Chapter 7 - The Founder Who Never Existed
By sunrise, the media knew Elaine Mercer’s grave was empty.
No one knew who leaked the information.
News vans surrounded the cemetery, the storage facility, and Rebecca’s building. Commentators debated whether Madeline’s inheritance was real, whether her mother had faked her death, and whether Sophie’s disappearance was connected.
Arthur released a statement expressing shock and sympathy.
He claimed he had signed the burial certificate as a young prosecutor performing an administrative duty.
He denied knowing Elaine personally.
The audio recording proved otherwise, but federal officials refused to release it while Sophie remained missing.
Madeline spent the morning inside Helixor’s headquarters in Cambridge.
The company occupied a glass tower overlooking the Charles River. Employees moved through the lobby beneath a thirty-foot display celebrating the acquisition.
Four founder portraits hung above the reception desk.
Vivian Ashcroft.
Richard Calder.
Samuel Lorne.
Peter Wren.
Elaine’s portrait was missing.
Madeline stopped beneath the display.
“You said there were four founders in the photograph.”
“There were,” Vivian said.
“Then who is Peter Wren?”
“A corporate attorney Arthur introduced after Samuel died.”
“And my mother?”
“Erased before the first public financing round.”
Madeline looked at the company slogan etched into the wall.
Science in service of life.
“Did you let them erase her?”
Vivian’s silence answered.
They entered a private conference room where the current chief executive, Julian Cross, waited with six attorneys.
Julian was in his early fifties, polished, and visibly irritated.
“Dr. Ashcroft, this company is cooperating voluntarily. However, we cannot allow a trust beneficiary to remove confidential records during an active acquisition.”
Madeline placed Elaine’s trust documents on the table.
“The founder agreement gives me inspection rights.”
Julian glanced at the papers.
“Those rights are disputed.”
“The federal court froze all challenges.”
“The judge recused himself.”
“The freeze remains effective until replaced.”
Julian’s attorney whispered to him.
Madeline noticed a gold pin on Julian’s lapel.
A double helix.
Identical to the symbol painted in Sophie’s holding room.
“Where were you last night?” she asked.
Julian looked at her.
“Excuse me?”
“My daughter was held in a room marked with your company’s symbol.”
“That symbol appears on thousands of products.”
“Where were you?”
Julian leaned back.
“I will not participate in theatrics.”
Vivian placed both hands on the table.
“Elaine created the Ashcroft-Mercer delivery platform. Her trust has the right to audit every archive connected to the platform.”
Julian smiled.
“You have not served on this board in seven years.”
“I still know where the bodies are.”
The room became silent.
Julian’s smile faded.
He authorized limited access to the archive floor.
Madeline, Vivian, Rebecca, and Agent Reed entered a secure records room beneath the building. Rows of climate-controlled cabinets stretched into the distance.
Elaine’s founder code was EM-04.
The electronic catalog showed no results.
Vivian tried an older code.
MERCURY.
A hidden directory appeared.
Most entries had been deleted.
One file remained.
PROJECT ORPHEUS.
The access log showed it had been opened three days earlier by Julian Cross.
Vivian entered an obsolete founder password.
The file opened.
Project Orpheus involved long-term monitoring of patients from the illegal neurological trial. Several participants had developed unusual resistance to memory impairment. Helixor secretly tracked them for years.
One patient appeared under the code D-17.
Daniel Vale.
Rebecca read the record with trembling hands.
Daniel had been admitted to a private neurological facility six months after his alleged suicide.
The file contained progress notes for nine years.
The final entry stated:
Patient transferred by order of A. Vale. Destination classified.
Rebecca lowered herself into a chair.
“He was alive for at least nine years.”
Madeline placed a hand on her shoulder.
Arthur had not only taken Rebecca’s son.
He had erased him.
Another file carried the code E-01.
Elaine Mercer.
Status: Active.
Last contact: fourteen months ago.
Madeline stared at the screen.
“My mother was alive last year.”
Vivian whispered, “Yes.”
Madeline turned sharply.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“You told me you believed she died.”
“I believed it for years. Then I began receiving encrypted messages.”
“How long?”
“Fourteen months.”
Madeline’s anger erupted.
“You knew my mother might be alive, and you got into my car pretending this was about shares?”
“I needed to confirm you were not under Arthur’s control.”
“My daughter has been kidnapped.”
“Because Arthur believes Elaine contacted you.”
“She did not.”
“Then someone wants him to believe she did.”
Agent Reed checked the access history.
“Julian opened this file three days ago, right after the trust matured.”
Rebecca pointed to a second user account.
“What is VESTA?”
Vivian’s face tightened.
“Elaine’s private research server.”
The account accessed Project Orpheus from inside Helixor twelve minutes before the bank box was stolen.
Someone using Elaine’s credentials was active in Boston.
Madeline searched the account details.
A message icon blinked.
One unread file waited inside.
TO MADELINE.
She opened it.
A video appeared.
Elaine sat in front of a plain gray wall.
She was older, thinner, and unmistakably alive.
Madeline reached toward the screen.
Elaine looked directly into the camera.
“My darling Maddie, I am sorry.”
Madeline began to cry.
“If you are seeing this, Arthur has taken Sophie. Do not give him the third archive. He cannot hurt her yet because she carries something he needs.”
Madeline wiped her face.
“What does she carry?”
Elaine continued.
“Your daughter inherited a genetic marker from me. It is the reason Project Orpheus existed. Arthur believes Sophie is the final compatible subject.”
Vivian stepped backward.
Elaine’s voice hardened.
“Vivian knows what the marker does. Make her tell you.”
The video ended.
Madeline turned.
May you like
Vivian looked terrified.
“What is inside my daughter?”
