Chapter 7 — Seven Days to Save Elena
The message remained on Elena's screen.
YOU HAVE SEVEN DAYS.
Then another appeared.
AFTER THAT, ELENA DIES.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Marcus stared at the phone.
Daniel stood near the nursery door.
Elena's hand remained pressed against her stomach.
Finally, Marcus took the phone from her.
“Who sent this?”
“I don't know,” Elena whispered.
Daniel stepped closer.
“Don't delete it.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because whoever sent it wants you afraid.”
“They threatened my wife.”
“Yes.”
“And you want me calm?”
“I want you thinking.”
Daniel took the phone.
He examined the metadata.
“Encrypted number.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Eventually.”
“I don't have eventually.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Then you have seven days.”
Elena suddenly swayed.
Marcus caught her.
“Elena?”
“I’m fine.”
“You're pale.”
“I said I'm fine.”
Daniel watched her carefully.
“Sit down.”
“I don't need—”
“Sit.”
Something in his voice made her obey.
Marcus knelt beside her.
“Are you dizzy?”
“A little.”
His eyes moved toward her stomach.
“Is the baby moving?”
Elena closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
A faint smile appeared.
“He's moving.”
Marcus exhaled.
For one brief moment, the fear loosened its grip.
Then Daniel said quietly:
“That's exactly why we have to move.”
They relocated Elena to the old lake house before sunrise.
It belonged to Marcus's mother and had been abandoned for almost two decades.
No staff.
No cameras.
No electronic security connected to the estate.
Daniel approved the location.
“Until we know who is compromised, nobody gets the address.”
Marcus nodded.
“What about Victoria?”
“Let her believe we're still at the estate.”
Elena looked through the window.
Snow covered the lake.
The silence felt unnatural.
“Will she come after us?”
Daniel answered honestly.
“Yes.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You seem very sure.”
“Because she already knows we're here.”
Elena turned.
“What?”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Look outside.”
Marcus approached the window.
A black SUV sat across the road.
Engine running.
No one inside.
Marcus reached for his gun.
Daniel stopped him.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because that's what they want.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Wait.”
“For what?”
The SUV's headlights suddenly switched off.
It remained there for another thirty seconds.
Then drove away.
Daniel watched it disappear.
“Now we know.”
Marcus stared at him.
“Know what?”
“They found us.”
Inside the lake house, Daniel established a temporary command center.
Maps covered the dining table.
Medical files.
Photographs.
Bank records.
Old family documents.
Marcus stood over them.
“What exactly was Project V?”
Daniel looked at him.
“A genetic research program.”
“Illegal?”
“Absolutely.”
“Who funded it?”
“Your father.”
Marcus looked away.
“And Victoria?”
“Managed it after his death.”
Elena sat quietly nearby.
“What were they researching?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Behavioral traits.”
“That doesn't explain the pregnancies.”
“No.”
He placed a file on the table.
“Their theory was that certain traits could be amplified through controlled pairings.”
Marcus stared.
“You mean breeding.”
Daniel nodded.
“That's essentially what it was.”
Elena's face went pale.
“They chose me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your family history made you genetically compatible with the traits they wanted.”
Marcus clenched his fists.
“So my marriage was arranged.”
“Not necessarily.”
Daniel looked at him.
“Your father wanted the marriage. But whether Victoria controlled the circumstances is another question.”
Elena looked at Marcus.
“I loved you before I knew any of this.”
Marcus took her hand.
“I know.”
Daniel looked away.
Then he opened another file.
“There is something more important.”
He placed a photograph on the table.
A newborn baby.
“Your first son.”
Elena immediately reached for it.
Her fingers touched the photograph.
Tears filled her eyes.
“He's beautiful.”
Marcus stared at the image.
Then noticed something.
“What is that?”
A small mark was visible behind the baby's left ear.
A crescent-shaped birthmark.
Elena looked at him.
“What's wrong?”
Marcus pulled out the photograph from the school.
The same mark.
Daniel nodded.
“Same child.”
Elena pressed the photograph to her chest.
“He's alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Daniel looked at the map.
“That's what we're trying to determine.”
At noon, Dr. Hayes sent a message.
DO NOT TRUST DANIEL.
Marcus stared at the screen.
He showed Elena.
Her face tightened.
“Maybe she knows something.”
Daniel entered the room.
“What happened?”
Marcus showed him.
Daniel read the message.
He didn't react.
Marcus noticed.
“You expected this?”
“No.”
“Then why aren't you surprised?”
“Because whoever controls the old network knows I'm with you.”
“You're saying Hayes is warning us?”
“Or manipulating us.”
Marcus looked at Elena.
“Can we trust her?”
Daniel answered:
“Not yet.”
That afternoon, Marcus received a video.
The image was dark.
A little boy sat on a wooden chair.
His hands were folded in his lap.
Marcus recognized him immediately.
His son.
The boy looked directly into the camera.
“Daddy?”
Marcus's chest tightened.
The child continued:
“Mommy?”
Elena covered her mouth.
The video shifted.
A woman's hand appeared.
She placed a glass of water beside the boy.
The woman was wearing black gloves.
Then she spoke.
“You have six days.”
Marcus's blood turned cold.
“Let him go.”
The woman laughed.
“Do you know why he was taken?”
Marcus said nothing.
“Because your family has been searching for the wrong thing.”
“What?”
“Control.”
The video cut.
Then another image appeared.
A medical scan.
Elena's unborn baby.
A red circle highlighted the child's brain.
Marcus stared.
The voice returned.
“Your second child has something the first child didn't.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“What?”
The screen went black.
Then one sentence appeared.
HE REMEMBERS.
Elena couldn't sleep that night.
She sat alone beside the lake.
Marcus found her at 2 a.m.
“You should be resting.”
“I can't.”
He sat beside her.
“What are you thinking?”
“That I'm afraid.”
Marcus took her hand.
“You don't have to be.”
“I am.”
He looked at her.
“I keep remembering things.”
“What things?”
“Things that haven't happened.”
Marcus frowned.
“Explain.”
She looked toward the frozen lake.
“I dreamed about the boy.”
“Our son?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He was standing in the snow.”
Marcus listened.
“He said, ‘Mommy, don't let them take the baby.’”
Marcus's expression changed.
“What baby?”
“I don't know.”
Elena touched her stomach.
“Then I woke up.”
Marcus pulled her closer.
“It's just a dream.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“It felt like a memory.”
At dawn, Daniel discovered something in the medical files.
A pattern.
Every woman connected to Project V had experienced hallucinations during pregnancy.
But the hallucinations weren't random.
They followed the same sequence.
First:
Paranoia.
Then:
Memory distortion.
Then:
False visions.
Then:
Self-harm impulses.
Then:
Complete psychological collapse.
Marcus stared at the report.
“This is exactly what's happening to Elena.”
Daniel nodded.
“And the prenatal compound?”
“V-17.”
“Can you reverse it?”
“Maybe.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Maybe?”
“The original formula was experimental. We need the complete chemical profile.”
“Where?”
Daniel pointed to the estate.
“The laboratory.”
Marcus shook his head.
“We can't go back there.”
“We have to.”
Elena looked up.
“Why?”
Daniel answered:
“Because the antidote may still be there.”
That evening, Marcus returned secretly to the estate.
He went alone.
Daniel insisted on following.
Marcus refused.
“If something happens, Elena needs you.”
Daniel nodded reluctantly.
Marcus entered through an underground service entrance.
The estate was dark.
Too quiet.
He moved through the corridors.
Then stopped.
A light was on in the laboratory.
He entered.
Nothing.
No Victoria.
No guards.
Only the computer.
The screen displayed:
WELCOME BACK, MARCUS.
He approached slowly.
A folder opened automatically.
ANTIDOTE — V17
Marcus clicked it.
The formula appeared.
Then another message.
YOU CAME ALONE. GOOD.
Marcus froze.
A camera turned toward him.
Victoria's face appeared on the screen.
“Hello, Marcus.”
He stared.
“Where is my son?”
“Safe.”
“Bring him to me.”
“You're not ready.”
“I'm done playing games.”
Victoria smiled.
“No, you're not.”
Marcus slammed his hand against the desk.
“Tell me where he is.”
Victoria's expression became serious.
“You still don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“The boy isn't being held hostage.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“He's being protected.”
“From whom?”
Victoria looked directly into the camera.
“From you.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“You've been poisoning Elena.”
“No.”
“You manipulated her.”
“No.”
“You stole our son.”
Victoria's voice dropped.
“I prevented your father from killing him.”
Marcus stopped.
“What?”
Victoria looked away.
“Your father discovered the boy carried a genetic trait he considered unstable.”
“What trait?”
“Memory retention.”
Marcus stared.
“What does that mean?”
“He remembers things.”
“Like what?”
Victoria looked back at him.
“Things people force themselves to forget.”
Marcus's skin prickled.
“That's impossible.”
“Is it?”
She activated another file.
A recording appeared.
A young boy.
Daniel.
Marcus's brother.
He was perhaps three years old.
He sat in a chair.
A doctor asked:
“Who hurt you?”
The boy pointed toward the camera.
Then said:
“Daddy.”
Marcus recoiled.
Victoria's voice continued:
“Your father experimented on Daniel.”
Marcus stared at the screen.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“He tried to erase his memories.”
Marcus couldn't breathe.
“And Daniel survived.”
Victoria nodded.
“He remembered everything.”
“Then why was he hidden?”
“Because your father wanted him dead.”
Marcus stared at her.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“You were seventeen.”
“I deserved to know.”
“You would have tried to save him.”
“Yes.”
“And your father would have killed you too.”
Marcus's eyes burned.
“You lied to me for twenty years.”
“I kept you alive.”
“By destroying Elena?”
Victoria's expression changed.
“I didn't start the experiment.”
“But you continued it.”
Silence.
Marcus knew the answer.
“You became him.”
Victoria looked away.
“Perhaps.”
Suddenly the laboratory door opened.
Marcus spun.
Daniel stood there.
Gun drawn.
Victoria disappeared from the screen.
Daniel looked at Marcus.
“What did she tell you?”
Marcus lowered his weapon.
“That my father experimented on Daniel.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“She told you?”
“Yes.”
“Then you know.”
“Know what?”
Daniel stepped closer.
“Daniel wasn't your father's first victim.”
Marcus stared.
“Who was?”
Daniel looked at the screen.
“Elena.”
Marcus froze.
“What?”
“Five years ago, Elena discovered Project V.”
Marcus's heart stopped.
“She found the laboratory.”
“Yes.”
“She confronted Victoria.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
Daniel's voice dropped.
“She discovered what your father had done to Daniel.”
Marcus felt dizzy.
“Daniel was still alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Daniel looked at him.
“In the same facility where your son was kept.”
Marcus's blood ran cold.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I needed to know whether you were part of it.”
Marcus stared.
“Part of what?”
Daniel's expression became unreadable.
“The second phase.”
Marcus returned to the lake house before dawn.
Elena was asleep.
He stood beside the bed.
For the first time, he looked at her differently.
Not with suspicion.
With fear.
Because he finally understood what Victoria meant.
The project wasn't designed merely to destroy Elena.
It was designed to study her.
To observe how far memory could be altered.
How trauma could reshape perception.
How a person could be convinced to distrust reality itself.
And now the experiment had begun again.
Marcus sat beside her.
Elena opened her eyes.
“You're back.”
“Yes.”
“Did you find him?”
Marcus nodded.
“I found answers.”
Her face tightened.
“What kind?”
He took her hand.
“The first child is alive.”
She smiled through tears.
“And?”
“There was another child before him.”
Elena frowned.
“Another?”
“My brother.”
She stared.
Marcus continued:
“My father built Project V.”
Elena's face went pale.
“And Victoria?”
“She continued it.”
“Why?”
Marcus looked toward the window.
“Because she believes our unborn child can remember what everyone else forgot.”
Elena instinctively touched her belly.
Then she gasped.
Marcus stood.
“What happened?”
The baby moved.
Hard.
Three times.
Elena looked down.
Then suddenly whispered:
“Marcus.”
“What?”
“I remember the room.”
“What room?”
“The room where they kept our son.”
Marcus froze.
“Where?”
Elena closed her eyes.
A memory formed.
A white hallway.
A red door.
A number painted above it.
17.
She opened her eyes.
“Room seventeen.”
Daniel rushed into the room.
“What?”
Elena looked at him.
“I know where he is.”
Daniel stared.
“Where?”
She whispered:
“Under the old Moretti hospital.”
Marcus went still.
“That hospital was demolished.”
“No.”
Elena shook her head.
“It wasn't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there.”
Her voice trembled.
“I remember walking through the basement.”
Marcus grabbed his coat.
“Then we're going.”
Daniel stopped him.
“Wait.”
Marcus turned.
Daniel looked at Elena.
“There's one problem.”
“What?”
“The hospital basement was sealed fifteen years ago.”
“So?”
Daniel's face darkened.
“Someone reopened it yesterday.”
Silence.
Then Elena's phone vibrated.
A new message.
YOU HAVE FIVE DAYS.
A second message appeared.
COME TO ROOM 17.
And then:
BRING ELENA.
Marcus stared at the screen.
Daniel whispered:
“It's a trap.”
Elena looked at Marcus.
“No.”
“What?”
She stood slowly.
“They don't want me dead yet.”
Marcus frowned.
“Then what do they want?”
Elena looked toward her stomach.
Her expression hardened.
“They want my baby.”
May you like
Outside, thunder rolled across the frozen lake.
And somewhere beneath the abandoned Moretti hospital, a door marked 17 slowly opened.
