Chapter 6 — Marcus Begins to Doubt Himself
The key turned once.
Then stopped.
Marcus stood perfectly still.
The laboratory door remained closed.
He stared at the black computer screen, unable to tear his eyes away from the last image.
His mother.
Dead for twenty years.
Standing beside Elena.
Pregnant.
Five years ago.
It couldn't be real.
It couldn't be possible.
He had attended his mother's funeral.
He had watched the coffin lowered into the ground.
He had been seventeen.
He remembered the rain.
He remembered Victoria holding his shoulder.
He remembered his father's silence.
He remembered everything.
At least he thought he did.
The key turned again.
Marcus reached beneath his jacket.
His fingers closed around his gun.
“Who's there?”
No answer.
He moved toward the door.
The key slowly withdrew from the other side.
Marcus opened it.
The corridor was empty.
But something lay on the floor.
A photograph.
He picked it up.
His mother.
Again.
This time she was holding a newborn baby.
On the back, someone had written:
You were never told about the second child.
Marcus's heart stopped.
Second child.
He turned the photograph over again.
There was a name beneath the baby.
Daniel Moretti.
Marcus stared at it.
He had never had a brother.
Or had he?
By sunrise, Marcus hadn't slept.
He sat in his father's old study surrounded by boxes of family documents.
Elena stood near the window.
She watched him search through decades of records.
“Marcus.”
He didn't answer.
“Marcus.”
“What?”
“You've been looking for three hours.”
“I need to know if I had a brother.”
Elena frowned.
“You don't remember?”
“No.”
“Then why would someone send you that photograph?”
“That's what I'm trying to find out.”
He opened another box.
Old school records.
Tax documents.
Birth certificates.
Nothing.
Then he found an envelope marked:
PRIVATE — A. MORETTI
Marcus opened it.
Inside was a letter from his father.
Only one page.
Marcus,
If you ever find this, it means Victoria has failed to keep the past buried.
Marcus stopped breathing.
He read on.
There was a child before you.
His hands began shaking.
Your mother gave birth to a boy three years before you were born. His name was Daniel.
Elena stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
Marcus couldn't answer.
He continued reading.
He was born with a condition the family considered dangerous to the succession.
Marcus frowned.
Victoria insisted the child be removed from the family records.
His father had written:
I agreed.
Marcus closed his eyes.
His father had hidden a child.
His own brother.
A child who had been erased.
But why?
He continued.
I regret what I allowed.
If Daniel is still alive, find him.
He may be the only person who knows what Victoria did.
The letter ended.
Marcus lowered it.
Elena whispered:
“You had a brother.”
Marcus nodded.
“Apparently.”
“Do you remember him?”
“No.”
“Nothing?”
He stared at the floor.
“I remember my mother crying.”
Elena waited.
“I remember her asking me never to go into the east wing.”
“Why?”
“I thought it was because my father kept his business records there.”
“And now?”
Marcus looked toward the old study.
“Now I think there was a child there.”
The east wing had been closed for twenty years.
Marcus had never questioned why.
The doors were sealed.
Dust covered the corridor.
Old furniture remained beneath white sheets.
Elena followed him.
“Are you sure?”
“No.”
He opened the first door.
A bedroom.
Empty.
Second door.
Storage.
Third.
Locked.
Marcus tried his father's old key ring.
Nothing.
Then Elena noticed something.
“Look.”
A small symbol was carved into the door.
The same bird inside a circle.
The symbol from the baby's blanket.
Marcus touched it.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a child's bedroom.
The furniture was untouched.
A wooden crib.
A small desk.
Books.
Toys.
A faded mobile hanging above the bed.
Elena covered her mouth.
Marcus stepped forward.
On the wall were height measurements.
Names.
Dates.
Then one line:
DANIEL — AGE 3
Marcus touched it.
His fingers trembled.
“He was real.”
Elena nodded.
“He was.”
Marcus looked around.
“Why did no one tell me?”
Elena found a photograph.
A little boy stood beside Marcus's mother.
Marcus stared.
He recognized the smile.
It was his mother's.
But the boy's eyes were different.
Dark.
Serious.
He wore the same silver pendant that appeared in the photograph of Elena's son.
Marcus whispered:
“That's impossible.”
Elena looked at him.
“What?”
“The pendant.”
She saw it.
Her face changed.
“It belongs to our family.”
“No.”
Marcus shook his head.
“It belonged to my mother.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Both turned.
Footsteps.
Marcus drew his weapon.
“Stay here.”
Elena grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He opened the door.
Nothing.
The corridor was empty.
Then a voice came from behind them.
“You shouldn't have opened that room.”
Victoria.
Marcus spun.
She stood at the end of the hallway.
Calm.
Elegant.
Almost sad.
“Who was Daniel?”
Victoria looked at him.
“You remember.”
“No.”
“You will.”
“Was he my brother?”
Victoria said nothing.
“Answer me.”
She slowly walked toward them.
“Yes.”
Marcus's jaw tightened.
“Where is he?”
“Dead.”
“That's what you told everyone.”
Victoria stopped.
“Because it was necessary.”
“You erased him.”
“I protected you.”
“From what?”
Victoria looked at Elena.
Then back at Marcus.
“From the same thing that is happening now.”
Elena stepped forward.
“What thing?”
Victoria's eyes settled on her.
“Children born into this family are not always safe.”
Marcus stared.
“What did my brother have to do with Elena?”
Victoria smiled.
“Everything.”
Then she walked away.
Marcus chased her.
“Mother!”
Victoria didn't stop.
He grabbed her arm.
She turned.
“Let me go.”
“Tell me what you did.”
“To Daniel?”
“To Elena.”
Victoria stared at him.
“I saved her.”
“You poisoned her.”
“No.”
Marcus froze.
“I gave her what she needed.”
“What?”
“Memory.”
His expression changed.
Victoria continued:
“You think I wanted her to forget?”
“You did.”
“I wanted her to remember.”
Elena stared.
“What does that mean?”
Victoria looked at her.
“You were never supposed to remember your first child.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment you remembered him, they would come for you.”
“Who?”
Victoria's eyes flickered toward Marcus.
“The people who started this.”
Marcus tightened his grip.
“Who?”
Victoria whispered:
“Your father.”
Marcus released her.
“What?”
Victoria walked away.
That night, Marcus confronted Elena.
Not angrily.
Not violently.
But with a fear neither of them could ignore.
“There are things you haven't told me.”
Elena looked at him.
“I know.”
“You saw Dr. Hayes.”
“Yes.”
“You remembered the first pregnancy.”
“Yes.”
“You remembered signing the guardianship document.”
“Yes.”
“But you haven't told me everything.”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“I don't remember everything.”
“Try.”
She looked away.
Marcus waited.
Finally she whispered:
“There was another person.”
“Who?”
“A man.”
“What man?”
“I don't know.”
“What did he look like?”
“He had your eyes.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“He stood beside Victoria.”
“Did he speak?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
She began shaking.
“He told me the baby belonged to the Moretti family.”
Marcus stared.
“Anything else?”
“He said…”
Elena swallowed.
“He said you weren't the real heir.”
Marcus stepped back.
“What?”
“I don't know what it means.”
Marcus walked away.
His mind was spinning.
Not the real heir.
Daniel.
The erased brother.
His father's letter.
Victoria's warnings.
The laboratory.
The child.
Everything seemed connected.
But one question remained.
Who had sent the photographs?
Daniel Cross arrived at midnight.
He brought a folder.
“We found Dr. Hayes.”
Marcus stood.
“Where?”
“Alive.”
Elena's breath caught.
“Where?”
“Switzerland.”
Marcus stared.
“Can we reach her?”
“She contacted me.”
“Why?”
“She wants to speak with you.”
“Now?”
“She says it can't wait.”
Daniel opened the folder.
Inside was a photograph of Dr. Hayes.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
On the back was a handwritten note.
Marcus must come alone.
Marcus looked at Elena.
“I’m going.”
“No.”
He turned.
“Elena…”
“If Victoria is behind this, you're walking into a trap.”
“She may be the only person who knows where our son is.”
“You can't go alone.”
Daniel interrupted.
“You shouldn't go at all.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Because someone already knows we're investigating.”
Marcus's phone vibrated.
A message.
YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO VICTORIA.
Another arrived.
DR. HAYES IS NOT WHO YOU THINK SHE IS.
Then a third.
NEITHER ARE YOU.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Elena took his hand.
“Don't go.”
He looked at her.
For a moment, he wanted to listen.
Then Daniel opened the folder again.
A document lay inside.
Marcus's birth certificate.
He examined it.
His father's name.
His mother's name.
His name.
Then he noticed something.
The certificate had been amended.
A handwritten notation appeared beneath his birth date.
SECOND MALE CHILD.
Marcus looked up.
“What's this?”
Daniel's expression was grim.
“That notation was added twenty years ago.”
“By whom?”
“We don't know.”
Marcus stared at the paper.
Then Elena whispered:
“Maybe Victoria was right.”
He looked at her.
“About what?”
“Maybe you're not the heir.”
The next morning, Marcus returned to the laboratory.
He opened the folder marked PROJECT V — ORIGIN.
For the first time, he noticed a section he hadn't opened.
SUBJECT M-01
He clicked.
A photograph appeared.
His father.
Another.
His mother.
Another.
Victoria.
Then:
SUBJECT M-02
Daniel.
Then:
SUBJECT M-03
Marcus.
Then:
SUBJECT E-01
Elena.
Marcus stared.
The project hadn't begun with Elena.
It had begun with his family.
Decades earlier.
He opened the next file.
A clinical report appeared.
Objective: Identify hereditary traits associated with memory retention, behavioral compliance, and psychological susceptibility.
Marcus read it twice.
Then he understood.
This wasn't about money.
Not entirely.
The family had been studying its own bloodline.
Manipulating pregnancies.
Tracking children.
Testing drugs.
Creating psychological profiles.
Victoria hadn't invented the project.
She had inherited it.
And Elena had been pulled into it because of her pregnancy.
Marcus opened the final document.
It contained one sentence:
M-03 was selected as successor. E-01 was selected as reproductive partner.
Marcus's stomach turned.
Reproductive partner.
Elena had never been chosen because Victoria hated her.
She had been chosen before Marcus even married her.
Their relationship had been part of a plan.
Or someone had tried to make it part of one.
He turned the page.
Projected offspring: high-value genetic combination.
Marcus slammed the file shut.
“No.”
Elena stood behind him.
“What?”
He couldn't answer.
She approached.
“What did you find?”
Marcus looked at her.
His voice barely existed.
“Our marriage…”
He swallowed.
“…may not have been an accident.”
That afternoon, Dr. Hayes called.
Marcus answered.
Her voice was weak.
“Marcus.”
“Where is my son?”
Silence.
“You found the laboratory.”
“Yes.”
“You found the project.”
“Yes.”
“You know about Daniel.”
“Yes.”
Dr. Hayes took a breath.
“Then you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“Victoria isn't the architect.”
Marcus froze.
“Who is?”
“Your father.”
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“He died twenty years ago.”
“Yes.”
“So how?”
“He left instructions.”
“What instructions?”
“Everything happening now was designed before his death.”
Marcus couldn't breathe.
“Why?”
“To create the perfect heir.”
Marcus stared at Elena.
Dr. Hayes continued:
“And you weren't the first attempt.”
“Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
“He survived.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“Where is he?”
Dr. Hayes whispered:
“Closer than you think.”
The call ended.
Marcus immediately called Daniel Cross.
“Find Daniel Moretti.”
Daniel was silent.
“Marcus…”
“Find him.”
“We already did.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“He's alive.”
“Where?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then said:
“Chicago.”
Marcus looked at Elena.
His heart hammered.
“How old is he?”
“Thirty-seven.”
Marcus's age was thirty-four.
The timeline was wrong.
Daniel continued:
“And Marcus…”
“What?”
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“We found his medical records.”
Marcus waited.
“He has the same genetic markers as you.”
Marcus closed his eyes.
“So he's really my brother.”
“Yes.”
“And he knows about the project.”
“Yes.”
“Then take me to him.”
Daniel hesitated.
“You may not want to meet him.”
“Why?”
“Because he's been looking for you.”
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“For how long?”
Daniel answered:
“Twenty years.”
That evening, Elena found Marcus standing alone in the nursery.
He was staring at the empty crib.
“What are you thinking?”
He didn't turn.
“That my whole life may have been arranged.”
Elena stepped beside him.
“And ours?”
“I don't know.”
She took his hand.
“Then we'll find out.”
Marcus looked at her.
“I have a brother.”
“I know.”
“He may know where our son is.”
“Then find him.”
Marcus nodded.
Elena looked at the crib.
“Do you think our son is alive?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know?”
Marcus remembered the child's voice.
The photograph.
The pendant.
The message.
And the way the boy had looked at him.
“Because he called me Daddy.”
Elena smiled through tears.
Then the nursery door opened.
Neither had heard anyone approach.
A man stood in the doorway.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
Older than Marcus.
His eyes were identical to Marcus's.
He held a silver pendant between two fingers.
Marcus stopped breathing.
The man looked at him.
Then at Elena.
And finally at the crib.
His expression was strangely calm.
“Hello, Marcus.”
Marcus couldn't speak.
The man stepped inside.
“My name is Daniel.”
Elena's hand tightened around Marcus's.
Daniel looked at them.
“I've spent twenty years trying to find you.”
Marcus finally managed:
“Where is my son?”
Daniel's expression changed.
“That's the wrong question.”
“What?”
Daniel closed the door behind him.
“The first question is…”
He looked directly at Elena.
“…why does Victoria believe your unborn child is more dangerous than the child she stole five years ago?”
Elena froze.
Marcus stared at him.
“Our unborn child?”
Daniel nodded.
“Your second child.”
Marcus's heart stopped.
“What do you mean?”
Daniel reached into his coat and removed a sealed envelope.
He placed it on the nursery table.
“This came from your father.”
Marcus stared at the envelope.
“It's been sealed for twenty years.”
“Why give it to me now?”
“Because Victoria has started the final phase.”
Marcus opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet.
One sentence.
WHEN ELENA CARRIES THE SECOND CHILD, THE EXPERIMENT BEGINS AGAIN.
Marcus looked up.
Daniel's face was grim.
“And this time,” he said, “they don't intend to let the mother survive.”
Elena's hand instinctively moved to her belly.
The nursery suddenly felt freezing.
Then her phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Their unborn child's ultrasound.
Beneath it:
YOU HAVE SEVEN DAYS.
May you like
Then another message.
AFTER THAT, ELENA DIES.
