CHAPTER 10 THE HIDDEN CONNECTION TO VITALIS HEALTH
My father was holding a gun.
Pointed at Miguel.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
“Dad?”
Julian Torres looked older than the man in my memories.
His hair was almost completely gray.
His face was thinner.
But his eyes were unmistakable.
The same eyes that had watched me ride my bicycle in our driveway.
The same eyes that had stayed beside my hospital bed when I was sick.
The same eyes that had once told me that no matter what happened, I would never be alone.
Now they were cold.
Focused.
And aimed at the man I had once called my husband.
Miguel lay on the floor, blood spreading across his shirt.
“Dad…”
Julian didn't lower the gun.
“Step away from him.”
I stared at him.
“You shot him.”
“He'll survive.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I chose where to shoot.”
Miguel groaned.
“That's comforting.”
Julian's eyes narrowed.
“You were supposed to stay away from her.”
Miguel pushed himself onto one elbow.
“I tried.”
“Not hard enough.”
I stepped between them.
“Stop.”
Julian looked at me.
For the first time, something broke through his expression.
Pain.
“Maya.”
I shook my head.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always say that.”
He lowered the gun slightly.
“I know.”
I could barely keep my voice steady.
“I buried you.”
“I know.”
“I cried for you.”
“I know.”
“I thought I was alone.”
“I know.”
“Then why didn't you come back?”
His eyes filled with tears.
“Because if I came back, they would have killed you.”
I swallowed.
“Who?”
Julian looked toward the corridor.
“Everyone who still controls Nightfall.”
Richard stepped beside me.
“Then tell us who they are.”
Julian looked at him.
“You're Richard Vance.”
“Yes.”
“Your father would be ashamed of what happened to his company.”
Richard's jaw tightened.
“My father is dead.”
“So is mine.”
Julian looked at the gun.
“But their work is still alive.”
We moved into a sealed room.
Julian locked the door behind us.
No windows.
No cameras.
At least, that's what he claimed.
Richard didn't trust him.
Neither did I.
Miguel sat against the wall while Helena treated his wound.
Valerie stood near the entrance.
Chloe watched Julian with fear.
Nobody spoke until I finally asked:
“Why did you shoot Miguel?”
Julian looked at him.
“Because he helped Nightfall.”
Miguel laughed bitterly.
“I helped Maya.”
“You helped them first.”
“Yes.”
Julian turned to me.
“Before he turned against them, Miguel worked inside Vitalis.”
“I know.”
“He had access to Level 7.”
“I know.”
“He knew what they were doing.”
“I know.”
Julian's expression hardened.
“But there is something you don't know.”
I waited.
“Miguel was the person who brought you to Level 7.”
I turned toward Miguel.
He closed his eyes.
“I did.”
My heart sank.
“Why?”
“Because they told me your father had been captured.”
“What?”
“They said they would kill him unless I brought you.”
Julian shook his head.
“They already had me.”
Miguel looked at him.
“You weren't supposed to survive.”
Julian's eyes hardened.
“I know.”
Miguel looked at me.
“They threatened Maya.”
Julian interrupted.
“And you believed them.”
“I had no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
Miguel's voice became quiet.
“I chose her.”
Julian stared at him.
“And then you injected her.”
Miguel looked down.
“Because she was about to remember everything.”
I felt a chill.
“What would happen if I remembered?”
Julian answered.
“They could use your memories to unlock Nightfall.”
I touched my pendant.
“So you made me forget.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“You disappeared.”
“I went underground.”
“For four years?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you destroy Nightfall?”
Julian looked at Richard.
“Because destroying it would have killed thousands of people.”
Richard frowned.
“What?”
“The system isn't only a weapon.”
Julian walked to the table.
He opened a file.
Inside were medical records.
Patients.
Brain injuries.
Spinal trauma.
Degenerative diseases.
“Vitalis developed treatments from the original Level 7 research.”
He pointed to the records.
“These therapies saved people.”
I looked at him.
“Then Nightfall wasn't completely evil.”
“The technology wasn't evil.”
Julian closed the file.
“The people who controlled it were.”
Richard stepped forward.
“What exactly did Vitalis steal from you?”
Julian looked at him.
“Everything.”
He opened another document.
“This was my original neurological model.”
It showed complex diagrams.
“Neural regeneration.”
“Memory preservation.”
“Motor recovery.”
Richard studied the pages.
“This is decades ahead of anything publicly available.”
“It was.”
“Then why isn't this technology everywhere?”
“Because someone discovered it could be monetized.”
Julian looked at me.
“They separated the research into two branches.”
“Medical.”
“And military?”
Julian shook his head.
“Control.”
My stomach tightened.
“They realized they could manipulate neurological pathways.”
“Yes.”
“Then they created Nightfall.”
“No.”
Julian looked at Richard.
“Adrian Cole created Nightfall.”
“From your work.”
“Yes.”
“And your company funded it.”
Julian nodded.
“Indirectly.”
Richard looked furious.
“My father?”
“Your father knew.”
Richard stared at him.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Did he approve it?”
“No.”
“Then why didn't he stop it?”
“Because he was trapped.”
“How?”
“His brother controlled the board.”
Richard froze.
“Nathan.”
“Yes.”
“The man who supposedly died by suicide.”
Julian nodded.
“He didn't kill himself.”
Richard's face went blank.
“Then who killed him?”
Julian looked at me.
“The same people who killed your father.”
I whispered:
“Cole.”
“No.”
“Ofelia?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Julian took a breath.
“The board.”
Richard paced across the room.
“My father was trying to expose them.”
“Yes.”
“He knew about Nightfall.”
“Yes.”
“He tried to stop it.”
“Yes.”
“And they killed him.”
“Yes.”
Richard stopped.
“Then why did you say my father was involved?”
“Because he was.”
Julian opened another file.
Inside were financial documents.
Transfers from Vitalis.
Private accounts.
Shell corporations.
Research grants.
Then one name appeared repeatedly.
VANCE MEDICAL FOUNDATION.
Richard stared at it.
“That foundation belonged to my father.”
“Yes.”
“But I thought it funded rehabilitation programs.”
“It did.”
“And Nightfall?”
“Some of the money was diverted.”
“By whom?”
Julian pointed to the signatures.
Nathan Vance.
Adrian Cole.
And—
Eleanor Vance.
Richard's mother.
Richard stepped backward.
“No.”
Julian nodded.
“She knew.”
Richard's face tightened.
“How much?”
“Enough to become afraid.”
I remembered Eleanor's words.
Trust… Valerie.
I looked at Julian.
“She tried to warn us.”
“She did.”
“Then why did she poison you?”
“Because they had Ethan.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“She was protecting my brother.”
“Yes.”
“And Ofelia?”
Julian's expression changed.
“She was protecting herself.”
I looked at the documents again.
“Why was Ofelia involved?”
Julian didn't answer immediately.
Then he opened a file.
A photograph appeared.
Ofelia.
Standing beside Adrian Cole.
Behind them was a Vitalis laboratory.
The date was twelve years earlier.
I stared.
“Twelve years ago.”
“Yes.”
“That was before Miguel and I got married.”
“Yes.”
“What was she doing there?”
“Recruiting.”
“For Nightfall?”
“For patients.”
I felt sick.
“What patients?”
“People who could disappear without anyone looking.”
I couldn't speak.
Julian continued.
“Homeless people.”
“Illegal immigrants.”
“People without families.”
“People no one would miss.”
I looked away.
Nightfall had never been only about powerful people.
It had victims nobody counted.
People whose disappearance would barely make a police report.
Julian closed the file.
“Ofelia was paid for every person she brought in.”
I felt something inside me crack.
“She told me my father was worthless.”
Julian's face hardened.
“She wanted you dependent on Miguel.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew Miguel was connected to Vitalis.”
“But she didn't know he was helping me.”
“She didn't.”
I thought about all those years.
Ofelia's comments.
Her manipulation.
Her insistence that I stay home.
Her constant criticism.
Maybe none of it had been random.
She had been isolating me.
Keeping me away from my father's work.
Keeping me away from the truth.
A computer on the table suddenly activated.
Everyone turned.
A message appeared.
VITALIS NETWORK BREACH
Richard rushed toward it.
“What is that?”
Julian looked at the screen.
“They found us.”
“Who?”
“Cole.”
The screen changed.
A map appeared.
Multiple red dots.
Each one represented a facility.
Chicago.
Indiana.
New York.
Boston.
Seattle.
Los Angeles.
I stared.
“How many?”
“Thirty-seven.”
Richard looked stunned.
“Thirty-seven facilities?”
Julian nodded.
“Thirty-seven active sites.”
“Doing what?”
“Different things.”
“Testing.”
“Data collection.”
“Memory suppression.”
“Neural enhancement.”
“Surveillance.”
“Human experimentation.”
I stared at the map.
“How big is Nightfall?”
Julian answered:
“Bigger than Vitalis.”
Richard looked at him.
“Then who controls it?”
Julian's expression was grim.
“The board.”
“Which board?”
“The Global Medical Consortium.”
Richard frowned.
“That doesn't exist.”
“Officially.”
He pointed at the map.
“Unofficially, it controls billions of dollars in medical technology.”
I stared at him.
“And Vitalis?”
“Is only one piece.”
A loud alarm suddenly sounded.
The lights turned red.
Julian immediately grabbed a weapon.
“Move.”
“Where?”
“Emergency exit.”
We ran.
A security door opened.
Then another.
We moved through the underground facility while alarms screamed.
Gunfire erupted behind us.
“They're inside!” Valerie shouted.
Richard fired back.
“Keep moving!”
We reached a narrow corridor.
Then the lights died.
I heard footsteps.
Someone grabbed my arm.
I screamed.
“It's me.”
Miguel.
He pulled me behind a concrete wall.
“Stay down.”
Gunfire tore through the corridor.
Richard returned fire.
Then silence.
“Clear,” he said.
We moved again.
At the end of the corridor was an elevator.
Julian entered a code.
The doors opened.
We piled inside.
The elevator began rising.
Then stopped.
Everyone froze.
Julian looked at the display.
“Not good.”
“What?”
“The elevator was stopped remotely.”
Richard raised his gun.
“Can they open the doors?”
“Yes.”
A metallic sound came from above.
Someone was forcing the elevator doors.
Julian looked at me.
“Maya.”
“What?”
“If they take you, don't fight them.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Let them believe they have control.”
“Why?”
“Because your memory is the only weapon they can't steal.”
The doors began opening.
A gun appeared.
Then a face.
Adrian Cole.
He smiled.
“Julian.”
My father raised his weapon.
Cole looked at me.
“Your daughter has finally remembered.”
Then he looked at Miguel.
“And you still haven't told her the truth.”
Miguel went pale.
Cole smiled.
“She deserves to know.”
I looked at Miguel.
“What truth?”
Cole stepped into the elevator.
“The truth about the night your father died.”
Miguel closed his eyes.
Cole continued.
“Your husband wasn't merely following orders.”
I stared at Miguel.
Cole's voice dropped.
“He volunteered.”
Miguel looked at me.
“Maya…”
I couldn't breathe.
Cole smiled.
“He volunteered to become your handler.”
My heart stopped.
“Handler?”
Cole nodded.
“For three years.”
I stared at Miguel.
Three years.
The exact period during which my marriage had slowly fallen apart.
The exact period during which Miguel had become distant.
The exact period during which I had believed he stopped loving me.
Cole looked satisfied.
“He was assigned to monitor your memories.”
Miguel whispered:
“I was trying to protect you.”
“But you watched me.”
“Yes.”
“You reported on me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew what they were doing.”
“Yes.”
“You lied to me for three years.”
Miguel's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
I stepped backward.
My father grabbed my arm.
“Maya.”
I pulled away.
“Don't.”
Cole smiled.
“This is what happens when you trust people.”
I looked at him.
“No.”
My voice steadied.
“This is what happens when people underestimate me.”
Cole's smile faded.
I touched my pendant.
Something inside it clicked.
A hidden compartment opened.
A tiny light appeared.
Julian stared.
“What did you do?”
“I don't know.”
The pendant projected a sequence of numbers onto the elevator wall.
Everyone stared.
Julian whispered:
“The final encryption.”
Richard looked at me.
“What is it?”
I shook my head.
“I don't know.”
Then the numbers changed.
A location appeared.
VITALIS HEALTH — EXECUTIVE ARCHIVE
VAULT 7
ACCESS SUBJECT: MAYA TORRES
Cole's face changed.
For the first time—
he looked terrified.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“What's in Vault 7?”
Cole stepped backward.
“Nothing.”
Julian looked at him.
“Then why are you afraid?”
Cole turned and ran.
Richard fired.
The bullet struck the wall beside him.
Cole disappeared into the corridor.
Richard looked at me.
“We're going to Vault 7.”
My father grabbed my shoulder.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because that's where I hid the original evidence.”
“What evidence?”
Julian's face went pale.
“The evidence that proves who started Nightfall.”
“And who is that?”
He looked directly at me.
“Not Cole.”
The elevator doors opened.
And somewhere deep beneath Vitalis Health, a vault began unlocking.
One mechanism at a time.
Then my father's voice dropped to a whisper.
“The person who started Nightfall…”
He stared at the opening vault.
“…was someone who has been standing beside you this entire time.”
I looked at Richard.
Then Miguel.
Then Valerie.
Then Helena.
And finally—
I remembered the woman who had stood beside my hospital bed four years ago.
The woman who had held my hand.
The woman who had told me everything would be all right.
My mother-in-law.
Ofelia.
But when I turned toward my father, he was shaking his head.
“No.”
He pointed behind me.
“Not her.”
I turned.
And saw Valerie.
May you like
Holding a gun.
Pointed at my father.
