Chapter 21 - THE WOMAN DANIEL TRUSTED
Her name was Evelyn Cross.
She had served with Daniel in military intelligence before both of them disappeared into unofficial operations.
She did not lower the pistol.
“Hands where I can see them, Adrian.”
He obeyed.
“You knew Daniel?” I asked.
“I knew the part of him he kept away from you.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted you to have one normal parent.”
The words landed differently than anything Adrian had said.
Evelyn looked at me carefully.
“You have his posture when you’re angry.”
“He wasn’t my biological father.”
“He was your father in every way that mattered.”
She finally lowered the weapon.
On the far wall, she opened a concealed cabinet containing tactical clothing, encrypted radios, and a folded map of the mountain complex.
“I’ve tracked activity around the facility for three years,” she said. “Supply shipments increased six months ago. Private security doubled last week.”
“Why didn’t you report it?”
“To whom? Teresa has people inside defense procurement, federal research agencies, and three pharmaceutical boards.”
Adrian studied the map.
“She moved the primary lab.”
“Below ground,” Evelyn said. “Daniel predicted she would.”
I told her about Amy, the countdown, and the Helix injection.
Evelyn’s expression hardened.
“Teresa won’t kill Amy before you arrive.”
“You sound confident.”
“She needs the emotional bond between you active. Fear increases the synchronization response.”
Adrian looked toward me.
“She’s forcing Connor into the Architect role.”
Evelyn nodded.
“And Amy into the Interface.”
“What happens if the system activates?” I asked.
“Best case? Amy becomes permanently linked to the predictive engine.”
“Worst case?”
“Her identity fractures under competing behavioral patterns.”
I grabbed a rifle from the cabinet.
“Then we move now.”
Evelyn blocked me.
“The western service tunnel is monitored.”
“Adrian said it was hidden.”
“It was hidden ten years ago.”
She pointed toward a blue line on the map.
“There is another way through the water system. Narrow, freezing, and partially collapsed.”
Adrian shook his head.
“That route ends beneath the thermal reservoir.”
“Exactly.”
Evelyn handed me a waterproof pack.
“Get inside, isolate the network, take Amy, and extract before Teresa realizes what’s happening.”
“What about evidence?”
“Survive first.”
“No.”
They both looked at me.
“If Teresa built this using stolen research and kidnapped people, I’m not leaving without proof.”
Evelyn almost smiled.
“That sounds like Daniel.”
We loaded the equipment into an unmarked van.
Before leaving, I returned to the recorder.
Daniel’s message had one final section.
I pressed play.
“Connor, if Teresa activates the Continuity Program, do not destroy the central core until you locate Subject Three.”
I stopped the tape.
“Who is Subject Three?”
Adrian and Evelyn exchanged a look.
Neither answered.
Then the lights in the underground room shut off.
A voice came through the radio system.
My mother’s voice.
“You should have stayed away from Daniel’s grave.”
May you like
Smoke began pouring beneath the steel door.
📖 Teresa has found Daniel’s hidden bunker, and the mysterious Subject Three may be the real reason the experiment never ended. 👇
