Chapter 9 — The Name Hidden Inside the Foundation
The gunshot echoed through the Carter Foundation.
Michael froze.
Frank raised his weapon.
Emily screamed.
But William Carter didn't fall.
The bullet had struck the glass display case beside his head.
Shards exploded across the marble floor.
William slowly turned toward the shooter.
A man stepped from the shadows.
David Mercer.
Michael's security chief.
Again.
Alive.
Michael stared at him.
“You.”
David lowered his gun.
“I didn't shoot your father.”
Michael's eyes narrowed.
“Then who did?”
A second shot came from somewhere beneath the building.
William suddenly grabbed Michael's arm.
“Down!”
They dropped behind the marble reception desk.
Another bullet tore through the wall.
Frank fired toward the corridor.
“Move!”
Michael grabbed Emily and pulled her behind a concrete column.
David disappeared into the darkness.
William remained beside Michael.
Michael pointed his gun directly at his father's chest.
“Don't move.”
William looked at him.
“You still trust that weapon?”
“I trust it more than I trust you.”
“Fair.”
“Where is Noah?”
William's face changed.
“He's alive.”
“Where?”
“Below us.”
Michael stared at the floor.
The baby's cry came again.
Closer.
Desperate.
Michael immediately moved toward the staircase.
William grabbed him.
“Wait.”
“That's my son.”
“You don't know which child is down there.”
Michael shoved him away.
“I know my son.”
William's expression hardened.
“No. You know the child they allowed you to believe was your son.”
Michael stopped.
“What does that mean?”
William reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small brass key.
On it was engraved:
214-C.
He handed it to Michael.
“The foundation was built over the original Project 214 facility.”
Emily stared at the key.
“My father knew about this.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he was trying to keep you alive.”
Michael looked toward the basement stairs.
“How many children were taken?”
William didn't answer.
“How many?”
“Thirty-seven that we know of.”
Emily's face went white.
“And the others?”
William looked away.
“We don't know.”
Michael clenched his jaw.
“Who authorized it?”
William's eyes met his.
“Richard.”
“Only Richard?”
William hesitated.
That hesitation was enough.
Michael's voice became dangerous.
“Who else?”
William whispered:
“Elizabeth.”
Michael stopped breathing.
“My mother?”
“She helped build the original system.”
Emily shook her head.
“But she warned us.”
“She changed sides.”
“When?”
“After you were born.”
Michael stared at him.
“Why?”
William looked toward the basement.
“Because one of the children was hers.”
Silence.
Michael's face tightened.
“What?”
William whispered:
“Your older brother.”
Michael remembered the photograph.
214-A.
The baby everyone had told him never existed.
“You said he disappeared.”
“He did.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“I spent twenty-seven years trying to find him.”
William's voice cracked.
“I failed.”
Another baby cry echoed from below.
Michael looked toward the stairs.
“We're wasting time.”
They descended.
The basement was enormous.
Far larger than the foundation above suggested.
Rows of steel doors lined the walls.
Each carried a number.
214-A.
214-B.
214-C.
214-D.
Emily stopped.
“Anna.”
Michael looked at her.
One door displayed:
REED, ANNA — 214-F.
Emily ran toward it.
The room was empty.
Only a child's drawing remained on the wall.
A little girl.
A woman.
And a house.
Underneath it, written in childish handwriting:
MOMMY, I'M STILL WAITING.
Emily collapsed against the door.
Michael looked away.
Then he heard something.
A soft electronic beep.
He turned.
One of the doors was active.
214-C.
He inserted the brass key.
The lock clicked.
The door opened.
Inside was a medical chamber.
And a baby.
Michael's heart stopped.
The infant was lying beneath a transparent cover.
Tiny.
Alive.
Wires attached to his chest.
A monitor showed a steady heartbeat.
Michael stepped closer.
“Noah…”
The baby opened his eyes.
Michael reached for him.
But William grabbed his wrist.
“Wait.”
Michael turned furiously.
“Let me hold my son.”
William pointed toward the monitor.
“Look.”
Michael stared.
The screen displayed a genetic profile.
Then a name.
NOAH CARTER — MATCH: 99.98%.
Michael's face changed.
“He's my son.”
William nodded.
“Yes.”
Michael lifted Noah carefully.
The baby immediately stopped crying.
Michael closed his eyes.
For the first time in hours, he could breathe.
Then Emily noticed another screen.
She walked toward it.
“Michael.”
He looked over.
A second genetic profile was displayed.
NOAH CARTER — SECOND SAMPLE: 100%.
Michael frowned.
“Why are there two?”
Emily looked at William.
William whispered:
“Because the network created two genetic records.”
Michael's expression hardened.
“Which one is real?”
William didn't answer.
Then David's voice came from behind them.
“Both.”
Everyone turned.
David stood in the doorway.
His gun was gone.
His hands were empty.
Michael raised his weapon.
“Explain.”
David looked at Noah.
“The boy you're holding is your biological son.”
Michael relaxed slightly.
“Then what's the other sample?”
David looked at William.
“The child Richard created from the same genetic material.”
Emily's face went pale.
“A clone?”
David shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
Michael stared at him.
“Then what?”
David answered:
“An engineered sibling.”
William closed his eyes.
Michael felt a chill run down his spine.
“Where is he?”
David looked toward the ceiling.
“Richard has him.”
Michael tightened his grip on Noah.
“Why?”
“Because Richard doesn't want your company.”
David paused.
“He wants the Carter bloodline.”
Then the basement lights came on.
Every screen activated simultaneously.
One message appeared across all of them.
WELCOME HOME, MICHAEL.
Richard's voice filled the room.
“You finally found the child.”
Michael looked around.
“Richard!”
Richard laughed softly through the speakers.
“But you still haven't found the truth.”
A final screen turned on.
It showed Claire.
Alive.
Standing beside a little girl.
Emily gasped.
“Anna.”
Michael stared.
Claire placed a hand on Anna's shoulder.
Then she looked into the camera.
“Michael, if you're watching this…”
She paused.
“…you need to know who betrayed us.”
The screen went black.
A name appeared.
FRANK MILLER.
Michael slowly turned.
Frank was standing behind them.
May you like
His weapon was pointed at Emily.
And his eyes were filled with tears.
