CHAPTER 13 — THE PLACE WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The countdown continued.
02:59
02:58
02:57
Every second felt louder than the last.
Ethan stood in the center of the hidden room beneath the Parker mansion.
The room where every secret had been waiting.
The room where his entire life had been written before he ever understood it.
For twelve years, adults had decided his future.
Now he finally had a choice.
And he knew exactly what he had to do.
“We go to St. Joseph’s.”
Claire immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Ethan looked at her.
“Mom.”
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
“I lost you once.”
A pause.
“I am not losing you again.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“You didn’t lose me.”
He took her hand.
“But someone took me away from the truth.”
Claire started crying.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“I know.”
A pause.
“But now I need you to trust me.”
Those words hurt Claire because they sounded exactly like something Daniel would say.
The same courage.
The same stubbornness.
The same belief that truth mattered more than safety.
She finally nodded.
“Okay.”
Ethan looked surprised.
“Okay?”
Claire wiped her tears.
“I spent twelve years making decisions for you.”
A pause.
“Now I’m going to stand beside you while you make your own.”
Amelia stepped forward.
“I’m coming.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You don’t have to.”
She smiled sadly.
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
She looked at the photograph of the three children.
“Because I spent my whole life being alone.”
A pause.
“I’m not losing my family again.”
Detective Carter checked his weapon.
“We need a plan.”
Elizabeth nodded.
“The facility beneath St. Joseph’s won’t be easy to enter.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You’ve been there?”
Her expression changed.
“Yes.”
“When?”
Elizabeth looked away.
“Before you were born.”
Nobody asked more.
Because they already knew.
Every answer carried another wound.
Thirty minutes later…
They arrived at St. Joseph’s Hospital.
The building looked abandoned.
The city had forgotten it years ago.
But Ethan knew better.
Some places weren’t abandoned.
They were hidden.
Waiting.
The hospital where he was born.
The hospital where Lily disappeared.
The hospital where his father’s life changed forever.
The basement entrance was locked.
But Ethan had the key.
The old metal key.
The one everyone wanted.
He placed it into the ancient lock.
For a moment…
Nothing happened.
Then—
Click.
The door opened.
Everyone stared.
Because the key wasn’t opening a vault.
It was opening a memory.
The underground facility was enormous.
Rows of abandoned rooms.
Old equipment.
Documents left behind.
The walls were covered with faded numbers.
Not names.
Numbers.
Subjects.
Ethan walked slowly.
He saw one door.
Marked:
ECHO — 001
Another:
ECHO — 002
Then:
ECHO — 003
His hand stopped.
His number.
Amelia touched the wall.
“This is where they kept us.”
Ethan looked at her.
“You remember?”
She nodded.
“Some things.”
A pause.
“Not everything.”
They moved deeper.
Then they heard something.
A voice.
A weak voice.
“Ethan.”
Everyone froze.
Claire covered her mouth.
Because she recognized it.
Daniel.
They followed the sound.
Behind a thick steel door.
Ethan pressed his hand against it.
“Dad?”
Silence.
Then:
“Ethan?”
The boy froze.
Hearing his father say his name was something he never imagined.
He grabbed the door handle.
Locked.
Detective Carter tried to force it.
Nothing.
Then Ethan noticed something.
A scanner.
Not a fingerprint.
Not a password.
A blood scanner.
Amelia stepped forward.
“Us.”
“What?”
“The three keys.”
She looked at Ethan.
“The facility recognizes all of us.”
Ethan placed his hand on the scanner.
Nothing.
Then Amelia placed hers.
Still nothing.
The system waited.
Then the third scanner activated.
A voice announced:
“SUBJECT ZERO REQUIRED.”
Everyone froze.
Ethan looked at Amelia.
“What does that mean?”
Amelia’s face changed.
“Lily.”
They needed the third child.
The one Victoria had.
The one who held the final piece.
The one trapped below the hospital.
Suddenly…
The lights turned on.
Every screen in the facility activated.
Victoria appeared.
She was watching them.
“You finally made it.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Where is my father?”
Victoria smiled.
“Close.”
“Let him go.”
She laughed softly.
“You still think this is about revenge.”
A pause.
“It’s about completion.”
Ethan looked at the screens.
Behind Victoria…
Daniel.
Lily.
Richard.
All trapped.
“Why are you doing this?”
Victoria looked almost disappointed.
“Because everyone before me failed.”
“Failed at what?”
She answered:
“Creating perfection.”
The word disgusted Ethan.
“They’re people.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at the three names on the screen.
“They are proof.”
Amelia stepped closer.
“We are not your experiment.”
Victoria looked at her.
“You were born because of it.”
A pause.
“You exist because of it.”
Daniel’s voice suddenly came through another speaker.
“Victoria.”
Everyone froze.
“Let them go.”
Victoria smiled.
“Daniel.”
A pause.
“You always were emotional.”
Daniel answered:
“And you always confused control with intelligence.”
For the first time, Victoria looked angry.
“You ruined everything.”
Daniel laughed quietly.
“No.”
He looked toward the camera.
“I saved my children.”
A loud alarm began.
The facility started shutting down.
Red lights flashed.
Victoria’s expression changed.
“What did you do?”
Daniel smiled.
“The thing you never understood.”
A pause.
“Trust.”
The screens went black.
The doors began unlocking.
One by one.
Ethan ran.
The final door opened.
And there he was.
Daniel Parker.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
Ethan stopped.
For twelve years, he imagined this moment.
He imagined anger.
Questions.
Pain.
But when he saw his father…
He only felt one thing.
Loss.
Because he had missed him.
Daniel looked at him.
“Ethan.”
The boy couldn’t speak.
Then Daniel whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
That was all it took.
Ethan ran forward.
And for the first time in his life…
He hugged his father.
But the moment was interrupted.
A gunshot.
Everyone turned.
Richard stood behind them.
Holding a weapon.
Nobody moved.
Daniel stepped in front of Ethan.
“Richard.”
Richard looked broken.
“You still protect him.”
Daniel stared.
“Yes.”
“After everything?”
Daniel answered:
“Yes.”
Richard looked at Ethan.
“I spent years trying to understand why everyone chose you.”
A pause.
“Your father.”
“Your mother.”
“Even me.”
Ethan stared.
“What?”
Richard’s eyes filled with regret.
“I hated you because I thought you were the reason I lost everything.”
A pause.
“But I was wrong.”
Then Richard turned the gun.
Not toward Ethan.
Toward Victoria.
Everyone froze.
“She was the one who controlled everything.”
Victoria stepped backward.
“You traitor.”
Richard laughed.
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m finally done being your weapon.”
Victoria escaped through a hidden passage.
Before disappearing, she looked at Ethan.
“This isn’t over.”
A pause.
“You still don’t know what you are.”
The passage closed.
Silence returned.
Daniel looked at Ethan.
“She’s right.”
Everyone turned.
Ethan frowned.
“What?”
Daniel looked serious.
“The truth about Project Echo…”
A pause.
“Was never about the children.”
Ethan felt cold.
“Then what was it about?”
Daniel looked toward the deepest part of the facility.
A place they had not entered.
A place with one final door.
On it was written:
ECHO — ORIGIN
Daniel whispered:
“The person who created us.”
A pause.
“Is still alive.”
The door slowly opened.
Inside was a room untouched by time.
A chair.
A computer.
A single photograph.
A photograph of a baby.
Not Ethan.
Not Amelia.
Not Lily.
Another child.
Daniel looked at the image.
And whispered:
“The first experiment.”
Ethan stared.
“Who is that?”
Daniel’s face turned pale.
Because he knew the answer.
“It’s the person who started everything.”
The photograph fell forward.
On the back was a name.
One name.
A name Ethan had never heard.
But Daniel had spent twelve years trying to forget.
“VICTORIA BLACKWOOD.”
Everyone froze.
Because Victoria wasn’t the creator.
She wasn’t the beginning.
She was only the second generation.
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The real secret…
Was that Victoria herself had been created.
