Chapter 6 - THE BULLET WASN’T MEANT FOR VICTOR
Victor saw the flash.
He moved instinctively.
He shoved Evelyn sideways.
The shot cracked through the stairwell.
Adrian grunted.
Victor turned.
Adrian staggered.
Blood spread across his lower side.
“Adrian!”
Another shot hit the wall.
Concrete exploded beside Victor’s head.
Victor pulled Adrian down.
Marcus shouted from above.
“Leave the keys!”
Victor looked at Evelyn.
“Take him.”
She stared.
“What are you doing?”
“Take him!”
Victor grabbed a metal fire extinguisher from the wall.
Marcus fired again.
Victor ducked.
He ripped the pin out.
Then sprayed upward.
White chemical foam filled the stairwell.
Marcus cursed.
Victor charged.
He ran through the cloud.
Marcus fired blindly.
The bullet struck the railing.
Victor reached him.
He swung the extinguisher.
Marcus blocked with his forearm.
Victor hit him again.
Marcus crashed backward into the chapel.
Victor tackled him.
They hit the stone floor.
Marcus drove his fist into Victor’s ribs.
Victor rolled.
Marcus reached for the gun.
Victor kicked it away.
Marcus punched him across the jaw.
Victor grabbed his shirt.
“You took my son.”
Marcus laughed.
“You never had a son.”
Victor hit him.
Hard.
Marcus’s head snapped sideways.
Victor hit him again.
“You locked my wife underground.”
Another punch.
“You worked for my father.”
Another.
“You watched Ethan grow up.”
Victor raised his fist again.
Marcus smiled through blood.
“And I know exactly where Serena took him.”
Victor stopped.
Marcus saw he had him.
Victor grabbed his collar.
“Where?”
Marcus laughed.
“Not until you give me the keys.”
Victor pulled the sun and moon pendants from his pocket.
Marcus stared.
Greed appeared instantly.
Victor noticed.
“So Richard doesn’t control you.”
Marcus smiled.
“Richard doesn’t control anyone anymore.”
Victor narrowed his eyes.
Marcus continued.
“You think Serena is the only person who got tired of waiting?”
Behind them, Evelyn emerged from the stairwell supporting Adrian.
Victor looked toward her.
“Where’s Richard?”
Evelyn’s expression changed.
“Gone.”
Victor turned.
The spot where Richard had been lying was empty.
Lily was gone.
Ethan was gone.
Serena was gone.
The side door stood open.
Victor looked at Marcus.
“Where did they go?”
Marcus said nothing.
Victor pressed the edge of the moon pendant against Marcus’s wounded nose.
Marcus cursed.
“Talk.”
“You won’t kill me.”
Victor stared into his eyes.
“No.”
“That would be easy.”
Marcus’s smile faded.
Victor lowered his voice.
“I’ll give you to every prosecutor receiving those files right now.”
Marcus froze.
Victor saw fear.
Real fear.
“You released them?”
Victor smiled.
“Selected files.”
Marcus’s face went white.
Victor continued.
“Your name was near the top.”
Marcus stopped breathing.
“You’re lying.”
Adrian leaned against the wall.
“He’s not.”
Marcus looked toward him.
Adrian smiled weakly.
“Congratulations.”
“You’re famous.”
Marcus lunged toward Victor.
Victor slammed him back.
“Where is Ethan?”
Marcus stared at him.
Then his shoulders dropped.
“Tunnel.”
Victor frowned.
“What tunnel?”
“Under the east cemetery.”
Evelyn looked at Adrian.
Adrian nodded.
“I remember it.”
Victor turned.
“Where does it lead?”
Adrian’s face hardened.
“To the original Mercer house.”
Victor stared.
“There’s another house?”
“Ruins.”
“Mostly.”
Evelyn corrected him.
“Not anymore.”
Adrian looked at her.
“What?”
She swallowed.
“When Serena kept me underground, I heard construction.”
“Trucks.”
“Generators.”
“Men working at night.”
Adrian understood.
“They rebuilt it.”
Victor released Marcus.
Marcus laughed.
“Too late.”
Victor looked at him.
“What?”
Marcus smiled.
“The boy isn’t the target anymore.”
Victor froze.
“What does that mean?”
Marcus’s eyes shifted toward Evelyn.
“The mother is.”
Evelyn went still.
Marcus laughed.
“Richard doesn’t need Ethan if he has Evelyn.”
Adrian pushed away from the wall despite the blood soaking his shirt.
“Why?”
Marcus looked at him.
“Because the Mercer trust has a failsafe.”
Victor stepped closer.
“What failsafe?”
Marcus answered.
“If the beneficiary is a minor, the nearest living Mercer adult can surrender the claim.”
Evelyn understood.
“No.”
Marcus smiled.
“Yes.”
Adrian’s face changed.
“Richard needs her signature.”
“Not exactly.”
Marcus looked toward Victor.
“He needs her biometric authorization.”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“He’s going to force her.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
Victor stared.
Marcus smiled.
“He’s going to replace her.”
Silence.
Evelyn looked horrified.
Victor’s voice was deadly quiet.
“Explain.”
Marcus leaned back against the wall.
“Project Orpheus didn’t start with Ethan.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
Victor looked at him.
“What?”
Marcus continued.
“Richard spent years studying identity transfer.”
“Medical records.”
“Biometric substitution.”
“DNA manipulation.”
“Not changing a person.”
“Changing what databases believe about them.”
Victor stared.
Serena’s false access.
Evelyn’s false death.
Richard’s false death.
Every system could be altered.
Marcus smiled.
“If Richard registers Serena as Evelyn Mercer, the trust sees Serena.”
Evelyn whispered.
“That’s impossible.”
Marcus laughed.
“You’ve been dead for seven years.”
“On paper, Serena has more legal existence than you do.”
Victor looked toward the open side door.
Serena had not run.
She had gone to complete the replacement.
Lily and Ethan were leverage.
Evelyn was the final key.
Victor grabbed Marcus by the throat.
“Where?”
Marcus coughed.
“Old Mercer house.”
Victor released him.
He turned to Adrian.
“Can you walk?”
Adrian looked down at his wound.
“Can you stop me?”
“No.”
“Then yes.”
Victor looked at Evelyn.
“You stay here.”
She stared at him.
“Absolutely not.”
“Richard needs you.”
“That’s exactly why I’m going.”
Victor stepped closer.
“No.”
She held his gaze.
“You lost seven years because people decided what you were allowed to know.”
“Don’t do the same thing to me.”
Victor had no answer.
She moved past him.
Adrian almost smiled.
“She always did that.”
Victor looked at him.
“Not helping.”
They left Marcus tied to the chapel railing.
Victor found a flashlight.
Adrian led them through a rear corridor.
The tunnel entrance was hidden beneath a stone tomb in the old cemetery.
Evelyn pressed a carved emblem.
The stone shifted.
Cold air rose.
Victor looked down.
“Of course there’s another tunnel.”
Adrian glanced at him.
“You married into a very dramatic family.”
Victor almost laughed.
Almost.
Then they descended.
The tunnel ran beneath the estate.
Water dripped from the ceiling.
Adrian’s breathing grew heavier.
Victor noticed.
“You’re losing too much blood.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’ve said that twice.”
“And I’ve been lying both times.”
Evelyn tore a strip from her coat lining.
She wrapped it around Adrian’s side.
He winced.
Victor watched them.
Brother and sister.
Separated for decades.
Reunited in a chapel while people shot at them.
Nothing about this night made sense anymore.
They continued.
Ten minutes later, light appeared ahead.
Victor switched off the flashlight.
Voices.
They moved quietly.
The tunnel opened behind a metal grate.
Beyond it stood a modern underground room.
Bright.
Sterile.
Medical.
Victor saw Lily first.
She was strapped to a chair.
Her lip was bleeding.
Ethan sat beside her.
His hands were bound.
Richard stood near a computer station.
Serena was at another chair.
Unconscious.
Victor frowned.
Evelyn whispered.
“What is he doing to her?”
Adrian looked toward the medical equipment.
“Not what Serena thinks.”
Victor saw IV lines.
A scanner.
Facial mapping cameras.
Blood collection tubes.
Richard had built a biometric lab.
Ethan woke fully.
He looked toward Lily.
“Are you okay?”
Lily nodded.
“Look at me.”
Ethan did.
“Don’t look at them.”
Victor’s chest tightened.
Even now, Lily was protecting him.
Richard walked toward Serena.
She opened her eyes.
Confusion crossed her face.
“What happened?”
Richard smiled.
“You fainted.”
Serena tried to move.
The restraints tightened.
Her expression changed.
“Untie me.”
Richard ignored her.
“Your mother really did love you.”
Serena stared.
“What?”
“She was irritating.”
“Stubborn.”
“Emotional.”
“But she loved you.”
Serena’s face went white.
“What did you do to her?”
Richard leaned closer.
“The same thing I’m doing to you.”
Serena began pulling against the restraints.
“No.”
Richard smiled.
“You wanted to become Evelyn Mercer.”
Serena shook her head.
“I wanted the evidence.”
“You wanted revenge.”
“You wanted the Mercer claim.”
“You wanted Victor’s fortune.”
Serena shouted.
“I never wanted to be her!”
Richard’s smile disappeared.
“What you want has never mattered.”
Victor watched from behind the grate.
Evelyn trembled beside him.
Adrian whispered.
“We need another entrance.”
Victor scanned the room.
One door.
Two guards.
Richard.
Serena restrained.
Lily and Ethan restrained.
Victor looked toward the ceiling.
Ventilation duct.
Too narrow.
Adrian pointed toward a maintenance hatch along the tunnel wall.
Victor opened it.
Wiring.
Electrical conduit.
He looked at Adrian.
“Can you cut the lights?”
Adrian smiled weakly.
“Your first blackout wasn’t enough?”
Victor looked toward Ethan.
“This time we control it.”
Evelyn found the correct breaker.
Victor waited.
Inside the lab, Richard approached Ethan.
He crouched.
Ethan glared at him.
Richard smiled.
“You’re causing a lot of trouble.”
Ethan said nothing.
Richard touched the moon pendant hanging around his neck.
Victor froze.
He had forgotten Ethan had gotten it back?
No.
Victor checked his pocket.
The moon key was gone.
He only had the sun.
Evelyn saw his face.
“What?”
Victor whispered.
“The moon key.”
He looked through the grate.
“It’s on Ethan.”
Richard removed it from the boy’s neck.
Victor’s jaw clenched.
Richard held the pendant up.
“Your father risked everything for this.”
Ethan looked at him.
“My dad risks everything for me.”
Richard’s expression hardened.
“He’s not your father.”
Ethan did not hesitate.
“Yes, he is.”
Richard laughed.
“You sound confident.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
Ethan looked straight at him.
“Because fathers stay.”
Silence.
Victor stopped breathing.
Richard’s face tightened.
Ethan continued.
“You left Dad.”
“You left Mommy.”
“You left everyone.”
“You’re not anybody’s father.”
Victor looked away for a second.
Evelyn’s eyes filled.
Adrian swallowed.
Richard stood.
He was angry now.
Good.
Victor whispered.
“Now.”
Evelyn pulled the breaker.
The lab went black.
People shouted.
Victor kicked the grate open.
He entered first.
A guard fired blindly.
Victor hit him.
The second guard rushed.
Adrian tackled him despite his wound.
Lily shouted.
“Victor!”
“I’m here!”
Evelyn ran toward Ethan.
Richard grabbed her from the darkness.
Evelyn screamed.
Victor turned.
Emergency lights flickered on.
Richard stood behind Evelyn.
A knife pressed against her throat.
Victor froze.
“Let her go.”
Richard smiled.
“You never learn.”
Victor raised the gun he had taken from the guard.
Richard pulled Evelyn closer.
“Drop it.”
Victor did not move.
Richard pressed the blade harder.
A thin red line appeared on Evelyn’s neck.
Victor lowered the gun.
Richard smiled.
“Good boy.”
Adrian stood near Lily.
He quietly began cutting her restraints with a broken piece of metal.
Richard did not see him.
Serena was still strapped down.
Her eyes followed everything.
Victor spoke.
“What do you want?”
Richard smiled.
“The sun key.”
Victor reached into his pocket.
He held it up.
“And the boy.”
Victor’s face hardened.
“No.”
Richard laughed.
“Then Evelyn dies.”
Ethan shouted.
“Don’t!”
Richard looked toward him.
Ethan struggled against the chair.
“Take me!”
Victor turned.
“No.”
Ethan looked at his father.
“If he wants me, let him take me.”
Victor stared.
Ethan’s eyes were terrified.
But he did not look away.
Richard smiled.
“Smart child.”
Victor’s voice was hard.
“No.”
Ethan shouted.
“Dad!”
Victor looked at him.
Ethan gave him a strange look.
Then glanced toward Serena.
Victor followed his eyes.
Serena had managed to free one wrist.
Victor understood.
Ethan was buying time.
Victor looked back at Richard.
“Fine.”
Richard’s eyebrows rose.
Victor held up the sun key.
“You get Ethan.”
“You let Evelyn go.”
Richard smiled.
“Bring him.”
Victor walked toward Ethan.
He untied him slowly.
Ethan whispered.
“Serena’s loose.”
“I know.”
Victor helped him stand.
Ethan held his hand.
Victor squeezed once.
Then they walked toward Richard.
Five feet.
Four.
Three.
Richard held out his hand.
“Key.”
Victor held it up.
Richard shifted the knife slightly.
That was enough.
Serena ripped her second hand free.
She grabbed a metal instrument tray.
She swung it into Richard’s back.
Richard shouted.
Evelyn dropped.
Victor lunged.
Ethan ran toward Lily.
Adrian caught him.
Victor slammed Richard against the medical table.
The knife fell.
Serena kicked it away.
Richard punched Victor.
Victor stumbled.
Richard grabbed the moon pendant from his pocket.
Then he ran toward the computer terminal.
Adrian shouted.
“He’s activating something!”
Richard inserted the moon key.
Victor saw another slot.
Sun.
He checked his hand.
Still there.
Richard looked at him.
“Give it to me.”
Victor laughed.
“No.”
Richard smiled.
“You still don’t understand.”
He pressed a button.
A glass wall opened behind the lab.
Everyone turned.
There was another room.
Inside stood three refrigerated medical capsules.
Victor stared.
One was empty.
One contained biological samples.
And the third—
Evelyn screamed.
“No.”
Victor moved closer.
Inside the capsule lay a woman.
Pale.
Unconscious.
Dark hair.
Gray-green eyes.
She looked almost exactly like Evelyn.
Serena stopped breathing.
Adrian stared.
Richard smiled.
Victor looked toward him.
“Who is she?”
Richard’s answer made the entire room go silent.
“Natalie Mercer.”
Serena’s mother.
The woman Serena believed had died fourteen years ago.
Serena walked toward the glass.
Her face collapsed.
“Mom?”
The woman inside the capsule did not move.
Serena touched the glass.
Tears streamed down her face.
“Mom?”
Richard watched her.
Then smiled.
“She isn’t dead.”
Serena turned.
Hope appeared.
Only for a second.
Richard continued.
“But she will be in eleven minutes.”
Serena’s face went blank.
Victor looked toward the capsule controls.
A timer had started.
10:59.
Richard held up the moon key.
“And the only way to stop it requires both pendants.”
Victor stared at the sun key in his hand.
Richard smiled.
“Now we find out what everyone really values.”
He looked at Serena.
“Your mother.”
At Evelyn.
“Your family’s evidence.”
At Adrian.
“Your inheritance.”
At Victor.
Then at Ethan.
“And your son.”
The lab doors automatically locked.
A red warning began flashing.
SYSTEM CHOICE REQUIRED.
Victor looked at the timer.
10:41.
Then at Serena’s mother.
Then at Ethan.
Then at the archive status showing the evidence transfer.
One final message appeared across the monitor.
DUAL KEY ACTIVATION WILL PERMANENTLY SELECT ONE OUTCOME.
SAVE NATALIE MERCER.
RESTORE MERCER CONTROL.
OR SECURE BENEFICIARY ETHAN MERCER.
ONLY ONE OPTION MAY BE COMPLETED.
May you like
Nobody spoke.
Because Richard Hale had finally built a trap where saving one person could destroy someone else.
