CHAPTER 8 — LUKA'S REAL SECRET
CHAPTER 8 — LUKA'S REAL SECRET
“Dad.”
Luka said the word like it had been ripped from somewhere deep inside him.
Adrian Moretti stood beneath the harsh hospital lights, older than the photograph but unmistakably the same man.
For several seconds, father and son simply stared at each other.
Then Adrian smiled.
Not warmly.
Not proudly.
Almost clinically.
As if Luka were an experiment whose results he had finally come to inspect.
Luka raised his weapon.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“I was.”
“You let us believe you died.”
“I had to.”
“You let me bury an empty coffin.”
“I needed you to believe I was gone.”
Luka's jaw tightened.
“Why?”
Adrian glanced at me.
Then at Lily.
“Because Victor was watching you.”
My grip tightened around my daughter.
“Why is everyone watching my child?”
Adrian answered calmly.
“Because she is the only person alive who can unlock M-17.”
I stepped forward.
“No.”
His eyes moved to me.
“You still don't understand what your daughter is.”
“She is my daughter.”
“Biologically, perhaps.”
He paused.
“But genetically…”
He smiled.
“…she is something else.”
Luka stepped between us.
“Don't talk about her like she's an object.”
Adrian looked at his son.
“That's exactly what you said twenty years ago.”
Luka froze.
“What?”
“You've forgotten.”
“I remember everything.”
“No.”
Adrian's voice became quiet.
“You remember what I allowed you to remember.”
The room fell silent.
My mother looked at Adrian.
“What did you do to him?”
Adrian ignored her.
He looked at Luka.
“Do you remember the night you were brought to M-17?”
Luka's expression hardened.
“I was seven.”
“You were six.”
“No.”
“You were six years, four months, and nine days old.”
Luka stared.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there.”
Luka took a step backward.
“You weren't supposed to be.”
Adrian nodded.
“I know.”
Then he looked at me.
“That is the secret your husband never told you.”
My stomach tightened.
“What secret?”
Luka turned toward me.
“Elena…”
Adrian interrupted.
“He wasn't merely protecting your daughter.”
I looked at Luka.
“What are you talking about?”
Adrian smiled.
“He was protecting you from himself.”
Luka's weapon lowered slightly.
“I never hurt her.”
“No.”
Adrian's expression became almost amused.
“But you were designed to.”
The words hit the room like a gunshot.
I stared at Luka.
“What?”
He didn't answer.
“Luka?”
His eyes closed.
My mother whispered:
“It's true.”
I looked at her.
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Everyone knew except me.”
“No,” Luka said.
I turned toward him.
He looked devastated.
“I didn't know the whole truth.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
He took a slow breath.
“When I was six, my father brought me to M-17.”
Adrian nodded.
“You were born with a rare genetic mutation.”
“Which one?”
“A mutation Victor needed.”
Luka looked at me.
“Your mother had the complementary sequence.”
I frowned.
“So?”
“So they believed our DNA could be combined.”
My heart stopped.
“They wanted us…”
“Yes.”
“To create a child?”
Luka nodded.
“That's what M-17 was.”
I looked at Lily.
“No.”
Adrian spoke.
“Not exactly.”
Everyone turned toward him.
“The original experiment wasn't designed to create a child.”
“Then what?”
“Control.”
He walked toward the operating table.
“M-17 was created to determine whether genetic traits could be used to influence a person's biological responses.”
I stared.
“What kind of responses?”
“Fear.”
He paused.
“Pain.”
Another pause.
“Attachment.”
My blood ran cold.
“Love.”
Luka's expression hardened.
“They were trying to manufacture obedience.”
Adrian nodded.
“Exactly.”
My mother looked sick.
“And Elena?”
“She was the first successful subject.”
I shook my head.
“I don't understand.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You weren't created to be an heir.”
“Then what was I created for?”
He answered quietly.
“To control people.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
Adrian continued.
“Your nervous system responds differently to certain hormonal triggers.”
“What does that mean?”
“You can influence emotional states.”
I laughed.
“That is impossible.”
“Is it?”
He pointed toward Luka.
“Ask him.”
I looked at Luka.
He wouldn't meet my eyes.
“What did you do to him?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why won't you look at me?”
Luka finally spoke.
“Because I was trained to resist you.”
My heart stopped.
“Resist me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor believed you'd eventually be able to control me.”
I stared at him.
“Did I?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Because I fell in love with you.”
Silence.
Adrian's expression darkened.
“That was the mistake.”
Luka looked at him.
“What?”
“You weren't supposed to love her.”
Luka's voice became cold.
“I know.”
“You were supposed to monitor her.”
“I know.”
“You were supposed to report every change.”
“I know.”
“You were supposed to bring the child to us.”
Luka raised his weapon again.
“I will never do that.”
Adrian smiled.
“You already did.”
Luka froze.
I looked at him.
“What does he mean?”
Adrian pointed toward the monitor.
A file appeared.
SUBJECT L-17
Then:
PRIMARY GUARDIAN: LUKA MORETTI
Then another line:
TRANSFER AUTHORIZATION: ACTIVE
I stared.
“Luka…”
He shook his head.
“I never signed that.”
Adrian smiled.
“You didn't have to.”
The monitor changed.
A recording appeared.
Luka was younger.
Maybe twenty.
He was sitting in a room I recognized.
The M-17 laboratory.
Victor stood behind him.
Young Luka looked terrified.
Victor placed a document in front of him.
“Sign.”
Luka refused.
Victor slapped him.
“Sign.”
“No.”
Victor placed a photograph on the table.
A little girl.
Me.
Luka stared at it.
Victor spoke.
“If you don't sign, she dies.”
Young Luka picked up the pen.
His hand shook.
He signed.
I looked at the screen.
The document read:
GUARDIANSHIP AND GENETIC MONITORING AGREEMENT.
My stomach dropped.
The recording continued.
Victor smiled.
“Good.”
Young Luka whispered:
“What happens if I refuse later?”
Victor leaned closer.
“You won't.”
“Why?”
“Because I already put the conditioning inside you.”
The video ended.
Luka looked at me.
“I didn't know.”
“You signed.”
“I was a child.”
“You signed.”
“I was trying to save you.”
I stepped away.
“You've all been using that excuse.”
My mother looked at me.
“Elena…”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“My husband said he planned my pregnancy to save me.”
“Luka protected you.”
“My mother lied to protect me.”
“Your mother had no choice.”
“Everyone has a reason.”
I looked at Adrian.
“And somehow every reason ends with my daughter being the one who suffers.”
Adrian smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Suddenly, an alarm sounded.
The hospital lights turned red.
A mechanical voice announced:
“TRANSFER SEQUENCE INITIATED.”
Luka looked at the control panel.
“What did you do?”
Adrian said nothing.
My mother ran toward the console.
“Someone activated the chamber.”
“Which chamber?”
“The genetic transfer chamber.”
I held Lily tighter.
“What happens there?”
My mother looked at me.
“They extract the genetic sequence.”
“From whom?”
“Both of you.”
Luka stepped toward Adrian.
“You're not taking them.”
Adrian's men raised their weapons.
“Don't.”
Luka stopped.
Adrian walked toward me.
“You have five minutes.”
“For what?”
“To choose.”
“Choose what?”
“Whether Lily undergoes the procedure willingly…”
He paused.
“…or whether we force it.”
My mother stepped forward.
“You monster.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You've called me worse.”
“You killed Daniel.”
“No.”
He smiled.
“Ethan did.”
My blood ran cold.
“You ordered him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel was going to destroy M-17.”
“Daniel was my father.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you hate him?”
Adrian's expression changed.
“I didn't.”
“Then why kill him?”
“Because he betrayed us.”
“Us?”
Adrian looked at Luka.
“He betrayed his own son.”
Luka's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian pointed at him.
“Daniel wasn't your enemy.”
“Then who was?”
Adrian looked at me.
“Your biological father.”
I stared.
“Daniel wasn't Luka's father?”
“No.”
“Then whose?”
Adrian's eyes darkened.
“Mine.”
The room went silent.
I stared at Luka.
Adrian continued.
“Luka is my son.”
Luka's face went pale.
“But Daniel…”
“Daniel was your uncle.”
My entire understanding collapsed again.
Adrian looked at me.
“And now you know why your mother feared me.”
He turned toward the operating room.
“Because she knew exactly what would happen if our bloodlines ever produced a child.”
I looked down at Lily.
My daughter.
The child everyone had fought over.
The child everyone had lied about.
The child who might have been created from a genetic sequence no one fully understood.
Then Adrian said:
“Lily is not the final generation.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“She is the bridge.”
“Between what?”
“Between M-17 and something much larger.”
“What?”
He smiled.
“The human genome database.”
The hospital doors suddenly exploded open.
Gunfire erupted.
Adrian's men scattered.
Luka grabbed me.
“Run!”
My mother grabbed the emergency kit.
Ethan appeared from the corridor.
“There's another exit!”
I followed them.
Behind us, Adrian shouted:
“Luka!”
Luka stopped.
Adrian stood among the smoke.
“You cannot outrun your blood.”
Luka turned.
“I don't need to.”
Then he fired.
Adrian disappeared behind a wall.
We ran.
We reached the underground parking garage.
A black vehicle waited.
Luka opened the rear door.
“Get in.”
I climbed inside with Lily.
My mother followed.
Ethan got into the front.
Luka started the engine.
We sped away.
For several minutes, nobody spoke.
Then Luka looked at me through the mirror.
“I need to tell you one more thing.”
I sighed.
“Of course you do.”
He looked devastated.
“Before I met you, I was already married.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
He swallowed.
“To M-17.”
I stared.
“What does that mean?”
He reached into his jacket.
Pulled out a photograph.
A young woman.
Dark hair.
Pale skin.
A scar beneath her eye.
I stared.
It was my mother.
But younger.
Much younger.
Luka's voice shook.
“Your mother was assigned to me.”
I couldn't breathe.
“As what?”
“Subject.”
My mother closed her eyes.
“And I was assigned as her guardian.”
I looked between them.
“How old were you?”
“Sixteen.”
My mother's eyes filled with tears.
“And he saved me.”
I stared at Luka.
“You knew my mother before you knew me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what Victor had done.”
“Yes.”
“And you still came to the hospital.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He looked at Lily.
“Because I promised your mother something.”
“What?”
“That if she ever had a daughter…”
He looked at me.
“…I would protect her.”
My mother whispered:
“And he kept that promise.”
I looked down at my daughter.
For the first time, I understood that Luka's arrival at the hospital had never been coincidence.
But one question remained.
If Luka had been protecting me for years…
Why had Ethan been chosen to marry me?
I looked at the photograph again.
Then noticed something written on the back.
A date.
Twenty-six years earlier.
And beneath it:
PROJECT TRANSFER — ELENA TO ETHAN.
My heart stopped.
I looked at Ethan.
He was staring straight ahead.
“You knew Luka.”
He didn't answer.
“You knew my mother.”
Silence.
“You knew M-17.”
Still silence.
I leaned forward.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Ethan finally spoke.
“I didn't choose you.”
“Who did?”
He looked at me in the mirror.
“Your mother.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She asked me to marry you.”
My mother looked away.
I stared at her.
“Why?”
She whispered:
“Because I knew what Luka would eventually become.”
“What would he become?”
My mother looked at Luka.
Then at me.
“The man Victor designed to kill you.”
The car fell silent.
Luka's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
“I never knew.”
My mother shook her head.
“You weren't supposed to.”
I looked at Luka.
Then at my daughter.
And suddenly the entire story felt different.
Maybe Luka hadn't been sent to protect me.
Maybe he'd been sent to destroy me.
And maybe the one person I had trusted most…
had been the person secretly preparing him for it all along.
My mother reached into her coat and pulled out a sealed envelope.
She handed it to me.
“Open it.”
I looked at the writing.
LUKA MORETTI — FINAL CONDITIONING RECORD.
I stared at her.
“What is this?”
Her voice broke.
“The truth about what they did to him.”
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a single photograph.
Luka, unconscious on an operating table.
A machine was attached to his head.
And standing beside him was Victor.
But Victor wasn't looking at Luka.
He was looking at the camera.
Smiling.
Beneath the photograph was one sentence:
IF ELENA EVER DISCOVERS THE TRUTH, ACTIVATE L-17.
I slowly looked at Luka.
He was driving.
His eyes were fixed on the road.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A distorted voice said only six words.
“It's time to activate him.”
Luka's hands suddenly tightened on the steering wheel.
His breathing changed.
His eyes went completely blank.
I whispered:
“Luka?”
He didn't respond.
My mother screamed:
“Get away from him!”
The car swerved violently.
Luka turned toward me.
But the man looking back at me…
was no longer the Luka I knew.
His voice was cold.
Emotionless.
May you like
“Target identified.”
Then he reached for the gun.
