Chapter 13: The Facility Beneath The Earth
Adrian read Emma’s message again.
Then again.
Like somehow the words would change if he stared long enough.
*"If you want the truth about my family, come alone.""*
I watched his expression harden.
Not with anger.
With determination.
"No.""
I said it before I even realized I had spoken.
Adrian looked at me.
"No?""
"You are not going alone.""
He shook his head.
"Emma wants me.""
"That is exactly why you shouldn't go.""
His eyes moved away.
"I need answers.""
"And she knows that.""
The room went quiet.
James stood near the window, looking older than he had minutes before.
"She's not trying to kill you.""
I looked at him.
"How do you know?""
"Because if she wanted Adrian dead, she would have never sent a message.""
Adrian looked at him.
"Then what does she want?""
James sighed.
"To be heard.""
Those words stayed with me.
Because beneath all the betrayal, there was something else.
Pain.
A person who spent years becoming a monster because someone convinced them they had no other choice.
But that didn't erase what she had done.
"What is this facility?"" Adrian asked.
James looked toward the basement.
"Your father built it twenty years ago.""
"For what?""
"Research.""
Adrian frowned.
"Research into what?""
James hesitated.
"Human behavior.""
A cold feeling moved through me.
"You're saying your father experimented on people?""
"No.""
James shook his head.
"At first, no.""
He looked at Adrian.
"Your father wanted to study how trauma affected children.""
Adrian's face tightened.
"Children.""
"Orphans. Abandoned kids. Children from unstable homes.""
I felt sick.
"And Victoria turned it into something else.""
James nodded.
"She saw vulnerable children as something she could control.""
Adrian grabbed his jacket.
"Where is this facility?""
James didn't answer immediately.
Then he walked to the old bookshelf in the hidden room.
He pulled out a book.
Inside was a map.
A location circled in red.
Deep outside the city.
Hidden underground.
Adrian looked at it.
"We go now.""
I stepped forward.
"Not without backup.""
He looked at me.
"Marissa.""
"No.""
My voice surprised even me.
"You have spent your entire life trying to carry everything alone.""
He stared.
"You don't know me.""
"I know enough.""
The words came out before I could stop them.
"I know you blame yourself for things you couldn't control. I know you think protecting people means standing in front of every danger alone.""
His expression softened slightly.
"But Lily doesn't need a hero who disappears.""
That hit him.
Because Lily was listening.
She stood quietly near the doorway.
Adrian looked at her.
Then lowered himself to her level.
"I promise I'll come back.""
Lily nodded.
"But don't leave me again.""
His face broke.
"I won't.""
Two hours later, we arrived at the location.
The facility was hidden beneath an abandoned medical building.
The entrance looked forgotten.
Broken windows.
Overgrown plants.
A place nobody would suspect.
James entered a code into an old security panel.
The doors opened.
Inside was a different world.
Clean.
Modern.
Cold.
The lights flickered on one by one.
The walls were covered with old records.
Names.
Photos.
Children.
Adrian walked slowly.
"This was real.""
James nodded.
"Yes.""
We moved deeper.
Rooms appeared on both sides.
Classrooms.
Medical rooms.
Observation rooms.
My stomach turned.
Then Adrian stopped.
A drawing was taped to one wall.
A child's drawing.
Three people holding hands.
A mother.
A father.
A little girl.
At the bottom was a name.
Emma.
Adrian touched the paper.
"She was just a child.""
James looked away.
"Yes.""
Then a voice echoed through the speakers.
"You're finally here.""
Everyone froze.
Emma.
Adrian stepped forward.
"Where are you?""
A screen turned on.
A woman's face appeared.
Older than the child in the photo.
But the eyes were the same.
"You look like him.""
Adrian stared.
"Like who?""
"Your father.""
The screen flickered.
Emma smiled sadly.
"I wondered if I would ever meet my brother.""
Adrian went still.
"Brother?""
Emma looked directly at him.
"Half-brother.""
The truth landed harder than anything before.
"My father was your father too?""
"Yes.""
Adrian looked around.
"Why?""
Emma's expression changed.
"Because he was trying to save me.""
The screen showed a file.
A medical record.
A birth certificate.
Then another document.
A custody agreement.
Victoria's name appeared.
Emma continued:
"Your father didn't abandon me.""
She paused.
"Someone made sure I believed he did.""
The screen suddenly went black.
A second later, another message appeared.
Not from Emma.
From someone else.
A name.
A name Adrian recognized.
May you like
A name that made him whisper:
"Impossible.""
