Chapter 10 - THE MAN WHO LEFT NO SHADOW
Evelyn woke on the mausoleum floor with Nora beside her.
The gas had caused temporary unconsciousness but no permanent damage.
Daniel had disappeared.
There was no blood.
No sign of a struggle.
Only his weapon remained near the gate.
Police searched the cemetery and surrounding roads.
They found nothing.
Margaret and Ryan also vanished.
By sunrise, Evelyn had lost her mother, brother, fiancé, father’s genetic vial, and the only surviving notebook linking Helix-R to Lakewood.
But the digital recorder remained.
The attackers had either overlooked it or intentionally left it behind.
Federal authorities took custody of the recording.
Evelyn did not trust them with the only copy.
Before handing it over, Nora duplicated the files onto three encrypted drives.
One went into a bank vault.
One went to an attorney.
One remained hidden inside Carter Biomedical.
The company’s board called an emergency meeting.
With Evelyn’s medical diagnosis now leaked to the press, several directors demanded she temporarily resign.
Ashford Global renewed its acquisition offer.
This time, the price was four billion dollars.
Chairman Adrian Vale appeared by video.
He was seventy-two years old, silver-haired, elegant, and unnervingly healthy.
“Ms. Carter,” he said, “our offer provides stability during a difficult personal crisis.”
Evelyn studied the man who may have altered her before birth.
“You accessed confidential medical information.”
Vale smiled politely.
“That is a serious accusation.”
“You bribed my brother.”
“I have never met Ryan Carter.”
“You funded shell companies connected to his theft.”
“Then present the evidence.”
“You kidnapped him.”
Several board members reacted with disbelief.
Vale remained calm.
“I understand that you are under emotional strain.”
There it was.
The same strategy Margaret had used.
Unstable.
Confused.
Medically compromised.
Evelyn looked around the boardroom.
“How many of you have already agreed to sell?”
No one answered.
One director, Cynthia Ross, finally spoke.
“We have a fiduciary obligation to consider the offer.”
“You have an obligation not to sell stolen research back to the people who helped create it illegally.”
Vale’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.
Evelyn noticed.
She continued.
“Lakewood Clinic. Subject E. Subject R.”
Vale leaned closer to the camera.
“Those words mean nothing to me.”
“Then you will not object when I provide the records to federal investigators.”
A long silence followed.
Vale’s smile returned.
“Of course not.”
The screen went black.
Twenty minutes later, Evelyn received a private message.
NOT ALL SUBJECTS WERE CHILDREN.
She traced the message to a secure internal company account.
Someone inside Carter Biomedical had sent it.
Nora searched access logs.
The message came from an executive terminal belonging to Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Marcus Lang.
Marcus had worked with Thomas for fifteen years.
He was also the lead scientist on Helix-R.
Evelyn confronted him in his laboratory.
Marcus closed the door behind her.
“You should not be here.”
“This is my company.”
“Your condition makes laboratory exposure dangerous.”
“Stop pretending this is about my heart.”
She placed the message on his desk.
“Did you send this?”
Marcus read it.
“No.”
“It came from your terminal.”
“Then my terminal is compromised.”
“Who are the adult subjects?”
His face revealed enough.
“You know.”
Marcus sat down.
“The original Lakewood program involved embryos. Later research involved adults receiving gene-transfer treatments.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn froze.
“Thomas modified himself?”
“He tried.”
“Why?”
“To prove Helix could repair inherited damage.”
“Did it?”
“At first.”
“And then?”
Marcus looked toward the sealed laboratory door.
“His cells began changing too quickly.”
“Cancer?”
“Not exactly.”
“What happened to him?”
Marcus removed a key card from his pocket.
“Your father did not die from heart failure.”
“Then what killed him?”
“He entered a state of systemic collapse. His body appeared dead for several hours.”
“Appeared?”
Marcus gave her the key card.
“This opens Sublevel Three.”
“There is no Sublevel Three.”
“There is beneath the original research wing.”
“What is there?”
He looked at her with fear.
“The reason Thomas Carter’s coffin was empty.”
Before Evelyn could speak, the laboratory lights flashed red.
A security alert sounded.
Nora’s voice came over Evelyn’s phone.
“Evacuate now. Someone opened the Helix containment vault.”
Marcus rushed to the central console.
The screens displayed falling temperature levels.
“What is stored in the vault?” Evelyn asked.
May you like
Marcus stared at the warning.
“Your father’s body.”
