CHAPTER 15 — THE BOY BEHIND THE GLASS
The hospital room went silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The boy standing in the doorway looked exactly like Ethan.
Same dark eyes.
Same narrow chin.
Same small scar near his eyebrow.
Even the way he tilted his head was identical.
Ethan stared at him.
"Who are you?"
The boy didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at Richard.
"You finally found him."
Richard stepped in front of Ethan.
"Who are you?"
The boy smiled.
"My name is Lucas."
Michael moved closer.
His face had gone completely pale.
"No..."
Richard looked at him.
"What?"
Michael stared at the boy.
"I know that face."
Claire stood.
"Michael?"
He shook his head.
"That's impossible."
Lucas looked at him.
"You knew my mother."
Michael froze.
"Who?"
Lucas answered:
"Claire."
Claire's hand flew to her mouth.
"What?"
Lucas looked at her.
"She was the first person I saw when I was born."
Claire took a step backward.
"No."
Lucas nodded.
"You don't remember me."
She stared at him.
"I would remember."
"You were unconscious."
"When?"
"Twenty-three years ago."
Richard looked confused.
"Lucas is eight."
The boy smiled.
"Yes."
Michael suddenly understood.
"Time."
Richard frowned.
"What?"
Michael looked at him.
"Project Eight wasn't only genetic."
He stared at Lucas.
"They were experimenting with accelerated development."
Claire whispered:
"That isn't possible."
Michael shook his head.
"Edward thought it was."
Richard stared at Lucas.
"Then how old are you?"
Lucas answered:
"Eight."
"Biologically?"
"Eight."
Richard looked at Michael.
"But you said twenty-three years ago."
Michael nodded.
"Because he was created twenty-three years ago."
Silence.
Ethan stepped closer.
"You were a baby?"
Lucas nodded.
"Then why do you look like me?"
Lucas smiled.
"Because we're brothers."
Ethan froze.
"Brothers?"
Lucas nodded.
"Twins."
Claire collapsed into the chair.
"Twins."
Michael approached her.
"You gave birth to two children."
She shook her head.
"I only remember Ethan."
"You were told there was one."
"Who told me?"
Michael looked toward Richard.
"Edward."
Richard's expression hardened.
"He separated them."
Michael nodded.
"One child went to Richard."
"And the other?"
Michael looked at Lucas.
"Edward kept him."
Lucas lowered his eyes.
"I grew up behind glass."
Ethan walked toward him.
"What does that mean?"
Lucas looked at him.
"They watched me."
"Who?"
"Doctors."
"Why?"
"To see what I could do."
Ethan frowned.
"Could you do something special?"
Lucas shook his head.
"Not like they wanted."
"What did they want?"
Lucas answered:
"They wanted me to become someone who didn't feel anything."
Ethan stared.
"Did it work?"
Lucas smiled sadly.
"No."
Richard knelt beside Lucas.
"Are you hurt?"
Lucas shook his head.
"No."
"Are you hungry?"
Lucas nodded.
Richard immediately looked at Claire.
"Get him something."
Claire stood.
"I'll go."
Lucas grabbed her hand.
"Don't leave."
Claire froze.
Then she pulled him into her arms.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Lucas began crying.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just silently.
As though he'd been waiting eight years for permission.
Ethan watched.
Then stepped closer.
He placed his hand on Lucas's shoulder.
"You're my brother."
Lucas looked at him.
"Yes."
"Then you can stay with us."
Lucas smiled through his tears.
"Really?"
Richard answered:
"Really."
But Michael didn't smile.
He looked toward the hallway.
"We have a problem."
Richard turned.
"What?"
"Edward knew Lucas would come here."
Samuel entered.
"That's what I was thinking."
Victor followed.
"What happened?"
Michael pointed at the boy.
"He's not here by accident."
Victor stared at Lucas.
"How did he escape?"
Lucas looked at him.
"I didn't."
Everyone froze.
"What?"
Lucas continued:
"They let me go."
Richard's face hardened.
"Who?"
Lucas answered:
"Edward."
Michael whispered:
"Why?"
Lucas looked at Ethan.
"Because he wanted me to find you."
A phone rang.
Everyone turned.
It was Richard's.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Who is this?"
Edward's voice.
"Did you meet your other son?"
Richard's jaw tightened.
"Where are you?"
"Not important."
"What do you want?"
"Nothing."
Richard frowned.
"Then why send Lucas?"
Edward laughed softly.
"Because you still don't understand."
"What?"
"The trust was never designed for Ethan."
Richard stared at Lucas.
"Then who?"
Edward answered:
"Both of them."
Silence.
"The twins together."
Michael stepped forward.
"What happens?"
Edward said:
"One holds the power."
"The other controls it."
Richard asked:
"Which one?"
Edward smiled.
"That's what you have to discover."
The call ended.
The following morning, Judge Harrison was brought into a private hospital room.
He had survived the shooting.
Richard, Claire, Michael, and Reed visited him.
Harrison looked exhausted.
But when he saw Ethan and Lucas standing together, his expression changed.
"Twins."
Michael nodded.
"Yes."
Harrison closed his eyes.
"I hoped they would never meet."
Richard frowned.
"Why?"
"Because William created the final condition."
"What condition?"
Harrison looked at Ethan and Lucas.
"The trust requires two heirs."
Richard stared.
"Two?"
"The first carries the blood."
"The second carries the key."
Michael asked:
"Which is which?"
Harrison smiled weakly.
"That's the problem."
"What problem?"
"The records were destroyed."
Richard looked at Lucas.
"Then how do we know?"
Harrison answered:
"You don't."
Reed placed two documents on the table.
"The DNA confirms they're identical twins."
Richard frowned.
"Then how can one be the heir?"
"Because the trust isn't based solely on genetics."
Michael nodded.
"It's based on neurological markers."
Claire stared.
"Brain activity?"
"Yes."
Harrison whispered:
"William believed one twin would develop extraordinary memory."
"And the other?"
"Extraordinary empathy."
Richard looked at Ethan.
"Ethan."
Then Lucas.
"Lucas."
Harrison nodded.
"The trust requires both."
Ethan looked confused.
"Why?"
Harrison smiled.
"Because William believed power without compassion would destroy the world."
Lucas looked at Ethan.
"And compassion without power couldn't protect anyone."
Harrison nodded.
"Exactly."
That afternoon, Ethan and Lucas sat together in the hospital garden.
Ethan held two juice boxes.
He handed one to Lucas.
Lucas stared at it.
"What?"
"You've never had one?"
Lucas shook his head.
Ethan laughed.
"You're going to like it."
Lucas took a sip.
His eyes widened.
"That's good."
Ethan smiled.
"I know."
For the first time, Lucas laughed.
Richard watched them from the window.
Claire stood beside him.
"They look happy."
Richard nodded.
"I never knew Ethan had a brother."
"Neither did I."
Richard looked at her.
"Are you okay?"
Claire smiled sadly.
"No."
He nodded.
"But I'm getting there."
She looked at him.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For everything."
Richard shook his head.
"We were both manipulated."
Claire whispered:
"Still..."
Richard looked toward the garden.
"Our son is alive."
She nodded.
"Both of them."
That evening, Samuel found something hidden inside Lucas's clothing.
A small metal disk.
He brought it to Richard.
"This was sewn into his jacket."
Richard examined it.
"What is it?"
Michael looked at it.
His face changed.
"That's a tracking device."
Richard's eyes hardened.
"Edward."
Samuel shook his head.
"Wait."
He turned the device over.
"There is no transmitter."
Michael frowned.
"What?"
Samuel pointed.
"It's a storage unit."
Richard looked at him.
"What does it store?"
Samuel connected it to a computer.
A folder appeared.
EIGHTEEN.
Everyone froze.
Richard opened it.
Inside was one video.
He pressed play.
Edward appeared.
But he looked younger.
Much younger.
Twenty years earlier.
He stood beside a hospital incubator.
Inside was a newborn baby.
Edward looked at the camera.
"This is Subject Eighteen."
Richard's face tightened.
Edward continued:
"He is not part of the Bennett line."
Claire stared.
"Then whose child?"
The video continued.
"His genetics are unstable."
Michael whispered:
"Unstable?"
Edward smiled.
"But his mind is extraordinary."
The camera moved closer.
The baby opened his eyes.
They were the same eyes as Lucas.
Claire covered her mouth.
"No."
Richard stared.
"That's Lucas."
Michael shook his head.
"No."
The video continued.
Edward said:
"Subject Eighteen is the control."
The screen went black.
A second file opened automatically.
SUBJECT 08 — ETHAN.
Then:
SUBJECT 18 — LUCAS.
Richard stared.
"Lucas isn't Subject Eighteen."
Michael looked at him.
"Then who is?"
The answer came minutes later.
Reed entered the room.
"We have a problem."
Richard turned.
"What?"
"We found another child."
Everyone froze.
"Where?"
"At the old facility."
"Alive?"
"Yes."
"Age?"
"Eight."
Richard's blood ran cold.
"What does he look like?"
Reed hesitated.
"Like Ethan."
Silence.
Claire whispered:
"No."
Reed nodded.
"There are three."
Michael stood.
"Three?"
Reed continued:
"All genetically identical."
Richard stared.
"Triplets."
At the old facility, a little boy sat behind glass.
He looked almost exactly like Ethan and Lucas.
But there was something different about him.
He didn't smile.
He didn't cry.
He simply watched.
A doctor stood outside the glass.
"Do you know who you are?"
The boy nodded.
"What's your name?"
He answered:
"Daniel."
The doctor frowned.
"Who gave you that name?"
The boy looked at the camera.
"Ethan."
The doctor froze.
"What?"
The boy smiled.
"I saw him in my dreams."
At the hospital, Ethan suddenly woke from sleep.
He sat upright.
Richard rushed in.
"What happened?"
Ethan looked toward the window.
"I saw him."
"Who?"
"My brother."
Richard froze.
"Lucas?"
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
"Then who?"
Ethan whispered:
"The other one."
The next morning, the team returned to the abandoned facility.
The third child was waiting.
Daniel.
He stared at Ethan through the glass.
Ethan stared back.
Then Daniel smiled.
"You came."
Ethan approached.
"Do I know you?"
Daniel shook his head.
"But I know you."
"How?"
"We were separated."
"Who separated us?"
Daniel looked toward the ceiling.
"William."
Michael's face hardened.
"Why?"
Daniel answered:
"Because three children were too dangerous."
Richard stared.
"Why?"
Daniel looked at Ethan.
"Because together..."
He paused.
"...we can destroy the trust."
Everyone froze.
Ethan stepped closer.
"Or save it."
Daniel smiled.
"That's why William is afraid."
Suddenly, the entire facility shook.
An explosion.
The lights went out.
Security doors slammed shut.
Reed shouted:
"Everybody down!"
A voice came through the speakers.
William.
"You finally found all three."
Michael looked upward.
"William!"
William laughed.
"But you still don't know which one is the key."
Richard grabbed Ethan.
"Where is he?"
William answered:
"One of them is the heir."
"Which one?"
"You'll have to decide."
Michael shouted:
"Stop playing games!"
William's voice became cold.
"Three boys."
"One trust."
"One choice."
Then every screen in the facility switched on.
Three photographs appeared.
Ethan.
Lucas.
Daniel.
Under each photograph was one word.
POWER.
CONTROL.
CHOICE.
Richard stared.
Claire whispered:
"This was planned from the beginning."
Michael nodded.
William's voice returned one final time.
"And only one of them will leave this building."
The lights came back on.
But Daniel was gone.
Lucas was gone.
Only Ethan remained.
Richard turned toward the empty rooms.
"Ethan!"
The boy stared at him.
"I don't know where they went."
Then a message appeared on the largest screen.
FIND THEM BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
Beneath it:
OR THE WORLD LEARNS WHAT THE TRUST WAS REALLY BUILT TO CONTROL.
Richard looked at Michael.
"What does that mean?"
Michael's face had gone completely pale.
"It means William wasn't building an empire."
Richard stared.
"Then what was he building?"
May you like
Michael whispered:
"An army."
