Chapter 12 — Nathan’s Last Chance
Chapter 12 — Nathan’s Last Chance
Nathan opened his eyes to the sound of a heart monitor.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
For several seconds, he didn't know where he was.
The ceiling above him was white.
The air smelled of antiseptic.
His chest burned.
Then memory returned.
The church.
The gunshot.
Dominic catching him.
The vault.
The photograph.
The little boy.
And the one sentence he had never expected to hear.
Hello, brother.
Nathan tried to move.
Pain shot through his side.
A nurse immediately appeared.
"Don't."
Nathan looked at her.
"Where am I?"
"Private medical room beneath the estate."
"Dominic?"
"Outside."
Nathan closed his eyes.
"Good."
The nurse adjusted the IV.
"Your wound missed the heart by less than two centimeters."
Nathan gave a weak smile.
"I've always been lucky."
The nurse didn't smile.
"You're not lucky."
She looked toward the door.
"He's angry."
Nathan sighed.
"He should be."
The door opened.
Dominic walked in.
His shirt was stained with blood.
Not his own.
His expression was unreadable.
Nathan looked at him.
"You found Mia."
"No."
Nathan's face tightened.
"Harper?"
"Missing."
Nathan closed his eyes.
"Then we're out of time."
Dominic stepped closer.
"Tell me everything."
Nathan looked at him.
"No more lies."
"None."
"Even if it destroys you."
Dominic's voice was cold.
"Especially then."
Nathan slowly pushed himself upright.
"There are three things you need to understand."
Dominic waited.
"First, Richard isn't the man controlling this."
"I know."
Nathan frowned.
"You do?"
"I found the files."
"Then you know about Project 17."
"Some of it."
Nathan nodded.
"Second, the person who took Mia and Harper isn't Richard."
"Who?"
Nathan hesitated.
"Your mother."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"Isabella."
"No."
Nathan shook his head.
"Not Isabella."
"Then who?"
"The woman you were told was your mother."
Dominic stared.
"What?"
Nathan took a breath.
"Richard changed your birth records."
"Again."
"Yes."
"So who was Isabella?"
"Your legal mother."
"Not biological."
"No."
Dominic looked away.
Nathan continued.
"Your real mother was Mia."
Dominic's eyes hardened.
"I've heard that."
"It's true."
Dominic turned.
"Then why doesn't she remember giving birth to me?"
"Because she was seventeen."
Silence.
"She was a child."
Nathan nodded.
"Richard took her to a private facility."
"Why?"
"Because of her blood."
Dominic frowned.
"Her blood?"
"She carried a rare genetic marker the Moretti family had been searching for."
Dominic stared.
"And Richard wanted it."
"Yes."
"What did he do?"
Nathan's expression darkened.
"He used her."
Dominic's hands tightened.
"Explain."
"Richard believed the Moretti bloodline could be reproduced."
"Project 17."
"Yes."
"But why me?"
"Because Mia was compatible."
"Compatible with what?"
"Alexander."
Dominic's face hardened.
"You're saying Mia was used to create me."
"Yes."
"Then why did she raise Harper?"
"Because Harper was born from the same project."
Dominic stared.
"So Harper and I are connected."
"More than connected."
"How?"
Nathan hesitated.
"They share the same genetic foundation."
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
"She's my daughter."
"Yes."
"And my sister?"
Nathan nodded slowly.
"In a technical sense."
Dominic recoiled.
"No."
"I know."
"That's impossible."
"Project 17 made impossible things possible."
Dominic walked toward the window.
The room fell silent.
Nathan continued.
"That's why Harper is valuable."
Dominic turned.
"Because she's proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That Richard succeeded."
"At what?"
"Creating a stable Moretti-Vale bloodline."
Dominic stared.
"And that's why they want her."
"Yes."
The door opened.
Daniel entered.
"Sir."
Dominic turned.
"What?"
"We found something."
Daniel held out a tablet.
"A camera recording."
"From where?"
"The chapel."
Dominic took it.
The video began.
Mia sat in a chair.
Harper beside her.
Richard stood behind them.
Then another woman entered.
Dominic stopped the video.
"Who is she?"
Nathan looked at the screen.
His face went pale.
"Margaret."
Dominic stared.
"That's impossible."
"She died."
"Apparently not."
Nathan swallowed.
"There's more."
Dominic resumed the video.
Margaret approached Harper.
The child looked up.
"Grandma."
Margaret smiled.
Then she turned toward the camera.
"I know you're watching."
The recording suddenly became distorted.
Margaret continued.
"Dominic, if you're seeing this, you have probably already discovered the vault."
Dominic froze.
"You probably believe Richard is the villain."
Margaret smiled.
"Don't."
The video stopped.
Dominic stared at the black screen.
"Play it."
Daniel restarted it.
Again.
The same message.
Again.
Margaret's voice:
"Don't."
Then the recording ended.
Dominic looked at Nathan.
"Why would she say that?"
Nathan whispered:
"Because Richard wasn't the mastermind."
"Who was?"
Nathan looked at the floor.
"I don't know."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"You're lying."
"No."
"You've lied for seventeen years."
"I know."
"Then stop."
Nathan looked directly at him.
"I swear."
Dominic studied him.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
"You still trust Nathan?"
Dominic froze.
"Who is this?"
"You should ask him what happened in 2009."
Dominic looked at Nathan.
Nathan went pale.
The caller continued.
"The night your mother disappeared."
Dominic's grip tightened.
"What happened?"
The voice laughed.
"Ask Nathan."
The call ended.
Dominic slowly lowered the phone.
Nathan whispered:
"Don't."
Dominic looked at him.
"What happened in 2009?"
Nathan closed his eyes.
"I was there."
"Tell me."
"I can't."
Dominic stepped closer.
"You have one chance."
Nathan opened his eyes.
"Then listen carefully."
"Your mother didn't disappear."
Dominic stared.
"She was taken."
"By whom?"
"Richard."
"Why?"
"Because she found out you weren't his biological son."
Dominic frowned.
"I was already an adult."
"Yes."
"Why did he care?"
"Because you were about to inherit everything."
"Then why didn't he kill me?"
Nathan looked away.
"Because you weren't the only heir."
Dominic's face hardened.
"Who else?"
"Harper."
"She wasn't born."
"Exactly."
Dominic realized.
"Richard knew."
"Yes."
"About Harper."
"Before she was conceived."
Dominic stared.
"How?"
"Because Mia had already been chosen."
"For what?"
"To carry the child."
Dominic's stomach tightened.
"So the pregnancy wasn't accidental."
"No."
"Mia knew?"
"She didn't."
"Then who arranged it?"
Nathan whispered:
"Your mother."
Dominic's expression changed.
"Isabella?"
"No."
"Mia?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Nathan looked at him.
"The woman who raised Margaret."
Dominic stared.
"Who is that?"
Nathan shook his head.
"I never learned her name."
"You're telling me there's another woman above Margaret?"
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
Nathan looked toward the floor.
"Under the estate."
Dominic frowned.
"The hidden house."
Nathan nodded.
"There's an older level."
"How old?"
"Older than the Vales."
"Moretti?"
"Yes."
Dominic stood.
"We're going."
Nathan shook his head.
"No."
Dominic looked at him.
"You just said—"
"I said there's another level."
Nathan struggled to breathe.
"I didn't say you should enter it."
"Why?"
"Because that's where Richard kept the people he couldn't control."
"Who?"
Nathan's face turned pale.
"Your mother's family."
Dominic froze.
"Still alive?"
Nathan shook his head.
"Some."
"Who?"
"Children."
Dominic stared.
"What children?"
"Subjects."
The word hung in the air.
"How many?"
Nathan closed his eyes.
"Twenty-three."
Dominic's blood ran cold.
"Twenty-three?"
"Children born from Project 17."
"Where are they?"
"Most are dead."
"Most?"
Nathan nodded.
"Five survived."
Dominic's voice became quiet.
"Harper is one."
"No."
Nathan shook his head.
"Harper is not one of the five."
Dominic stared.
"Then what is she?"
Nathan whispered:
"She's the control subject."
Dominic couldn't speak.
Nathan continued.
"Richard didn't create Harper to be an heir."
"Then why?"
"To control the others."
"How?"
"Through genetics."
Dominic's face hardened.
"That's insane."
"Yes."
"How?"
"Every surviving subject carries a genetic sequence."
"And Harper?"
"Harper carries the master sequence."
Dominic's eyes widened.
"So if they control Harper..."
"They control the others."
"That's why they took her."
"Yes."
Dominic looked toward the door.
"Then we find her."
Nathan tried to stand.
Dominic stopped him.
"You're staying here."
"No."
"You're wounded."
"I know the way."
Dominic stared.
"You've been there."
Nathan nodded.
"Once."
"When?"
"The night I killed your brother."
Dominic went still.
Nathan's voice broke.
"He wasn't your brother."
Dominic frowned.
"What?"
"He was a subject."
"Then why did you call him your brother?"
"Because Richard made us believe he was."
Nathan looked down.
"I thought I was killing a monster."
Dominic stared.
"What did you actually kill?"
Nathan's eyes filled with tears.
"A child."
For the first time, Dominic had no answer.
He turned toward the door.
"Get dressed."
Nathan looked at him.
"Where are we going?"
"Down."
"Dominic—"
"We're finding Harper."
Nathan nodded.
"But there's something else."
"What?"
"The person who runs the underground facility."
Dominic waited.
"Her name is Elena."
"Who is Elena?"
Nathan's face became grim.
"The woman who gave birth to the first Moretti child."
Dominic froze.
"Margaret?"
"No."
Nathan whispered:
"Your grandmother."
They reached the old chapel forty minutes later.
The door was open.
Mia was gone.
Harper was gone.
Richard was gone.
Only one thing remained.
A small wooden box.
Dominic opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A young woman holding a baby.
On the back:
ELENA MORETTI — 1998.
Beneath the photograph was a handwritten note.
Dominic,
If you are reading this, Nathan finally told you the truth.
He was always better at protecting you than telling you the truth.
Dominic stared.
The handwriting continued.
Your father lied.
Your mother lied.
Nathan lied.
Even I lied.
But there is one truth no one can change.
You were never created to inherit the empire.
Dominic's eyes moved to the final sentence.
You were created to destroy it.
A noise came from behind him.
Nathan turned.
A little girl stood in the doorway.
Four years old.
Messy hair.
Bare feet.
Dominic froze.
It wasn't Harper.
Nathan whispered:
"Impossible."
The girl smiled.
She looked exactly like Harper.
Exactly.
Dominic crouched.
"What's your name?"
The child said nothing.
Then she pointed toward Nathan.
"He's lying."
Nathan's face went white.
Dominic looked at him.
The girl continued.
"He knows where my mommy is."
Nathan stared at her.
"Who is your mommy?"
The child smiled.
"Mia."
Dominic's heart stopped.
Then she added:
"But I'm not Harper."
A vehicle exploded outside.
The chapel shook.
Dominic grabbed the girl.
Nathan drew his weapon.
Daniel shouted through the radio.
"Sir! We're under attack!"
Dominic looked toward the doorway.
Men in black flooded the courtyard.
At their center stood Claire.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She wasn't afraid.
She was smiling.
Dominic stared.
"Claire."
She raised a gun.
"Hello, Dominic."
Nathan whispered:
"She found us."
Claire looked at the little girl in Dominic's arms.
Then she smiled.
"Now give me the original."
Dominic tightened his grip.
"The original what?"
Claire's eyes moved to Nathan.
"The original child."
Nathan went pale.
Claire continued:
"The first subject."
Dominic looked at the little girl.
She whispered:
"Don't give me to her."
Dominic's expression hardened.
He stepped backward.
Claire raised her gun.
"Your choice."
Dominic looked at Nathan.
Then the child.
Then the armed men outside.
He finally understood.
The little girl wasn't a distraction.
She wasn't a hostage.
She was the missing piece of Project 17.
And Nathan had known all along.
Dominic's voice became cold.
"Nathan."
Nathan looked at him.
"Tell me the truth."
Nathan's eyes filled with tears.
"This is your last chance."
Dominic stared.
"Mine?"
Nathan nodded.
"No."
He looked at the little girl.
"Mine."
May you like
Then Nathan stepped in front of Dominic.
And took the first bullet meant for him.
