Chapter 13 — The Father Who Refused to Lose His Son
Chapter 13 — The Father Who Refused to Lose His Son
For three seconds, Victor couldn't move.
Adrian lay unconscious on the marble floor.
Armed men surrounded the foyer.
Ethan was crying upstairs.
And Lily stood at the top of the staircase with Victor's son in her arms, looking like a woman who had just watched her entire life collapse.
Victor's eyes remained fixed on her.
“You were supposed to kill him?”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
“Adrian said—”
“Adrian doesn't know everything.”
Victor's jaw tightened.
“Then tell me.”
Lily looked at Ethan.
“He was ordered to be killed.”
“By whom?”
“Your father.”
Victor felt something inside him break.
“My father?”
Lily nodded.
“Charles.”
Victor looked at Ethan.
His son had buried his face against Lily's shoulder.
“Why?”
“Because Ethan was never supposed to survive.”
Victor's voice dropped.
“Why?”
Lily took a shaky breath.
“Because the moment he was born, the Blackwood inheritance became impossible to control.”
A gunshot exploded through the foyer.
Victor instinctively ducked.
“Down!”
Lily dropped behind the railing with Ethan.
Victor fired toward the doorway.
Harris and the remaining security team returned fire.
The attackers scattered.
Victor ran toward the stairs.
“Lily!”
“I'm here!”
“Keep Ethan down!”
“I am!”
Victor reached Adrian.
His brother was bleeding from his shoulder.
Victor grabbed him.
“Adrian!”
Adrian opened his eyes.
“Get Ethan out.”
“Who are these men?”
“Richard's.”
“Where's Richard?”
Adrian coughed.
“Not here.”
Victor looked toward Lily.
“Then who sent them?”
Adrian stared at her.
“She did.”
Victor froze.
Lily's face changed.
“No.”
Adrian pointed weakly.
“She gave them access.”
Lily screamed.
“I didn't!”
Victor stood.
“Lily.”
She looked at him.
“I swear to you.”
Another gunshot.
The chandelier above them shattered.
Victor pushed Lily and Ethan behind the wall.
Glass rained across the floor.
“Everyone stay down!”
The firefight lasted less than two minutes.
It felt like an hour.
When the last attacker fell, Victor immediately checked Ethan.
His son was shaking.
Victor took him from Lily.
“Daddy.”
Victor held him tightly.
“I've got you.”
“Don't let them take me.”
“I won't.”
Ethan's little fingers wrapped around his shirt.
Victor looked at Lily.
“Did you know this would happen?”
“No.”
“Did you know Richard was coming?”
“No.”
“Did you know about the laboratory?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Victor's heart sank.
“How long?”
“Since before Ethan was born.”
“Then you lied to me.”
“I was trying to protect him.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because if you knew the truth, they would know you knew.”
Victor looked away.
He wanted to be angry.
He wanted to believe she had betrayed him.
But he remembered every night she had stayed awake beside Ethan's crib.
Every fever.
Every hospital visit.
Every time she had put herself between their son and danger.
That wasn't an act.
Or at least, he didn't think it was.
Adrian groaned.
Victor turned.
“Stay with me.”
Adrian grabbed his wrist.
“Victor.”
“What?”
“You have to listen.”
Victor crouched beside him.
“I'm listening.”
“Richard isn't controlling Lily.”
“Then who is?”
Adrian looked at Ethan.
“The woman who created him.”
Victor's face tightened.
“Who?”
Adrian whispered:
“Dr. Evelyn Vale.”
Victor stared.
The name meant nothing.
Lily went pale.
Adrian noticed.
“You know her.”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
“You've seen her.”
“No.”
“You worked for her.”
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
Victor looked at her.
“Lily?”
She finally whispered:
“Yes.”
Dr. Evelyn Vale.
Victor had never heard the name.
Yet apparently she had been connected to his family for years.
Adrian explained as Harris secured the house.
“She ran the Blackwood genetics program.”
Victor stared.
“Genetics program?”
Adrian nodded.
“Your grandfather funded it.”
“For what?”
“Longevity.”
Victor looked at Ethan.
Adrian continued.
“They wanted heirs who could survive decades of corporate warfare, manipulation, poisoning, assassination attempts.”
Victor's face hardened.
“You're telling me my family engineered its own children?”
“Yes.”
“That sounds insane.”
“It is.”
Lily stepped forward.
“It started before I met Victor.”
Victor looked at her.
“Then tell me your part.”
She wiped her tears.
“I was twenty-two when Evelyn recruited me.”
“Why?”
“I needed money.”
“For what?”
“My younger brother was sick.”
Victor said nothing.
“She promised to pay for his treatment.”
“And in exchange?”
“I became a caregiver.”
“For the children?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
Lily looked away.
“Six.”
Victor's stomach turned.
“Six?”
“Six children were born through the program.”
“What happened to them?”
“Three died.”
Victor's expression darkened.
“Three?”
“Two were transferred to other families.”
“And Ethan?”
“Ethan was different.”
“How?”
“He developed normally.”
Victor stared.
“That isn't different.”
Lily shook her head.
“His genetic markers were stable.”
“So?”
“So he wasn't aging abnormally.”
Victor remembered the little girl.
“Emma.”
Lily looked at him.
“You know about her.”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
Victor stepped closer.
“Lily.”
“I swear.”
Adrian spoke.
“She's with Evelyn.”
Victor turned.
“Why?”
“Because Evelyn believes Emma is the perfect Guardian.”
Victor's face hardened.
“Then we get her back.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That's what Richard wants.”
Victor stared.
“What?”
“Richard wants you to go after Emma.”
“She's my daughter.”
“I know.”
“Then why would he want that?”
“Because Evelyn isn't protecting Emma.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“She is preparing her.”
“For what?”
Adrian looked at Victor.
“For war.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
Victor answered.
Richard.
“You've had a busy night.”
Victor's voice became cold.
“Where is my daughter?”
“Which one?”
Victor clenched his jaw.
“Emma.”
Richard laughed.
“You're finally asking the right question.”
“Where?”
“Alive.”
“Give her to me.”
“No.”
“What do you want?”
“Your brother.”
Victor looked at Adrian.
Richard continued.
“Bring me Adrian.”
“No.”
“Then Emma dies.”
Victor didn't respond.
Richard's voice became quieter.
“You have one hour.”
The call ended.
Victor immediately looked at Adrian.
“You're not going anywhere.”
Adrian shook his head.
“If you don't give me to him, he'll kill her.”
Victor looked at Lily.
“He wants us divided.”
Lily nodded.
“Then don't divide us.”
Adrian stared at Victor.
“You'll risk Emma?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Victor stood.
“We make him believe we're doing exactly what he wants.”
The plan was dangerous.
Maybe impossible.
But Victor had stopped caring about impossible.
Harris would create the illusion that Adrian had been captured.
Victor would personally transport him to Richard.
Except Adrian would never actually be inside the vehicle.
A decoy would take his place.
Lily would remain with Ethan.
Mrs. Collins would track Richard's communications.
Victor would follow from a distance.
And somewhere along the way, they would find Emma.
There was only one problem.
Victor didn't know whether he could trust Lily.
He found her alone in the kitchen.
She was washing blood from her hands.
“You should be resting,” Victor said.
She didn't turn.
“I'm fine.”
“No, you're not.”
She shut off the water.
“What do you want?”
“The truth.”
Lily looked at him.
“I've given you the truth.”
“Not all of it.”
She sighed.
Victor placed a photograph on the counter.
It showed Lily standing beside Dr. Evelyn Vale.
“When was this taken?”
Lily stared.
“Five years ago.”
“Before Ethan was born.”
“Yes.”
“Why were you with her?”
“She told me Ethan was going to die.”
Victor's expression changed.
“What?”
“She said his mother had died.”
Victor froze.
“What mother?”
Lily looked away.
“The woman who gave birth to him.”
Victor's voice became cold.
“Who?”
Lily hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Her name was Clara.”
Victor remembered the woman from the old photograph.
The one his father had kept hidden.
His former love.
The woman he had been told died years ago.
“Clara was Ethan's mother?”
Lily nodded.
Victor's breathing became uneven.
“Then why did I never know?”
“Because Charles erased her.”
“Why?”
“Because she discovered the laboratory.”
Victor closed his eyes.
“And she was killed.”
“Yes.”
“By Richard.”
“Yes.”
Victor looked at Lily.
“How did you save Ethan?”
Lily began crying.
“I was ordered to administer the injection.”
Victor froze.
“What injection?”
“The one that would stop his heart.”
Silence.
“I held the syringe.”
Victor stared.
“And?”
“I couldn't do it.”
“Why?”
“Because he opened his eyes.”
Lily's voice broke.
“He was so small.”
She wiped her face.
“He looked at me.”
“And I realized I couldn't kill him.”
Victor said nothing.
“I took him and ran.”
“Where?”
“To Clara's sister.”
Victor stared.
“You saved him.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you come back?”
Lily looked at him.
“Because Evelyn found us.”
Victor's stomach tightened.
“She threatened my brother.”
“So you returned.”
“Yes.”
“And married me.”
Lily closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Victor's heart sank.
“Was that part of the plan?”
“At first.”
He looked away.
“And later?”
Lily stepped closer.
“Later, I fell in love with you.”
Victor didn't answer.
“I didn't know how to tell you.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“You were afraid of me?”
“No.”
She looked at Ethan.
“I was afraid of what they would do to you.”
Victor looked at her.
“Why didn't you leave?”
“Because I promised Clara.”
“What did you promise?”
“To protect her son.”
Victor's eyes filled with tears.
Lily whispered:
“I kept that promise.”
At 1:20 a.m., the decoy vehicle left the mansion.
Richard's men followed.
Victor watched from another car.
Adrian was hidden beneath the floor compartment of the second vehicle.
Harris drove.
Victor sat beside him.
“Do you think this will work?” Harris asked.
“No.”
Harris glanced at him.
Victor smiled.
“But we have to try.”
The convoy reached the abandoned highway.
Three black SUVs surrounded them.
Victor's phone rang.
Richard.
“Where is Adrian?”
“In the first vehicle.”
“Show me.”
Victor activated the camera.
A masked man sat in the back seat.
Richard studied the image.
“Take off the mask.”
The man did.
Richard smiled.
“Good.”
He hung up.
Victor frowned.
“What?”
“He believed it.”
Harris nodded.
Then the first vehicle exploded.
Victor's heart stopped.
“Adrian!”
Harris slammed the brakes.
Victor jumped out.
The highway was filled with smoke.
The decoy vehicle was burning.
Richard's men surrounded them.
Victor raised his weapon.
“Where's my brother?”
A man stepped forward.
“Gone.”
Victor stared.
“What?”
The man smiled.
“He was never in the car.”
Victor's expression hardened.
Then he heard a voice behind him.
“Victor.”
He turned.
Adrian stood beside the trees.
Alive.
Victor almost laughed.
“You're supposed to be dead.”
Adrian smiled.
“I've been practicing.”
Then the ground beneath them shook.
A vehicle crashed through the barricade.
Lily was driving.
Ethan sat beside her.
Victor stared.
“What are you doing here?”
She slammed the brakes.
“Saving you.”
Victor ran toward the vehicle.
“Where's Emma?”
Lily looked at him.
“I found her.”
Victor froze.
“Where?”
“In the old laboratory.”
“Is she alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then where is she?”
Lily's face changed.
“She wasn't alone.”
Victor's heart dropped.
“Who was with her?”
Lily whispered:
“Your father.”
Victor felt the world stop.
“Charles?”
Lily nodded.
“He's alive.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“Where?”
Lily pointed toward the forest.
“Underground.”
Victor immediately moved.
But Adrian grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
Victor turned.
“What?”
“Richard wanted us to find him.”
Victor frowned.
“Why?”
Adrian looked at Lily.
“She knows.”
Lily's face went pale.
Victor stared at her.
“Knows what?”
She swallowed.
“Charles isn't the prisoner.”
Victor's stomach tightened.
“Then who is?”
Lily looked at him.
“Evelyn.”
Victor stared.
“She captured her own creator?”
“No.”
Lily shook her head.
“She captured Charles.”
Victor frowned.
“Then why?”
Lily whispered:
“Because Charles knows where the real Guardian is.”
Victor's eyes narrowed.
“Ethan?”
“No.”
“Emma?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Lily looked at Victor.
“You.”
Victor froze.
“Me?”
“You were never the second Guardian.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“What are you saying?”
Lily's voice trembled.
“Victor was the first.”
Adrian stared.
“That can't be.”
“It is.”
Victor looked between them.
“Then what am I supposed to protect?”
Lily whispered:
“Yourself.”
Victor didn't understand.
She continued.
“The Guardian isn't a person.”
“It is a genetic sequence.”
Victor stared.
“The Blackwood family created it.”
“And?”
“Every generation carries part of it.”
“Then why Ethan?”
“Because Ethan carries the complete sequence.”
Victor's face went pale.
“And Emma?”
“She carries the control sequence.”
Adrian finally understood.
“They're complementary.”
Lily nodded.
“Together, they can activate or destroy the Blackwood system.”
Victor looked toward the dark forest.
“And Richard wants both.”
“Yes.”
“Then let's take them away from him.”
They reached the underground laboratory before sunrise.
The entrance was hidden beneath an old chapel.
Victor entered first.
Adrian followed.
Lily stayed with Ethan.
Harris covered the rear.
The deeper they went, the colder it became.
Finally, they reached a steel door.
Victor opened it.
Inside stood Charles.
Older.
Exhausted.
Holding a little girl.
Emma.
Victor stopped breathing.
She looked at him.
For one second, neither moved.
Then Emma whispered:
“Daddy?”
Victor's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
She reached for him.
Victor took her.
He held both children against his chest.
Ethan looked at Emma.
She touched his face.
“Brother.”
Ethan smiled.
“Emma.”
Victor closed his eyes.
For the first time, his family was together.
Then Charles spoke.
“You can't stay.”
Victor turned.
“Why?”
“Because they're coming.”
“Who?”
Charles looked at the children.
“Everyone who has ever wanted them.”
A distant alarm began to sound.
Adrian looked toward the corridor.
“Richard.”
Charles shook his head.
“No.”
Victor's expression changed.
“Then who?”
Charles whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
Victor froze.
“My grandfather died twenty years ago.”
Charles looked at him.
“No.”
A door opened behind them.
An old man stepped into the laboratory.
Victor stared.
The face was unmistakable.
His grandfather.
Alive.
The man smiled.
“Hello, Victor.”
Victor tightened his arms around his children.
The old man looked at Ethan.
Then Emma.
“My little Guardians.”
Adrian raised his weapon.
The old man smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
Victor stepped forward.
“You built all of this.”
“Yes.”
“You killed Clara.”
“No.”
“You separated my brother from me.”
“Yes.”
“You created the children.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated my father.”
“Yes.”
Victor's voice became cold.
“Why?”
The old man smiled.
“Because someone had to control the future.”
Victor looked at his children.
“You won't control them.”
His grandfather laughed.
“That's what every Guardian says.”
Victor raised his weapon.
“Then maybe I'm the first one who means it.”
The old man smiled.
“Good.”
He pressed a button.
Every door in the laboratory locked.
Gas began filling the room.
Lily screamed.
Victor pulled Ethan and Emma close.
Adrian rushed toward the control panel.
“It's locked!”
Victor looked at his grandfather.
“What do you want?”
The old man smiled.
“Nothing.”
Victor frowned.
“Then why?”
The old man stepped backward.
“Because you finally brought them together.”
Victor's blood went cold.
“You wanted us here.”
“Yes.”
“It was all a trap.”
“Yes.”
The old man smiled.
“Now the system can finally activate.”
The laboratory lights turned red.
A mechanical voice announced:
GUARDIAN SEQUENCE DETECTED.
TWO HEIRS CONFIRMED.
FINAL PROTOCOL INITIATED.
Victor stared at the children.
“What happens now?”
His grandfather smiled.
“The Blackwood system chooses its master.”
The doors sealed.
The countdown began.
10.
9.
Victor looked at Adrian.
“Get them out.”
8.
Adrian shook his head.
“There's no exit.”
7.
Lily grabbed the children.
Victor searched the walls.
6.
Then Ethan reached toward a small panel.
A triangular symbol appeared beneath his hand.
The system stopped.
Victor froze.
The room went silent.
A new message appeared.
GUARDIAN ACCEPTED.
Then another.
MASTER OVERRIDE: ETHAN BLACKWOOD.
Victor stared.
His fourteen-month-old son had just overridden the entire Blackwood system.
His grandfather's smile disappeared.
“No.”
Victor looked at him.
For the first time, the old man's confidence was gone.
Victor held Ethan tighter.
“You wanted a master.”
He smiled.
“You just found one.”
And somewhere beneath the laboratory, thousands of hidden systems began shutting down.
Bank accounts.
Private companies.
Security networks.
Secret facilities.
The Blackwood empire was collapsing.
But Victor knew it was only the beginning.
Because one final system remained active.
A red light blinked beneath the floor.
PROJECT ORIGIN — ACTIVE.
And the voice that came through the speakers wasn't his grandfather's.
It was Richard's.
“You really thought Ethan was the end?”
Victor's face hardened.
May you like
Richard laughed.
“He's only the beginning.”
