Chapter 10 — The Woman Everyone Blamed
The gunshot echoed through the underground facility.
For one terrible second, Marcus thought Elena had been hit.
“Elena!”
He dropped to his knees beside her.
She was breathing.
No blood.
No bullet wound.
Then Marcus heard another sound.
A body hitting the floor.
Dr. Hayes.
She had been shot in the shoulder.
Victoria stood behind her, gun still raised.
Marcus aimed at Victoria.
“You shot her.”
Victoria didn't answer.
Her eyes remained fixed on Elena.
“Get her out of here.”
Marcus stared.
“What?”
“Get Elena out.”
“You're not giving me orders.”
Victoria's voice cracked.
“Marcus, listen to me.”
Another explosion shook the building.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Victoria looked toward the corridor.
“They're coming.”
“Who?”
“The people who have been running Project V since before your father.”
Marcus tightened his grip on his gun.
“You said my father was responsible.”
“He was.”
“You said Clara was responsible.”
“She was.”
“You said you weren't.”
Victoria looked at him.
“I never said that.”
Marcus froze.
Victoria lowered the gun.
“I said I was trying to stop it.”
Daniel shouted from across the room:
“Then why did you poison Elena?”
Victoria looked at him.
“I didn't.”
Daniel stepped forward.
“V-17 was administered through Elena's tea.”
“Yes.”
“By you.”
“No.”
Victoria shook her head.
“By someone using my private kitchen.”
Marcus stared.
“Then who?”
Victoria looked toward Grant.
“Ask him.”
Everyone turned.
Grant was gone.
The door behind him swung slowly.
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Where is he?”
Victoria answered:
“He was never on our side.”
The Escape
Another gunshot tore through the corridor.
Marcus grabbed Elena.
“Move.”
Daniel carried Alexander.
Victoria grabbed Isabella.
They ran.
The underground facility shook around them.
Smoke filled the passage.
Elena clung to Marcus.
“Where are we going?”
“Out.”
“No.”
She stopped.
Marcus turned.
“What?”
“My children.”
“They're with us.”
“No.”
Elena pointed behind them.
“They're coming for them.”
Marcus looked back.
Three armed men appeared through the smoke.
Victoria raised her gun.
“Run!”
She fired twice.
The men disappeared behind the doorway.
Marcus pulled Elena forward.
They reached the service tunnel.
Daniel slammed the steel door behind them.
For several seconds, they could hear pounding.
Then silence.
Elena collapsed against the wall.
Marcus caught her.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Her face was white.
“My memories.”
“What about them?”
“I remember Victoria.”
Marcus waited.
“She wasn't poisoning me.”
“Who was?”
Elena looked at him.
“I don't know.”
Then her eyes moved toward Victoria.
“But she knows.”
They reached the lake house two hours later.
No one spoke during the drive.
The children slept in the back seat.
Elena sat beside Marcus.
Victoria was restrained.
Daniel sat opposite her.
Nobody trusted anyone.
When they arrived, Marcus ordered Victoria into the study.
He locked the door.
Then he placed her gun on the desk.
“Talk.”
Victoria remained silent.
“Why did you shoot Hayes?”
“She was going to kill Elena.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Victoria looked at him.
“I expect you to investigate.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Five years ago, you took my daughter.”
Victoria's face changed.
“I did not.”
“You lied to Elena.”
“Yes.”
“You manipulated her.”
“Yes.”
“You made her believe she was losing her mind.”
Victoria looked away.
“Yes.”
Marcus's anger sharpened.
“Then why?”
Victoria finally met his eyes.
“Because if Elena remembered everything at once, she would have died.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“Her brain was overloaded.”
“So you drugged her.”
“I reduced the memories.”
“You erased them.”
“I suppressed them.”
“For five years.”
“Yes.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You destroyed her life.”
“I saved it.”
“That's what every monster says.”
Victoria flinched.
Then she whispered:
“Your father said the same thing.”
Daniel entered.
“Enough.”
Marcus turned.
“What?”
Daniel placed a folder on the desk.
“We found something in Hayes's office.”
Marcus opened it.
Inside were financial transfers.
Hundreds of millions.
All connected to Project V.
But the payments didn't come from Anthony Moretti.
They came from a company Marcus didn't recognize.
BLACKWELL BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH.
Marcus frowned.
“Who owns this?”
Daniel shook his head.
“That's the problem.”
“What?”
“The ownership records don't exist.”
Victoria looked at the file.
Then went pale.
“No.”
Marcus noticed.
“You know it.”
Victoria slowly nodded.
“It was supposed to have been destroyed.”
“What is it?”
“The original Project V organization.”
“Who founded it?”
Victoria didn't answer.
Marcus slammed his hand onto the desk.
“Who?”
She whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
Silence.
Marcus stared.
“My grandfather died before I was born.”
“His body did.”
Marcus looked at her.
“You're saying he's alive too?”
“No.”
Victoria shook her head.
“He left something behind.”
“What?”
“A system.”
That night, Elena woke screaming.
Marcus rushed into the bedroom.
“What's wrong?”
She was sitting upright.
Sweat covered her forehead.
“I saw him.”
“Who?”
“Your grandfather.”
Marcus froze.
“You've never met him.”
“I know.”
“What did you see?”
“He was standing beside my mother.”
Marcus sat beside her.
“What was he doing?”
“Signing something.”
“What?”
“A birth certificate.”
Elena stared at the wall.
“It had my name.”
Marcus frowned.
“Why would your name be on your grandfather's birth certificate?”
Elena shook her head.
“It wasn't my birth certificate.”
She looked at Marcus.
“It was yours.”
The next morning, Daniel brought a specialist to the lake house.
Dr. Natalie Reed.
Neurologist.
She examined Elena for nearly two hours.
When she finished, her expression was grave.
“What?”
Marcus asked.
Natalie looked at Elena.
“Your wife is not psychotic.”
Marcus exhaled.
“Then what is happening?”
“She is experiencing severe memory intrusions.”
“Can they be treated?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“First, we need to stop the compound.”
“We don't know what she was given.”
Natalie looked at him.
“I do.”
Marcus froze.
“You do?”
She nodded.
“I worked on the original V-17 trial.”
Elena stared.
“You were part of Project V?”
“Yes.”
“Why should we trust you?”
Natalie looked at Victoria.
“Because she once saved my life.”
Victoria said nothing.
Natalie continued:
“V-17 wasn't designed to cause hallucinations.”
“What was it designed to do?”
“Suppress traumatic memory.”
Marcus looked at Elena.
“Then why did she see things?”
Natalie shook her head.
“Because someone altered the formula.”
“Who?”
Natalie opened a file.
“Someone added a compound called R-9.”
“What does it do?”
“It destabilizes memory.”
Marcus's expression hardened.
“Who had access?”
Natalie answered:
“Only three people.”
“Who?”
“Anthony Moretti.”
“Dead?”
“No.”
“Victoria.”
Victoria looked away.
“And?”
Natalie hesitated.
“Me.”
Marcus stared at her.
“You?”
“I didn't add it.”
“Then who did?”
Natalie looked toward the children.
“I don't know.”
Alexander suddenly appeared in the doorway.
He was holding a drawing.
“Daddy?”
Marcus crouched.
“What is it?”
Alexander handed him the paper.
A house.
Three adults.
Two children.
And a third figure standing beneath the ground.
Marcus frowned.
“Who's this?”
Alexander pointed.
“Grandpa.”
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“Which grandpa?”
The boy pointed again.
“The one who comes at night.”
That afternoon, the power went out.
The lake house plunged into darkness.
Daniel immediately drew his weapon.
“Everyone stay down.”
The children were moved into the basement.
Marcus stood beside Elena.
“Is this another hallucination?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I can hear them.”
“Who?”
“Men outside.”
Daniel checked the security cameras.
Static.
Then one camera returned.
A figure stood near the lake.
Marcus recognized him.
Anthony.
Alive.
Watching the house.
Marcus rushed upstairs.
“Don't!”
Daniel grabbed him.
“It's a trap.”
Anthony raised one hand.
He wasn't holding a weapon.
Then he pointed toward the lake.
Something floated beneath the ice.
A small black box.
Marcus stared.
Anthony mouthed something through the window.
OPEN IT.
Then he disappeared.
They retrieved the box after midnight.
Inside was a cassette recorder.
An old photograph.
And a letter.
The photograph showed Marcus's grandfather.
Standing beside a much younger Victoria.
And beside them—
Elena's mother.
Marcus stared.
“Why is her mother here?”
Victoria's face went pale.
“She was one of the founders.”
Elena looked at her.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“She was part of Project V?”
Victoria nodded.
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“About my pregnancy?”
“Yes.”
“About my children?”
“Yes.”
Elena stepped back.
“My whole family knew.”
Victoria whispered:
“They believed they were protecting you.”
Elena laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
She looked at Marcus.
“Everyone hurts me and calls it protection.”
Marcus reached for her.
She stepped away.
“I need the truth.”
“You'll have it.”
“No.”
Elena looked at Victoria.
“I want all of it.”
Marcus inserted the cassette.
Static.
Then a man's voice.
His grandfather.
If you are hearing this, Project V has survived me.
Marcus looked at Victoria.
The recording continued.
The purpose was never immortality.
Static.
It was inheritance.
Another pause.
Memory can influence behavior across generations. Trauma can shape biological responses. But we discovered something more important.
A child's brain could react to emotional patterns before birth.
Elena's eyes widened.
The recording continued:
The second-generation children demonstrated unprecedented recall.
Marcus whispered:
“Alexander.”
The voice continued.
But one child was different.
Silence.
The daughter.
Elena stopped breathing.
She remembered before she was born.
The cassette clicked.
Then another voice appeared.
A woman's.
Elena's mother.
“She's awake.”
Marcus stared.
Her mother continued:
“She recognizes people.”
Grandfather answered:
“Then separate her from the boy.”
Elena began crying.
The recording continued.
Her mother's voice:
“What about Elena?”
“Erase her memory.”
“She's pregnant.”
“Exactly.”
Marcus looked at Elena.
The tape continued.
If Elena remembers the twins, the project will be exposed.
Then a final voice.
Anthony.
Young.
Terrified.
I won't do it.
Grandfather replied:
You don't have a choice.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Elena whispered:
“I remember.”
Marcus turned.
She was crying.
“I remember everything.”
“What?”
“The night they took Isabella.”
She looked at Victoria.
“You weren't the one who took her.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
Elena's eyes moved toward the window.
“Anthony was.”
Marcus froze.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“He saved Daniel.”
“He saved Daniel.”
“But he took Isabella.”
Victoria closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Elena stared.
“Why?”
Victoria answered:
“Because your father threatened to kill Alexander.”
Elena's voice broke.
“So Anthony chose Isabella.”
“Yes.”
Marcus stepped back.
His father had saved one child by sacrificing another.
And Victoria had spent years hiding the truth.
But there was still one mystery.
“Where is Isabella?”
Victoria looked at Elena.
“I don't know.”
Daniel suddenly entered.
“We do.”
Everyone turned.
He held a photograph.
A young woman.
Twenty years old.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A crescent birthmark behind her ear.
Elena covered her mouth.
“That's her.”
Daniel nodded.
“We found her.”
Marcus stared.
“Where?”
Daniel looked at the photograph.
“She works at a private research hospital in Boston.”
Elena's heart raced.
“Does she know who she is?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“Then we go now.”
Victoria stood.
“You can't.”
Marcus turned.
“Why?”
“Because the hospital belongs to Blackwell.”
Marcus froze.
Daniel looked at him.
“And Blackwell isn't controlled by your grandfather anymore.”
“Who controls it?”
Daniel answered:
“Isabella.”
Marcus stared.
“That doesn't make sense.”
Daniel handed him another document.
The signature at the bottom belonged to a woman named:
Isabella Moretti.
Marcus's hands began to shake.
“She knows.”
Daniel nodded.
“She has been searching for you.”
Elena stared at the document.
Then her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
No one spoke.
Then a woman's voice whispered:
“Mom?”
Elena's entire body froze.
“Isabella?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Elena began crying.
“Where are you?”
“Boston.”
“Are you safe?”
Another pause.
“No.”
Marcus leaned closer.
“Why?”
Isabella whispered:
“Because they know I found out who I am.”
“What did you find?”
Her voice trembled.
“The truth about Project V.”
Marcus asked:
“What truth?”
Isabella answered:
“Your father didn't create it.”
A pause.
“He inherited it.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“From whom?”
Isabella's voice dropped.
“From me.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“I know what they did to me.”
“Isabella—”
“I know what they did to you.”
The line crackled.
Then she whispered:
“Dad is alive.”
Marcus stared.
“Your grandfather?”
“No.”
Isabella began crying.
“Anthony.”
Marcus's blood turned cold.
“He's here.”
A gunshot sounded through Isabella's phone.
Elena screamed.
“Isabella!”
The call went dead.
Marcus grabbed his coat.
Daniel was already moving.
Victoria looked at him.
“Don't go.”
Marcus turned.
“I'm bringing my daughter home.”
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
“You don't understand.”
Marcus opened the door.
“What?”
Victoria whispered:
“Isabella isn't the one they're trying to kill.”
Marcus stopped.
“Then who?”
Victoria looked at Elena.
“The woman carrying the third child.”
May you like
Elena's hand moved to her stomach.
And for the first time, the baby stopped moving.
