Chapter 18 — The Original Archive
The elevator descended.
And descended.
And descended.
Arthur watched the floor numbers disappear.
B-17.
Then—
B-18.
Then—
the display went completely blank.
Ethan stood beside him, holding his father's hand.
“Dad?”
“I'm here.”
“Are we going to find Grandma?”
Arthur looked at Rebecca.
She was standing in the corner of the elevator, silent.
“Yes,” Arthur said.
“We're going to find her.”
Ethan nodded.
Then the elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
A corridor stretched into darkness.
No lights.
No cameras.
No guards.
Only a single inscription carved into the wall.
THE ORIGINAL BLOODLINE CANNOT BE OWNED.
Jonathan stared at it.
“That wasn't in the records.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Because the records upstairs were never the original records.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“Then what is this place?”
Rebecca answered:
“The place where Edward hid the truth.”
Arthur walked forward.
At the end of the corridor stood a massive steel door.
There was no keypad.
No fingerprint scanner.
Only three circular symbols.
A-01.
A-02.
A-03.
Arthur looked at Anna.
“Together?”
She nodded.
Arthur placed his hand on A-01.
Anna placed hers on A-02.
Ethan stepped forward.
Arthur guided his hand onto A-03.
The door opened.
Inside was a room unlike anything Arthur had seen.
Thousands of documents filled glass cases.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Contracts.
Bank transfers.
Birth certificates.
Death certificates.
And at the center—
a single black table.
On it was an old tape recorder.
Arthur walked toward it.
The machine started automatically.
Edward's voice filled the room.
“If you are hearing this, then my final protection has failed.”
Arthur closed his eyes.
Edward continued.
“I need you to know that the story I gave you was never meant to become your life.”
A photograph appeared on the wall.
Edward.
Rebecca.
Thomas.
Alexander.
And two newborn babies.
Arthur stared.
Two babies.
Not one.
Jonathan stepped closer.
“There were two.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Yes.”
Arthur looked at her.
“Who was the other?”
Rebecca didn't answer.
The recording continued.
“The Circle demanded one heir.”
Edward's voice trembled.
“I gave them a child they believed was Arthur.”
Arthur froze.
“What?”
Rebecca whispered,
“Edward switched the babies.”
Arthur stared at the photograph.
“One of those children was me.”
“Yes.”
“And the other?”
Rebecca looked at Anna.
Arthur turned.
Anna was staring at the photograph.
Her face had gone pale.
“No…”
Arthur looked at her.
“Anna?”
She stepped backward.
“I don't remember.”
Rebecca whispered,
“You were born twelve minutes after him.”
Anna's eyes widened.
“But I wasn't raised with him.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because the Circle believed you were dead.”
Arthur stared at Rebecca.
“How?”
Rebecca swallowed.
“Because I told them you were.”
Arthur's expression changed.
“You lied to them.”
“I had to.”
The words sounded familiar.
Everyone had been saying them.
Edward.
Rebecca.
Gerald.
Daniel.
Everyone had lied.
But now Arthur understood why.
Rebecca continued.
“I took you both from the hospital.”
Arthur stared.
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“Then how did Alexander get Anna?”
Rebecca looked at the floor.
“He found her.”
Anna's breathing became uneven.
“And what happened to me?”
Rebecca closed her eyes.
“They took you.”
Anna's voice broke.
“How long?”
“Twenty years.”
Anna stared at her.
“Twenty years?”
Rebecca nodded.
“You were their first successful prototype.”
Arthur stepped toward Anna.
She looked at him.
“I don't remember being a child.”
Arthur's expression softened.
“Because they erased it.”
Jonathan suddenly opened another file.
“There's something here.”
He placed it on the table.
PROJECT A-03
Arthur looked at it.
The name was Ethan.
Underneath was a genetic sequence.
Jonathan's eyes widened.
“This isn't just a bloodline.”
“What is it?”
“It's an access key.”
Rebecca nodded.
“Exactly.”
Arthur stared at Ethan.
“Access to what?”
Rebecca pointed toward the wall.
A massive map appeared.
It showed hundreds of organizations.
Banks.
Companies.
Foundations.
Governments.
Everything connected to one central system.
At the center:
HALCYON NETWORK
Arthur stared.
“The Circle controls all of this?”
“No.”
Rebecca shook her head.
“They think they do.”
Jonathan looked confused.
“Then who does?”
Rebecca pointed to the bottom of the screen.
A final name appeared.
THE TRUSTEE
Arthur's face tightened.
“Who is the trustee?”
Nobody answered.
Then the archive doors locked.
A voice came through the speakers.
“You finally found me.”
Arthur turned.
Alexander's voice.
“You spent your entire life blaming Edward.”
Arthur shouted,
“Show yourself!”
Alexander laughed.
“You still think I'm the enemy.”
“Then who are you?”
A pause.
“The guardian.”
Arthur shook his head.
“You killed Thomas.”
“No.”
“You hunted my mother.”
“No.”
“You created Anna.”
“No.”
Arthur froze.
“Then who did?”
The voice became quieter.
“Your grandfather.”
Arthur stared.
“My grandfather is dead.”
“No.”
The lights turned on.
A screen appeared.
A live video.
An old man sat in a chair.
His face was thin.
His hair completely white.
Arthur had never seen him before.
But Rebecca collapsed into a chair.
Her face turned pale.
Arthur looked at her.
“Who is that?”
Rebecca whispered:
“Thomas.”
Arthur froze.
“My biological father?”
“No.”
She looked at the screen.
“He is Edward's father.”
Arthur stared.
The old man smiled.
Then he spoke.
“Hello, Arthur.”
Arthur felt his blood run cold.
“You're alive.”
The old man nodded.
“For seventy-nine years.”
Jonathan stepped closer.
“Then you're the founder of the Vance empire.”
The old man smiled.
“No.”
He leaned toward the camera.
“I am the founder of the Halcyon Circle.”
Silence.
Arthur's entire body went cold.
The old man continued.
“And Alexander has been trying to kill me for thirty years.”
Arthur looked toward the doorway.
Alexander suddenly appeared.
But he wasn't smiling anymore.
The old man looked at him.
“Son.”
Alexander lowered his head.
“Father.”
Arthur stared.
The hierarchy finally became clear.
Alexander wasn't the master.
He was the son.
And the man on the screen was the true architect.
The old man looked directly at Arthur.
“You have two choices.”
Arthur clenched his fists.
“What choices?”
“Take control of the Circle.”
Arthur stared.
“Or destroy it.”
The old man smiled.
“But if you destroy it…”
May you like
He looked at Ethan.
“…your son dies with it.”
