CHAPTER 5 — SUBJECT 07
CHAPTER 5 — SUBJECT 07
Victor Blackwood had spent most of his life believing he remembered that night.
He had been seventeen.
His father had taken him to the white house on the outskirts of Chicago.
He remembered rain.
He remembered shouting.
He remembered a locked room.
And he remembered a little girl.
But he had never remembered Lily.
Not until tonight.
Not until the broken mirror.
Not until the words she had spoken.
Victor.
He stood inside the abandoned church, staring at the shattered glass scattered across the floor.
His mother had appeared in the mirror.
Not in the room.
In the reflection.
And she had given him only two words.
Protect Lily.
Daniel approached carefully.
"Boss."
Victor didn't answer.
"Are you all right?"
Victor looked at the broken mirror.
"Find every record connected to my father's old properties."
Daniel nodded.
"We're already doing that."
"No."
Victor's voice was cold.
"I want everything."
Daniel waited.
"Bank accounts. Security logs. Private hospitals. Employees. Drivers. Doctors. Lawyers."
Victor looked at him.
"Anyone who worked for my father fifteen years ago."
"Understood."
"And find the white house."
"We found three properties matching the description."
"Which one was used in the photograph?"
"We're checking."
Victor looked down at his phone.
No message.
No call.
Nothing from Lily.
His stomach tightened.
"How long has she been missing?"
Daniel glanced at his watch.
"Forty-three minutes."
Victor's face hardened.
"Forty-three minutes too long."
He turned.
"Get the cars."
Daniel nodded.
As the men began moving, Victor's phone finally rang.
The hospital.
He answered immediately.
"What happened?"
A nurse spoke quickly.
"Mr. Blackwood, there's been an incident."
Victor's voice dropped.
"What kind?"
"Ms. Harper is missing."
"I know."
"We don't know how she left."
"She didn't leave."
A pause.
"What?"
"She was taken."
Victor ended the call.
Daniel looked at him.
"Boss?"
"Lily's been kidnapped."
The entire team froze.
Victor's expression was terrifyingly calm.
"Find her."
Lily woke to the sound of water dripping.
One drop.
Then another.
Then another.
Her head throbbed.
She tried to move.
Her wrists were tied behind her.
Her ankles were bound.
The room smelled damp.
Concrete.
Rust.
She looked around.
No windows.
No furniture except a single chair.
And Serena.
Serena sat in that chair with her legs crossed.
She looked almost relaxed.
Lily stared at her.
"Where is Ethan?"
Serena smiled.
"Still thinking about him."
"Where is he?"
"Safe."
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
Serena leaned forward.
"You should be more worried about yourself."
Lily pulled against the ropes.
"Victor will find me."
Serena laughed.
"Of course he will."
She stood.
"But that's exactly what I want."
Lily frowned.
"What?"
Serena walked closer.
"You still don't understand."
"Then explain it."
Serena crouched in front of her.
"Victor thinks this is about Ethan."
Lily stared.
"It isn't?"
"No."
Serena's eyes hardened.
"Ethan was useful."
Lily felt sick.
"Useful for what?"
"To make Victor angry."
"Why?"
"Because an angry man makes mistakes."
Lily shook her head.
"You're insane."
Serena smiled.
"Maybe."
She stood.
"But I'm not stupid."
Lily stared at her.
"Who is Marcus Vale?"
For the first time, Serena's smile disappeared.
"Don't say his name."
"Why?"
"Because you don't understand what he is."
"Then tell me."
Serena walked toward the door.
"You're going to learn soon."
She stopped.
"Just like you learned fifteen years ago."
Lily's heart raced.
"What happened fifteen years ago?"
Serena looked over her shoulder.
"You really don't remember?"
"No."
"Subject 07."
Lily froze.
"What?"
Serena smiled.
"That's what they called you."
Then she walked out.
The metal door slammed shut.
Lily stared into the darkness.
Subject 07.
The number from Victor's father's notebook.
She closed her eyes.
A memory flashed.
A white room.
A metal table.
A number written on her wrist.
She opened her eyes.
"No..."
Another memory.
A woman in a white coat.
A needle.
A little boy screaming.
Michael.
Lily began shaking.
"No, no, no..."
The memories came faster.
A hallway.
Children.
Locked doors.
Numbers.
A man shouting.
Her mother crying.
And Victor.
Young Victor.
Standing behind a glass window.
Watching.
Lily screamed.
Victor sat in the back of the armored vehicle.
Daniel sat opposite him.
Nobody spoke.
The rain struck the windows.
Victor stared at the photograph.
Lily.
Michael.
His father.
His mother.
Serena.
And him.
Seventeen-year-old Victor.
He remembered now.
Not everything.
But enough.
His father had told him never to enter the basement.
He had disobeyed.
He had found the children.
He had found Lily.
He had found Michael.
And he had found Serena.
But there was one thing he had forgotten.
The numbers.
Victor looked at Daniel.
"Subject 07."
Daniel's eyes sharpened.
"We found something."
Victor turned.
"What?"
Daniel handed him a folder.
"Your father's private records."
Victor opened it.
The first page was stamped:
PROJECT MIRROR
Beneath it:
CLASSIFIED — BLACKWOOD FAMILY ONLY
Victor turned the page.
There were eleven names.
Or rather—
eleven numbers.
SUBJECT 01
SUBJECT 02
SUBJECT 03
...
SUBJECT 07
SUBJECT 08
...
SUBJECT 11
Victor's eyes stopped.
Next to Subject 07 was a name.
LILY HARPER.
Next to Subject 08:
MICHAEL HARPER.
Victor's breathing slowed.
"What was Project Mirror?"
Daniel shook his head.
"We don't know."
Victor turned another page.
A description appeared.
Project Mirror was established to identify individuals capable of surviving psychological conditioning and maintaining memory integrity under controlled trauma.
Victor's face hardened.
"Psychological conditioning?"
Daniel nodded.
"That's what it says."
Victor read further.
Subjects were selected based on bloodline, intelligence, adaptability, and resistance to manipulation.
He stopped.
Bloodline.
"Who selected them?"
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"Your father."
Victor's eyes hardened.
"Who ran the project?"
Daniel hesitated.
"There's no official name."
"Find it."
"There is a reference."
"What?"
Daniel pointed.
"Dr. Elena Blackwood."
Victor froze.
"My mother?"
Daniel nodded.
"Apparently."
Victor stared at the page.
His mother.
The woman he had believed was dead.
The woman from the mirror.
The woman who had told him to protect Lily.
She had been running Project Mirror.
Or at least involved in it.
Victor turned another page.
There was a handwritten note.
Subject 07 displays exceptional memory resistance.
Then:
Subject 08 exhibits emotional dependency on Subject 07.
Victor stared.
"They were siblings."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
Victor kept reading.
Separation recommended.
His blood went cold.
"Why?"
Daniel didn't answer.
Victor turned the page.
A photograph fell out.
Lily and Michael.
Children.
Sitting side by side.
Both smiling.
Victor stared at them.
Behind the children stood his mother.
And beside her—
Marcus Vale.
Victor's hand tightened around the photograph.
"Marcus worked with my father."
Daniel nodded.
"And my mother."
"Apparently."
Victor looked at the next page.
A handwritten note appeared.
Marcus believes Subject 08 is more valuable.
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Valuable for what?"
The next sentence answered.
Subject 08 possesses inherited access to the Blackwood bloodline.
Victor stopped.
Daniel looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Victor slowly shook his head.
"I don't know."
But something was beginning to make sense.
Marcus didn't want Lily dead.
He wanted her brother.
And Serena had said Marcus found Michael first.
Victor looked at the photograph.
"How old was Michael when he disappeared?"
Daniel checked the records.
"Four."
"Where was he taken?"
"Unknown."
"Who signed the transfer?"
Daniel's expression changed.
"There's a signature."
"Whose?"
Daniel handed him the file.
Victor looked down.
His father's signature.
But underneath it was another name.
Elena Blackwood.
Victor's mother.
Victor's face went pale.
"My parents separated the children."
Daniel said nothing.
Victor closed the file.
"Find my mother."
Daniel stared.
"Boss, your mother has been dead for twenty years."
Victor looked at him.
"No."
He pointed toward the broken mirror.
"She isn't."
Lily sat alone in the basement.
Her mind was collapsing under the weight of memories.
Subject 07.
She remembered the number now.
It had been written on her wrist.
A nurse had called her by it.
Not Lily.
Not sweetheart.
Not little girl.
Seven.
Just seven.
She remembered other children.
Some cried.
Some screamed.
Some stopped speaking entirely.
And there had been a boy.
Subject 08.
Michael.
Her brother.
He had always held her hand.
Even when they were terrified.
Even when adults told them to separate.
Even when they were locked in different rooms.
Michael always found a way back to her.
Until one day—
he didn't.
Lily pressed her forehead against her knees.
She remembered the day he disappeared.
A man had entered the room.
Marcus.
She didn't know his name then.
But she remembered his face.
He had crouched beside Michael.
"You're special."
Michael had cried.
Lily had screamed.
The man had grabbed Michael's hand.
Lily had tried to hold on.
Then someone pulled her away.
She remembered Victor.
Young Victor.
He had been standing outside.
He had watched.
And then—
he had opened the door.
Lily's eyes widened.
Victor had tried to help them.
He had taken her hand.
He had whispered:
"Run."
She remembered running.
But she didn't remember where she went.
She didn't remember how she escaped.
She didn't remember what happened to Michael.
And now—
fifteen years later—
the same nightmare had returned.
A metal door opened.
Serena entered.
She carried a small tablet.
Lily looked at her.
"Why?"
Serena frowned.
"Why what?"
"Why did you do this?"
Serena stared at her.
"You still think this is about revenge."
"What else is it?"
"Survival."
Lily shook her head.
"You hurt Ethan."
Serena's expression flickered.
For the first time, Lily saw something almost like regret.
Then it vanished.
"I needed Victor distracted."
"By hurting his son?"
"Yes."
"You're sick."
Serena walked closer.
"You don't know what Victor's father did."
"And that gives you the right to hurt a baby?"
"No."
Serena looked away.
"It doesn't."
Lily stared.
"Then why?"
Serena didn't answer.
Instead, she placed the tablet on the floor.
A video began playing.
Lily's blood froze.
It showed a little girl.
Six years old.
Her.
The footage was grainy.
Black-and-white.
She was sitting in a room.
Beside her was Michael.
A man stood behind a glass window.
Marcus.
Then another figure entered.
Victor's father.
And behind him—
Victor.
Young.
Seventeen.
Lily stared.
Victor looked frightened.
He was arguing with his father.
The audio was faint.
But Lily could hear one sentence.
"She's just a child."
Victor Sr. answered:
"She's Subject 07."
Young Victor shook his head.
"I don't care what you call her."
His father grabbed his arm.
"You will learn your place."
Victor pulled away.
"Let them go."
The video stopped.
Lily stared at the screen.
Serena watched her.
"Now you know."
Lily's eyes filled with tears.
"He tried to help us."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't he?"
"Because he was seventeen."
Serena picked up the tablet.
"And his father had power."
Lily looked at her.
"You were there."
Serena nodded.
"I was."
"Why?"
Serena's face became unreadable.
"Because my family was involved."
Lily shook her head.
"Your family?"
Serena looked at the door.
"You think the Blackwoods were the only ones?"
She smiled faintly.
"They weren't."
Before Lily could ask another question, Serena's phone rang.
She answered.
"What?"
A man's voice came through.
Serena's face changed.
"Where?"
She listened.
Then:
"Is he alive?"
A pause.
"Understood."
She ended the call.
Lily stared.
"Who was that?"
Serena looked at her.
"Marcus."
Lily's heart stopped.
"What did he say?"
Serena walked toward the door.
"He found your brother."
Lily jumped to her feet.
"Where?"
Serena stopped.
Then smiled.
"Alive."
Lily's entire body shook.
"Where is he?"
Serena opened the door.
Before leaving, she looked back.
"He's been waiting for you."
The door closed.
Lily screamed.
"Michael!"
Victor's convoy stopped outside an abandoned warehouse.
Daniel opened the door.
"We're here."
Victor stepped out.
The building stood in complete darkness.
No guards.
No cars.
No lights.
Too quiet.
Victor looked at the entrance.
"Search the perimeter."
Men spread out.
A minute later, Daniel returned.
"No movement."
Victor nodded.
"Then we're in the right place."
He walked inside.
The warehouse smelled of dust and oil.
His footsteps echoed.
Then he saw it.
A wall covered in photographs.
Children.
Dozens of them.
Subject 01.
Subject 02.
Subject 03.
Victor's eyes moved across the wall.
Lily.
Michael.
Then another photograph.
A child Victor had never seen.
The number beneath it was—
11.
Victor stepped closer.
The photograph showed a boy.
Dark hair.
Pale eyes.
A small scar beneath his left eyebrow.
Victor's heart stopped.
He knew that face.
He had seen it before.
Not in the old photographs.
In his own childhood.
At his father's house.
The boy had been there.
The third child.
The one whose face had been scratched away.
Daniel stared at Victor.
"Boss..."
Victor didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because the boy in the photograph wasn't a stranger.
He was Victor himself.
Underneath the photograph was a single line:
SUBJECT 11 — VICTOR BLACKWOOD.
Victor stepped backward.
His face went white.
"No."
Daniel looked at him.
"Boss?"
Victor stared at the photograph.
For the first time in his life, he wondered whether his memories belonged to him at all.
A speaker suddenly crackled overhead.
A man's voice filled the warehouse.
"Welcome home, Victor."
Victor raised his gun.
"Marcus."
A laugh echoed through the darkness.
"You finally found the truth."
Victor's eyes narrowed.
"Where is Lily?"
"Safe."
"Where is Michael?"
Another pause.
"Closer than you think."
Victor's finger tightened around the trigger.
"Show yourself."
Marcus laughed.
"Not yet."
The lights suddenly came on.
Every photograph on the wall illuminated at once.
And in the center of the room stood a single chair.
On it was a photograph.
Victor walked closer.
His blood turned cold.
It showed Lily.
Beside her was Michael.
And behind them stood Victor's mother.
But this time—
there was no Victor Sr.
No Serena.
No Marcus.
Only Elena.
And beneath the photograph were four words:
YOUR MOTHER IS ALIVE.
Victor stared.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
A woman's voice whispered:
"Victor."
He froze.
It was the same voice from the church.
Elena.
"Mom?"
Silence.
Then:
"Don't trust Serena."
The call ended.
Victor stared at the phone.
Daniel looked at him.
"Was that—"
"My mother."
Victor slowly raised his eyes.
"And she's trying to save Lily."
At that exact moment, somewhere far away, a locked door opened.
Lily looked up.
A figure stood in the doorway.
A young man.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
A scar beneath his left eyebrow.
Lily stopped breathing.
The man looked at her.
His eyes filled with tears.
"Lily?"
Her knees nearly gave out.
She whispered the name she had spent fifteen years believing she would never say again.
"Michael..."
The man smiled through tears.
"You're still alive."
Lily began crying.
"So are you."
Michael stepped into the room.
But before he could reach her, a gunshot echoed from somewhere outside.
His expression changed.
He turned toward the door.
"They found us."
Lily froze.
"Who?"
Michael looked at her.
"Marcus."
Then he whispered:
"And he's not coming for me."
May you like
His eyes moved to Lily.
"He's coming for you."
