CHAPTER 12 SUBJECT ZERO
The fire consumed the laboratory behind them.
Adrian didn't look back.
He couldn't.
If he did, he knew he might stop running.
And stopping was no longer an option.
“Move!” Vincent shouted.
They raced through the underground corridor.
Smoke poured from the ceiling.
Emergency alarms screamed.
Lily clung to Adrian's hand.
Anna carried Claire.
Sarah followed behind them, coughing.
The floor shook again.
A support beam collapsed ahead.
Vincent raised his weapon.
“Back!”
Adrian pulled the girls away.
The beam crashed down.
Dust filled the corridor.
For several seconds, nobody could see.
Then a small voice came through the smoke.
“Daddy?”
Adrian immediately reached for Lily.
“I'm here.”
“Are we going to die?”
Adrian swallowed.
“No.”
He looked at the burning corridor.
“Not tonight.”
They reached the surface.
Rain hammered the estate.
Adrian stood beneath the storm, breathing heavily.
The monitor beneath his shirt continued to flash.
His heart was unstable.
But he barely noticed.
His mind was somewhere else.
Subject Zero.
The original.
The man whose face was identical to his.
The man who knew things Adrian couldn't remember.
The man who might be his father.
Or himself.
Anna walked toward him.
“You heard it too.”
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
“The voice.”
“What voice?”
“The one in your memory.”
Adrian stared.
“You heard it?”
Anna nodded.
“I heard him.”
Claire stepped closer.
“So did I.”
Adrian looked between them.
“How?”
Claire pointed to Lily.
“Because she remembered it first.”
Lily lowered her head.
Adrian crouched.
“What did you remember?”
Lily looked at him.
“A room.”
“What room?”
“A hospital.”
Adrian's face tightened.
“What else?”
“A man.”
“What man?”
She whispered:
“You.”
The convoy left the estate before sunrise.
Six armored SUVs.
Two motorcycles.
A helicopter circling overhead.
Adrian sat in the middle vehicle.
Lily beside him.
Anna across from him.
Claire asleep against Sarah.
Vincent sat in the front.
Nobody spoke.
Then Anna broke the silence.
“We need to talk.”
Adrian looked at her.
“About Subject Zero.”
“Yes.”
“What do you know?”
Anna hesitated.
“I've been searching for him for years.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought he was my father.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“You thought?”
“I never met him.”
“But you saw him.”
“Only in recordings.”
“Where?”
Anna pulled out the black notebook.
She opened to a page near the middle.
A photograph was taped there.
A young Adrian.
But the date beneath it was impossible.
2011.
Adrian stared.
“That was before I met Sarah.”
Anna nodded.
“And after you were supposedly born.”
Adrian frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Anna turned the page.
Another photograph.
Adrian again.
2017.
Another.
2021.
Another.
2025.
Different clothes.
Different locations.
Same face.
Same age.
Adrian stared.
“I didn't take these.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because I took the last one.”
Adrian looked at her.
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
“Where?”
“Prague.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“I've never been to Prague.”
Anna nodded.
“That's what scared me.”
Vincent glanced back.
“Boss.”
Adrian looked at him.
“We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Our helicopter lost visual.”
“Why?”
“Signal interference.”
“From where?”
Vincent looked at the screen.
“Everywhere.”
Adrian frowned.
“That's impossible.”
Vincent's phone rang.
He answered.
“Russo.”
His face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then looked at Adrian.
“Say again.”
Another pause.
“Send me the coordinates.”
He ended the call.
Adrian waited.
“What's happening?”
Vincent turned.
“Three banks just transferred billions of dollars.”
“To whom?”
“An account opened twenty-nine years ago.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Whose account?”
Vincent swallowed.
“Adrian Moretti.”
Silence.
“That's my name.”
“Yes.”
“What's the account number?”
Vincent handed him the tablet.
Adrian looked at the screen.
His stomach dropped.
The account had been opened:
June 17, 1997.
One year before Anna's supposed birth.
And the authorized signature wasn't Adrian's.
It was identical to his.
But the date beside the signature was:
October 4, 2026.
A date that hadn't happened yet.
Adrian stared.
“We're in August.”
Vincent nodded.
“Exactly.”
The convoy suddenly stopped.
Adrian looked through the window.
“What happened?”
Vincent turned.
“Roadblock.”
“How many?”
“Unknown.”
Adrian reached for his weapon.
Anna shook her head.
“Wait.”
“Why?”
“Look at the vehicles.”
Adrian did.
Black SUVs.
No license plates.
No markings.
No visible weapons.
Then one door opened.
A woman stepped out.
Dr. Elena Maren.
Adrian stared.
His doctor.
The woman who had diagnosed his heart condition.
The woman who had told him his life could end without warning.
She approached the vehicle.
Vincent raised his gun.
“Don't move.”
Elena stopped.
“I need to speak to Adrian.”
Adrian opened the door.
Vincent grabbed his arm.
“Boss.”
Adrian shook him off.
“Let her come.”
Elena approached.
Her face was exhausted.
“You shouldn't have gone to the estate.”
Adrian stared.
“You knew about it.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about the laboratory.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Subject Zero.”
Elena nodded.
“I know who he is.”
Adrian's voice became dangerously quiet.
“Then tell me.”
Elena looked around.
“Not here.”
“Why?”
“Because he is listening.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Who?”
Elena looked directly at him.
“Your heart.”
They moved into a roadside building.
An abandoned train station.
The doors were locked.
Elena placed a small device on the table.
It emitted a low frequency.
“What's that?”
“A signal jammer.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Who are you?”
Elena stared at him.
“Not the woman you think I am.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“You diagnosed me.”
“Yes.”
“You treated me.”
“Yes.”
“You knew about my family.”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because your heart condition isn't natural.”
Adrian froze.
“What?”
Elena opened a folder.
Inside were scans of his heart.
Then older scans.
The same heart.
But the genetic markers were different.
Adrian stared.
“These are mine?”
“Yes.”
“They were taken when I was eighteen.”
He looked at the date.
2009.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“Where did you get them?”
Elena answered:
“From Subject Zero.”
Adrian's eyes hardened.
“Who is he?”
Elena looked at him.
“You.”
Silence.
Adrian's face went blank.
“No.”
“Listen to me.”
“No.”
“You are Subject Seven.”
“That's what Cross said.”
“And he lied.”
Elena opened another file.
“Subject Seven was created from Subject Zero.”
Adrian stared.
“What does that mean?”
“You are genetically identical.”
“To him?”
“Yes.”
“But I'm not a clone.”
Elena hesitated.
“You aren't.”
“Then what am I?”
“You are his biological son.”
Adrian stopped breathing.
“Who is my mother?”
Elena looked at Sarah.
Sarah's face collapsed.
“No…”
Adrian turned.
“Sarah?”
Elena shook her head.
“Not Sarah.”
She looked at him.
“Your mother was Elena Moretti.”
Adrian's eyes widened.
“My mother.”
“Yes.”
“And Subject Zero is—”
“Your father.”
Adrian's blood went cold.
“Marco.”
Elena nodded.
“Marco Moretti never died.”
Adrian staggered backward.
His father's face flashed through his mind.
A hand on his shoulder.
A voice telling him to stand straight.
A man teaching him how to fire a gun.
A man who had disappeared.
Then the memory changed.
A laboratory.
A young Marco.
A machine.
A screaming woman.
Adrian grabbed his head.
“Stop.”
Elena stepped toward him.
“Adrian.”
“Stop!”
He slammed his hand against the table.
The heart monitor screamed.
Vincent moved toward him.
“Boss.”
Adrian couldn't breathe.
His chest tightened.
The room blurred.
Then—
A memory.
His father standing over a hospital bed.
A newborn baby in his arms.
Adrian.
Beside him stood another infant.
A girl.
Anna.
Then another.
Lily.
Then another.
Claire.
Four children.
Four births.
One father.
Adrian opened his eyes.
“What happened?”
Elena stared.
“You remembered.”
“How many children did my father have?”
Elena didn't answer.
“How many?”
“Four.”
Adrian looked at Anna.
Then Lily.
Then Claire.
“Who is the fourth?”
Elena's face went pale.
“The fourth died.”
Adrian stared.
“Who?”
“A boy.”
“What was his name?”
Elena whispered:
“Adrian.”
Silence.
Adrian's eyes widened.
“You're saying there were two of me.”
“Yes.”
“Twins?”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“Not twins.”
She opened another file.
“Your father created you from the genetic material of your deceased brother.”
Adrian stared.
“You mean…”
“You are not Marco's biological son in the normal sense.”
His voice disappeared.
“You are a reconstruction.”
Vincent stepped back.
“Jesus Christ.”
Elena continued.
“Your original body died when you were an infant.”
Adrian couldn't move.
“Then who am I?”
“You are the surviving reconstruction.”
“Who gave me my memories?”
“Your father.”
“Why?”
“Because he couldn't accept losing you.”
Adrian's eyes filled.
“So my childhood…”
“Was programmed.”
“My memories…”
“Constructed.”
“My heart condition…”
“Part of the original genetic defect.”
“And my identity?”
Elena lowered her eyes.
“Assigned.”
Adrian stared at the floor.
Everything he had ever believed about himself was collapsing.
His name.
His childhood.
His father.
His mother.
His memories.
Even his own body.
He whispered:
“Am I real?”
Elena looked at him.
“You're standing here.”
“That isn't an answer.”
She stepped closer.
“You love Lily.”
“Yes.”
“You love Anna.”
“Yes.”
“You love Claire.”
Adrian looked at the three girls.
“Yes.”
“Then you're real.”
Adrian's eyes filled with tears.
“That's not enough.”
“It has to be.”
A sudden explosion rocked the building.
The windows shattered.
Vincent threw himself over Lily.
Adrian grabbed Anna.
Claire screamed.
Gunfire erupted outside.
“DOWN!”
Vincent returned fire.
Elena pulled Adrian toward a rear exit.
“We have to leave.”
“Who is attacking?”
“Cross.”
Adrian froze.
“Why?”
“He wants the girls.”
“Why?”
“Because he needs their DNA to stabilize Subject Zero.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Where is Subject Zero?”
Elena looked at him.
“Under Manhattan.”
Adrian stopped.
“What?”
“The original laboratory.”
“Where?”
“Beneath the old Moretti shipping terminal.”
Adrian stared.
“That place has been abandoned for years.”
“That's what everyone believes.”
Vincent shouted:
“MOVE!”
They ran.
The old shipping terminal looked dead.
Rusting containers.
Broken cranes.
Empty warehouses.
Adrian stood outside.
“This is where it began.”
Elena nodded.
“Thirty years ago.”
Anna looked toward the building.
“What happened here?”
“Your grandfather created the first prototype.”
“Subject Zero?”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“Subject Zero was the second.”
Adrian's expression changed.
“Then who was the first?”
Elena looked at him.
“Your brother.”
Adrian stared.
“My brother?”
“He was born with the same heart condition.”
“And died.”
“Yes.”
“Then your father tried to bring him back.”
“Yes.”
Adrian swallowed.
“And I was the result.”
Elena nodded.
“You were never meant to be a replacement.”
“What was I meant to be?”
“A cure.”
They entered the terminal.
Beneath the warehouse floor was another hidden staircase.
At the bottom stood a steel door.
Adrian placed his hand against it.
The lock opened.
Inside was a massive chamber.
Machines surrounded a glass cylinder.
A man was suspended inside.
Adrian stopped.
The man opened his eyes.
Same face.
Same scars.
Same eyes.
Same body.
He looked exactly like Adrian.
Except older.
Much older.
The man placed his hand against the glass.
Adrian stepped closer.
“Dad?”
The man smiled.
“No.”
His voice was weak.
“I am you.”
Adrian's breath caught.
“I am what you were before they changed you.”
Adrian stared.
“Why?”
“Because your father couldn't accept that I was dying.”
“Then why am I here?”
The man looked toward Lily.
“Because she is the reason.”
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“What does Lily have to do with you?”
The man smiled.
“She is the cure.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“No.”
“She carries the mutation.”
“What mutation?”
“The one that can stop my heart from failing.”
Adrian's face hardened.
“You want her blood.”
“I want her alive.”
“Then why have you hunted her?”
“I haven't.”
“Volkov.”
“Not my men.”
“Cross.”
“Not mine.”
Adrian stared.
“Then who?”
The man looked toward the darkness behind Adrian.
“Your grandfather.”
Adrian turned.
Nobody.
Then the doors slammed shut.
The lights turned red.
The man inside the chamber whispered:
“He's here.”
Adrian raised his weapon.
A slow clap echoed through the laboratory.
His grandfather stepped from the shadows.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Beside him stood Daniel Cross.
And behind them—
Sarah.
Adrian's face changed.
“Sarah?”
She looked at him.
Tears were running down her face.
“I'm sorry.”
Adrian's heart sank.
His grandfather smiled.
“You finally found the truth.”
Adrian aimed his gun.
“Let them go.”
His grandfather shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed toward Lily.
“Bring me the girl.”
Adrian stepped in front of her.
“You'll have to kill me first.”
His grandfather smiled.
“That is exactly what I came here to do.”
He raised his cane.
A hidden mechanism clicked.
The laboratory doors locked.
Then the man inside the glass chamber suddenly began screaming.
His heart monitor flatlined.
Adrian turned.
“Dad!”
The chamber filled with red light.
The old man smiled.
“Now watch carefully, Adrian.”
“Because tonight…”
He looked at Lily.
“…we discover which of you was meant to survive.”
The glass chamber began to open.
And the man inside slowly stepped out.
He looked at Adrian.
Then at Lily.
Then at Anna.
Then Claire.
Four children.
One bloodline.
One impossible secret.
And one dying heart.
He whispered:
“Don't trust your grandfather.”
Adrian stared.
The man continued:
“He isn't trying to save me.”
May you like
A pause.
“He's trying to become me.”
