CHAPTER 6 — THE CHILD IN ROOM 17
CHAPTER 6 — THE CHILD IN ROOM 17
Ethan raised the gun.
I couldn't move.
Amelia was pressed against my side, her tiny fingers gripping my dress.
Victoria stood behind him.
Calm.
Almost proud.
"My son," she said softly, "you finally understand what you were born to do."
Ethan didn't look at her.
His eyes remained fixed on me.
I searched his face for the man I had loved.
There had to be something there.
A hesitation.
A flicker of guilt.
Anything.
But his expression was empty.
"You lied to me," I whispered.
"Yes."
"You used me."
"Yes."
"You married me because of my mother."
"Yes."
"And you knew about Amelia from the beginning."
"Yes."
My throat tightened.
"Then why did you ever say you loved me?"
He lowered the gun slightly.
"Because that part was real."
Victoria's face changed.
"Ethan."
He ignored her.
I stared at him.
"How much of it was real?"
He didn't answer.
"Was our wedding real?"
"Yes."
"Our first apartment?"
"Yes."
"Our first Christmas?"
"Yes."
"When you held me while I cried because I thought I couldn't have children?"
His jaw tightened.
"Yes."
"Then how could you do this?"
He looked away.
"Because love doesn't erase what you're born into."
I shook my head.
"No."
My voice became steadier.
"That's what cowards tell themselves."
Victoria stepped forward.
"Enough."
I looked at her.
"You don't control me anymore."
She smiled.
"I control everything in this house."
A sudden metallic sound echoed from behind us.
Then—
the lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Someone screamed.
A door slammed.
A gunshot cracked through the corridor.
I dropped to the floor, pulling Amelia beneath me.
Another shot.
Then silence.
"Claire!"
It was Alexander.
I couldn't see him.
"Where are you?"
"Room 17!"
His voice came closer.
"Stay down!"
Emergency lights flickered on.
Ethan was gone.
Victoria was gone.
The corridor was empty.
Only the children remained.
And the door marked 17 was open.
I stared at it.
Something inside me told me to go there.
I picked up Amelia.
"Stay with me."
We moved toward the room.
Evelyn followed.
"Claire, wait."
I stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"That room wasn't on the original floor plan."
"What?"
"It was added later."
I looked at the number.
The same number that had appeared in the records.
The same number connected to Amelia.
"What was inside?"
Evelyn swallowed.
"We never found out."
I opened the door.
The room was different from the others.
There was no bed.
No toys.
No medical equipment.
Just a chair.
A camera.
And a wall covered in photographs.
I stepped closer.
Every photograph showed the same child.
A boy.
Dark hair.
Pale skin.
Green eyes.
He was about five years old.
Then six.
Seven.
Eight.
The photographs continued.
He grew older.
Twelve.
Fifteen.
Seventeen.
Twenty.
My stomach tightened.
"This isn't one of the children."
Alexander entered behind me.
"No."
"Who is he?"
He didn't answer.
I looked at the final photograph.
The man was about thirty years old.
He was standing beside a woman.
I recognized her.
My mother.
I froze.
"Who is he?"
Alexander's voice was barely audible.
"My brother."
I turned.
"You mean..."
"Daniel."
"Daniel Whitmore?"
He nodded.
"The first child."
I stared at the photographs.
"The first child of the program?"
"Yes."
"But Daniel was..."
"Dead."
I looked at him.
"Another lie?"
Alexander nodded.
"Another lie."
I felt sick.
"Why would the Whitmores fake his death?"
"Because Daniel wasn't supposed to survive."
"Survive what?"
Alexander walked toward the wall.
"The treatment."
I stared at him.
"What treatment?"
He pointed to a photograph.
Daniel was lying on a medical table.
His body covered in wires.
Beside him stood my mother.
I couldn't breathe.
"My mother did this?"
"She helped create it."
"But you said she wanted to destroy the program."
"She did."
"After what?"
"After Daniel."
I looked at the photograph.
"Why?"
"Because she realized what they were doing."
I turned.
"What happened to him?"
Alexander's face became hard.
"He became proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That the procedure worked."
"What procedure?"
"Genetic modification."
I stared at him.
"They were modifying children."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"To create people who could survive diseases that killed their families."
I frowned.
"That sounds like medicine."
"It started that way."
"And then?"
"They stopped treating diseases."
He looked at me.
"They started selecting traits."
My stomach turned.
"Strength."
"Intelligence."
"Resistance to illness."
"Memory."
"Emotional control."
I looked at the photographs.
"Daniel."
Alexander nodded.
"The first successful subject."
"What happened to him?"
"He escaped."
"From here?"
"Yes."
"How old?"
"Twenty-two."
"Where did he go?"
"Nobody knows."
I stared at the final photograph.
"Then why is his room still here?"
Alexander didn't answer.
Evelyn stepped forward.
"Because someone has been coming back."
I looked at her.
"Who?"
She pointed toward the floor.
There were fresh footprints.
Small.
Then larger.
They led behind a wall.
Alexander touched the panel.
It opened.
A hidden passage.
My heart began pounding.
"Where does it go?"
"Under the estate."
We entered.
The passage was narrow.
Cold.
There were pipes running along the ceiling.
After several minutes, we reached another room.
A computer screen was still glowing.
On it:
SUBJECT 17
I stared.
"Daniel."
Alexander nodded.
But beneath the name was something else.
STATUS: ACTIVE
My blood froze.
"He's alive."
"Yes."
"Where?"
The screen changed.
A map appeared.
A red dot blinked.
Not far away.
Maybe two miles.
Alexander stared.
"He came back."
"Why?"
A message appeared.
THE CHILDREN MUST BE MOVED BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
Another message.
VICTORIA KNOWS.
Then:
ETHAN IS COMPROMISED.
I looked at Alexander.
"Ethan."
He nodded.
"He isn't working alone."
I thought of the way Ethan had raised the gun.
The cold expression.
The certainty.
Then another message appeared.
DO NOT TRUST ANY WHITMORE.
My heart dropped.
"That includes you."
Alexander looked at me.
"Yes."
I stepped backward.
"Then why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
The answer shocked me.
"What?"
"You shouldn't trust anyone right now."
He looked at Amelia.
"Especially not me."
I held my daughter tighter.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Survive."
Suddenly, a child's voice came from the hidden passage.
"Mommy?"
I turned.
Amelia wasn't speaking.
She was still in my arms.
The voice came again.
"Mommy?"
It sounded exactly like Amelia.
But it wasn't her.
I looked at Evelyn.
She went pale.
"That voice..."
"What?"
"I've heard it before."
"Where?"
"In the recordings."
"What recordings?"
"The ones from Room 17."
My skin crawled.
We moved toward the sound.
The passage ended at a small room.
Inside was a child.
A little girl.
Maybe four years old.
She was sitting on the floor.
She looked almost exactly like Amelia.
Same dark hair.
Same eyes.
Same crescent birthmark.
I couldn't breathe.
"No."
Evelyn whispered:
"That's impossible."
The girl looked at me.
Then at Amelia.
Then smiled.
"You're back."
I stared.
"Who are you?"
She pointed at Amelia.
"She's my sister."
My heart stopped.
Amelia stared at her.
Then whispered:
"Lena."
I looked at my daughter.
"You know her?"
Amelia nodded.
"She was with me."
"When?"
"Before."
"Before what?"
"Before they moved me."
My hands began shaking.
I looked at Evelyn.
"How many children were there?"
She swallowed.
"Sixteen on the original list."
I looked at the little girl.
"And her?"
Evelyn's expression changed.
"Seventeen."
I felt cold.
"Seventeen children."
Alexander nodded.
"Daniel was Subject Zero."
"The first."
"Yes."
"And these children?"
"Subjects One through Seventeen."
I stared at the girl.
"Why does she look like Amelia?"
Alexander didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
"Why?"
The girl spoke first.
"They made us from the same blood."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
She pointed at me.
"Your blood."
Silence.
I looked at Amelia.
Then at the little girl.
"You're saying..."
"They used your eggs."
My knees weakened.
Evelyn grabbed my arm.
"No."
I stared at her.
"What?"
She looked horrified.
"They couldn't have."
"Why?"
"Because the records showed only one embryo."
I looked at Alexander.
"How many embryos?"
He closed his eyes.
"Seventeen."
The world seemed to stop.
Seventeen children.
Seventeen lives.
All connected to me.
My daughter was not simply one child stolen from me.
She was part of something much larger.
I looked at the little girl.
"What's your name?"
"Lena."
"Who named you?"
"Amelia."
I looked at my daughter.
She smiled sadly.
"She was lonely."
I hugged both girls.
Tears ran down my face.
"You're not alone anymore."
Then the alarm sounded again.
This time, louder.
Red lights flashed.
A voice echoed through the underground chamber.
"FACILITY PURGE INITIATED."
Evelyn froze.
"What does that mean?"
Alexander's face became pale.
"It means Victoria is going to destroy everything."
"How?"
"Fire."
I looked at the children.
"How long?"
"Ten minutes."
"We need to get them out."
"There are too many."
"Then we carry them."
Alexander shook his head.
"The exits are locked."
I looked at him.
"Then unlock them."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"The system requires two authorization codes."
"Who has them?"
"Victoria."
"And?"
"Ethan."
My blood froze.
"My husband."
Alexander nodded.
"Yes."
Then we heard footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Coming down the passage.
Ethan appeared.
He wasn't holding a gun anymore.
Instead, he held two metal cards.
He looked at me.
At Amelia.
At Lena.
Then at the other children gathering behind us.
His face changed.
For the first time, I saw genuine fear.
"Claire."
"What?"
"You have to leave."
"No."
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
He looked at the children.
"My mother has started the purge."
"I know."
"She wants them dead."
"Then stop her."
"I can't."
"Why?"
He held up the two cards.
"Because one of these opens the exit."
"And the other?"
He looked at me.
"Detonates the facility."
My heart stopped.
"Which one?"
He looked down.
"I don't know."
I stared at him.
"You don't know?"
"My mother switched them."
"Then we're trapped."
He nodded.
"Yes."
I stepped toward him.
"Choose."
"What?"
"You know your mother."
"Not anymore."
"You know her better than anyone."
He looked at the cards.
I looked into his eyes.
"Choose the card."
His hands trembled.
"Claire..."
"Choose."
He closed his eyes.
Then selected one.
He placed it into the control panel.
Nothing happened.
For three seconds—
nothing.
Then the doors opened.
Air rushed through the corridor.
The children began crying with relief.
Ethan exhaled.
I looked at him.
"You chose correctly."
He shook his head.
"No."
"What?"
"I chose the wrong one."
My blood froze.
The screen turned red.
DETONATION SEQUENCE ACTIVATED.
Ethan stared at me.
"I knew it."
"You knew?"
"I wanted you to get out."
I stared at him.
"You wanted to kill yourself?"
"No."
He looked at Amelia.
"I wanted to make sure you lived."
Then he turned and ran toward the control room.
"Ethan!"
He didn't stop.
Alexander grabbed my arm.
"Claire, we have to go."
"No."
"We have less than five minutes."
I looked at the children.
Then at the corridor.
Ethan was disappearing into the darkness.
My husband had lied to me.
Used me.
Betrayed me.
And yet—
he had just chosen to die so our children could escape.
I couldn't leave him.
Not yet.
I handed Amelia to Evelyn.
"Take them."
"Where are you going?"
"To get Ethan."
Alexander stared at me.
"Claire, don't."
I ran.
Behind me, Evelyn shouted my name.
The countdown echoed through the facility.
04:12
04:11
04:10
I reached the control room.
Ethan was standing alone.
His hands were pressed against the console.
He looked at me.
"Why did you come back?"
I stared at him.
"Because I still don't know which version of you is real."
He smiled sadly.
"Neither do I."
The countdown continued.
03:42
I stepped closer.
"Then figure it out."
He looked at me.
"What?"
"You wanted to save me."
"Yes."
"Then save yourself too."
He shook his head.
"I can't."
"Why?"
He pointed to the screen.
The system required a manual override.
Someone had to remain inside.
I looked at him.
"No."
"Claire."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"You have our son."
"And you have me."
He stared.
I grabbed his hand.
"You're not dying alone."
He closed his eyes.
For one moment, he looked like the man I had married.
Not the Whitmore heir.
Not the spy.
Not the liar.
Just Ethan.
The man who had once loved me.
Then—
the screen changed.
OVERRIDE ACCEPTED.
We both froze.
Ethan looked at the console.
"I didn't do that."
I stared at the monitor.
A name appeared.
DANIEL WHITMORE
Then another message:
YOU WERE NEVER THE SECOND FACE.
YOU WERE THE DISTRACTION.
The screen went black.
Ethan whispered:
"Daniel."
A door opened behind us.
A man stepped into the room.
Older.
Scarred.
Green eyes.
The same face from Room 17.
Daniel Whitmore.
He looked at Ethan.
Then at me.
Then at the photograph on the wall.
"Your husband wasn't the one controlling the program."
I stared.
"Then who was?"
Daniel's eyes moved toward the ceiling.
"Your mother."
My blood froze.
"My mother is dead."
Daniel smiled sadly.
"That's what everyone was supposed to believe."
The countdown stopped.
Silence.
Then the final message appeared:
SUBJECT ZERO HAS RETURNED.
Daniel looked directly at me.
"And now, Claire..."
May you like
He took a step forward.
"...we finally have to tell you why your mother chose you."
