I stared.
"You kept the original?"
Miriam nodded.
"I've been keeping records for twelve years."
Victoria glared at her.
"You betrayed me."
Miriam looked at her.
"No."
"I betrayed myself by believing you."
The courtroom broadcast remained live.
Miriam uploaded everything.
The files.
The experiments.
The payments.
The children.
The forged signatures.
The government contracts.
The identities of every person involved.
Within seconds, the entire world could see it.
The screen filled with breaking-news alerts.
M-17 SCANDAL EXPLODES
CARTER FOUNDATION ACCUSED OF ILLEGAL HUMAN EXPERIMENTATION
CHILDREN FOUND IN SECRET LABORATORY
BILLION-DOLLAR CORPORATIONS LINKED TO GENETIC PROGRAM
Victoria stared at the screens.
"No."
She grabbed the tablet.
"No!"
Charles walked toward her.
"It's over."
She looked at him.
"You think this ends with me?"
"No."
"It ends with all of you."
She pulled a gun.
Luka moved instantly.
He pushed me behind him.
Victoria aimed at Hope.
I screamed.
"No!"
A shot rang out.
Luka collapsed.
I caught him.
"Luka!"
Blood spread across his shirt.
He looked at me.
"I'm okay."
"You've been shot."
He smiled faintly.
"Apparently."
Victoria ran.
Charles chased her.
Gabriel followed.
The children screamed.
I pressed my hands against Luka's wound.
"Stay with me."
He looked at me.
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise."
"I promise."
The wound began closing.
Slowly.
But not fast enough.
His face turned pale.
I cried.
"Please."
He touched my cheek.
"I'm here."
Three hours later, the police arrived.
Not the corrupt officers.
Federal investigators.
Journalists.
Doctors.
Child protection workers.
The children were taken somewhere safe.
Miriam surrendered.
Charles surrendered.
Gabriel surrendered.
Even my mother gave a statement.
Everyone told the truth.
For the first time.
Victoria was arrested at the airport.
She had tried to escape using a private jet.
She didn't make it.
The world watched her handcuffed.
She looked directly at the cameras.
And smiled.
That frightened me more than anything.
Because she knew something we didn't.
At noon, I sat beside Luka in the hospital.
His wound was healing.
But his memories were still disappearing.
He looked at me.
"Do you know what I remember?"
"What?"
"The first time I saw you."
I smiled.
"At the hospital?"
He shook his head.
"No."
"Where?"
"At the river."
I froze.
"What river?"
He stared at me.
"The place where you were born."
I couldn't breathe.
"I've never told you about that."
"I know."
He looked confused.
"But I remember."
I touched his hand.
"What else?"
He smiled.
"You were holding a baby."
"Hope?"
"No."
He looked at me.
"You were holding me."
My heart stopped.
He whispered:
"Elena, I don't think my memories are disappearing."
"What?"
"I think they're being replaced."
"By what?"
He looked toward the window.
"Something inside M-17."
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
Rebecca.
"Elena."
"Mom?"
She hesitated.
"Don't trust the trial."
"What?"
"The evidence is real."
"But the conclusion isn't."
"What does that mean?"
Her voice trembled.
"Your father didn't create M-17."
I froze.
"Then who did?"
A pause.
"Your grandmother."
I looked at Luka.
Rebecca continued:
"And she wasn't trying to save humanity."
"Then what was she trying to do?"
Rebecca whispered:
"She was trying to make herself immortal."
The call ended.
I stared at the phone.
Luka looked at me.
"What happened?"
I swallowed.
"The trial isn't over."
He took my hand.
"Then neither are we."
Outside the hospital window, helicopters filled the sky.
The world believed the Carter empire had finally fallen.
But I knew better.
The trial had exposed the liars.
It had not exposed the truth.
May you like
And somewhere beneath the ruins of my family's empire...
the woman who started M-17 was still alive.
