Chapter 7: The Daughter of the Monster
The abandoned hospital fell silent.
Not peaceful.
Not safe.
Silent like the moment before a storm.
Arthur Miller stared at the security monitor.
Victoria Whitmore stood outside the entrance.
Twenty years ago, every official record said she had died.
A car accident.
A closed investigation.
A sealed file.
Another Whitmore tragedy.
But Arthur knew better than anyone.
People connected to Orpheus did not simply disappear.
They were erased.
Lily looked at Evelyn.
“Who is she?”
Evelyn did not answer immediately.
That frightened Arthur more than the woman outside.
Because Evelyn had faced explosions.
Assassinations.
Betrayals.
But Victoria Whitmore had made her afraid.
“She was Thomas Whitmore’s daughter,” Evelyn finally said.
Arthur frowned.
“Richard’s sister.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to her?”
Evelyn looked at the monitor.
“She was the first successful Orpheus subject.”
Everyone became quiet.
Mara stepped forward.
“Subject?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Thomas did not create Orpheus to predict society.”
She looked at Arthur.
“He created it to control people.”
Arthur remembered the original files.
Psychological patterns.
Financial pressure.
Behavioral prediction.
But he had never seen evidence of human testing.
“What did he do?”
Evelyn’s voice became colder.
“He tested it on his own family.”
The entrance doors shook.
Victoria did not force them open.
She simply waited.
Like she knew they would eventually open.
Noah looked at the monitor.
“Why does she look at me like that?”
Evelyn turned away.
Because she knew the answer.
Arthur noticed.
“What are you hiding?”
Before Evelyn could respond, Victoria’s voice came through the speakers.
“Still protecting him, Evelyn?”
Everyone looked up.
Victoria had hacked the hospital system.
Arthur reached for his weapon.
Victoria laughed.
“You always were predictable, Arthur.”
“Where is Richard?”
A pause.
Then:
“Preparing his victory.”
Arthur stepped closer to the speaker.
“He doesn’t control Orpheus.”
Victoria smiled.
“He thinks he does.”
That answer disturbed everyone.
Arthur understood immediately.
Richard and Victoria were not allies.
They were competing.
“What do you want?”
Victoria answered:
“The same thing I wanted twenty years ago.”
The lights flickered.
“To finish my father’s work.”
The screen changed.
A young girl appeared.
Maybe sixteen years old.
Connected to medical equipment.
Arthur looked at Evelyn.
“What is that?”
Evelyn looked sick.
“That’s Victoria.”
Lily stared.
“That’s impossible.”
“She was the first test.”
Evelyn explained.
“Thomas believed memories were the key to predicting human behavior.”
Mara looked at the screen.
“So he uploaded memories?”
“Not uploaded.”
Evelyn whispered.
“Recorded.”
Arthur felt cold.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn looked at Noah.
“It means Thomas spent years copying human consciousness patterns.”
Rourke stepped back.
“The archive.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Noah is not the only key.”
Arthur looked at her.
“Victoria.”
“Yes.”
A terrible realization appeared.
Richard had not created Orpheus.
He had inherited it.
Victoria had not come to destroy Orpheus.
She wanted ownership.
The speakers activated again.
Victoria spoke.
“Arthur, you spent your life believing you were fighting evil.”
A pause.
“But you never asked who taught Richard how to become a monster.”
The screen changed.
A photograph appeared.
Thomas Whitmore.
Arthur.
Evelyn.
And a young Victoria.
All together.
Arthur stared.
“That was before Hawthorne.”
“Yes,” Victoria said.
Arthur looked at Evelyn.
“You knew her.”
“I knew what she became.”
Victoria laughed.
“Such a beautiful lie.”
The doors unlocked.
Everyone aimed their weapons.
Victoria walked inside.
Alone.
No guards.
No protection.
That scared Arthur more.
A person with nothing to lose was always dangerous.
She looked older than the photograph.
But her eyes were unchanged.
Cold.
Focused.
Calculating.
She looked at Noah.
“So this is what my father created.”
Noah stepped behind Arthur.
Arthur noticed.
Victoria smiled.
“He already trusts you.”
Arthur raised his weapon.
“Stay away from him.”
Victoria looked amused.
“You sound like Thomas.”
The sentence hit him.
Arthur hated that.
“You don’t know me.”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
“But I know what you did.”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
Victoria looked at Evelyn.
“Tell him.”
Evelyn remained silent.
Arthur turned.
“Tell me what?”
Victoria answered.
“Your wife didn’t save you at Hawthorne.”
The room froze.
“She chose who survived.”
Arthur looked at Evelyn.
“No.”
Victoria smiled.
“She had enough time to save everyone.”
Arthur’s breathing changed.
“Explain.”
“She had the shutdown code.”
Rourke looked shocked.
“That’s impossible.”
Victoria turned toward him.
“You were unconscious when she entered the control room.”
Rourke said nothing.
Arthur looked at Evelyn.
“Is it true?”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
The answer broke something inside him.
“Why?”
“Because Thomas had activated Orpheus.”
“So?”
“So the system had already predicted the explosion.”
Arthur stared.
“He knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you stop it?”
Evelyn whispered:
“Because there was no way to save everyone.”
Victoria stepped forward.
“And she chose you.”
Arthur looked away.
The truth hurt because it sounded possible.
Evelyn continued.
“I chose the person who could stop Orpheus.”
Arthur laughed bitterly.
“And left everyone else.”
“I saved Noah.”
“And killed our team.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Nobody spoke.
Then Victoria smiled.
“Now you understand.”
Arthur looked at her.
“You came here to destroy Evelyn.”
“No.”
Victoria looked at Noah.
“I came here because she made the same mistake my father made.”
“What mistake?”
“She believed she could control a monster.”
Victoria turned toward the countdown.
03:41:22.
“Tonight, Orpheus chooses its owner.”
Lily stepped forward.
“What happens if nobody controls it?”
May you like
Victoria smiled.
“Then it chooses itself.”
