Chapter 12 - The Person Who Chose Me
The sentence remained on the screen long after the monitor went dark.
Subject was selected before birth.
Five words.
But they carried more weight than any weapon I had ever faced.
Because enemies could be fought.
Enemies could be found.
Enemies could be stopped.
But a truth about yourself?
That was different.
For my entire life, I believed my choices belonged to me.
The career I chose.
The missions I accepted.
The person I became.
The life I built.
But now Victor had placed a terrifying question in front of me.
What if some of those choices were never mine?
Daniel noticed the change in my expression.
“What does it mean?”
I didn’t answer immediately.
Because I didn’t know.
And admitting that was something I hated.
“I don’t know.”
Everyone became silent.
Nathan Cross looked away.
That told me everything.
He knew.
I turned toward him.
“You knew.”
Nathan didn’t respond.
“Tell me the truth.”
His face showed something I had never seen before.
Regret.
“I knew part of it.”
“Part?”
He swallowed.
“When you were young, your abilities were noticed.”
I stared at him.
“What abilities?”
“Memory.”
“Pattern recognition.”
“Emotional control.”
The room became colder.
“You were studied before you even understood what was happening.”
I stepped away.
The person I thought I was had been replaced by a question.
Was I special?
Or was I created?
Was my strength natural?
Or was it something someone designed?
Nathan finally explained.
Years ago, before the program became what it was, researchers searched for people who demonstrated unusual cognitive abilities.
Not soldiers.
Not weapons.
Potential.
Children who could adapt faster.
Think differently.
Survive pressure.
My name appeared in their research.
But there was one problem.
I was not supposed to become part of the program.
Someone changed that.
Someone moved my file.
Someone made sure I was watched.
“Who?”
Nathan looked at the floor.
“Your father.”
Silence.
I froze.
“My father?”
Nathan nodded.
“He believed the world was becoming more dangerous.”
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
“My father volunteered me?”
“No.”
Nathan looked at me.
“He tried to protect you.”
That was the moment everything became complicated.
Because I wanted someone to blame.
I wanted a villain.
A person responsible.
But the truth was never that simple.
My father saw a dangerous world.
He saw people who would use power against innocent people.
And he made a choice.
A choice he thought would keep me safe.
But protection could become a cage.
Even when it came from love.
The files revealed something else.
Victor Hale had not been the first person to manipulate the program.
He had been the first person to escape it.
And when he escaped, he took everything with him.
Names.
Records.
Secrets.
Including mine.
“Why the honeymoon?”
Daniel asked.
I already knew.
Victor wanted something symbolic.
He wanted to create a situation where I had no control.
A locked room.
A person I trusted.
A threat disguised as love.
He wanted to see if the woman who survived every mission could survive betrayal.
That was when I realized something.
Victor was wrong about one thing.
He believed the honeymoon proved I was like him.
That trust made people weak.
That attachment made people vulnerable.
But he misunderstood.
Trust was not weakness.
The ability to trust again after being hurt...
That was strength.
We escaped the island before sunrise.
But we did not leave with victory.
We left with a new enemy.
Not Victor.
Not Nathan.
The person who had started the entire program.
A man whose name appeared in every hidden document.
A name nobody wanted to say.
Dr. Adrian Voss.
May you like
The same last name as Elena.
The missing woman from the cruise.
