Chapter 15 - The Third Name
Three months after Project Gemini was exposed, Audrey returned to the executive office where Julian first discovered the medical envelope.
The building no longer carried Victor Cross’s name.
Cross Meridian’s board had voted to divide the corporation into independently governed companies.
Audrey had been asked to lead the medical technology division temporarily while the Vale patents were transferred to the new foundation.
She accepted for six months.
No longer.
She had learned what happened when families confused companies with identities.
Julian worked in a smaller office on the thirty-first floor. He advised the restructuring committee but held no executive authority.
To the surprise of nearly everyone, he appeared relieved.
Audrey found him beside the window reviewing a school calendar.
“You marked Noah’s animal presentation twice,” she said.
“One is the rehearsal.”
“You are attending the rehearsal?”
“He insisted.”
Audrey placed a folder on the desk.
“The divorce decree was finalized this morning.”
Julian looked at it.
Then at her.
“How do you feel?”
“Free.”
He nodded.
“I’m glad.”
The answer hurt less than she expected.
It also meant more.
Julian opened a drawer and removed the paper badge Elias had given him. The corners were worn, but he still kept it protected inside a clear case.
“I received a message from the court,” he said. “The supervised visitation requirement has been removed.”
“I know.”
“Did you approve it?”
“Yes.”
Julian’s eyes lifted.
“That does not mean unrestricted access.”
“I understand.”
“It means you can take them to school without Owen following you.”
“I thought Owen liked following me.”
“Owen likes correcting your driving.”
Julian almost smiled.
Their relationship remained undefined.
Some evenings, they ate dinner together with the boys.
Other weeks, Audrey saw him only during appointments.
They did not discuss remarriage.
They did not pretend betrayal vanished because its worst parts had been fabricated.
They learned to tell the truth before fear filled the empty spaces.
Chloe had moved to California and joined an organization supporting whistleblowers.
Eleanor lived near Serena and spent weekends with her grandsons.
Adrian remained restless.
He disappeared for days at a time, claiming he was helping investigators locate remaining Gemini facilities.
Audrey suspected he was still keeping secrets.
At noon, a courier arrived with a package addressed to Audrey and Julian.
No sender was listed.
The security team scanned it twice before delivering it.
Inside was an old leather notebook and a sealed white envelope.
Audrey recognized the notebook.
It belonged to her father.
He had used it during the first years of Orion’s development.
“He told me it was destroyed in the fire,” she said.
Julian opened the cover.
Most pages contained research notes.
Near the center, several pages had been removed.
The final page held a handwritten list.
PROJECT GEMINI SUBJECTS
ELEANOR CROSS
JULIAN CROSS
ADRIAN VALE
AUDREY VALE
ELIAS VALE CROSS
NOAH VALE CROSS
Beneath Noah’s name was another entry.
The ink appeared newer.
SUBJECT THREE: LOCATION UNKNOWN
Audrey stared at the words.
“There were only two babies.”
Julian opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph taken at the Swiss rehabilitation facility.
Adrian stood near the entrance, speaking to a woman holding a small child.
The woman’s face had been hidden by a hood.
The child appeared to be the same age as Elias and Noah.
On the back of the photograph, someone had written:
Victor lied about the twins.
Ask Adrian what happened during the first twenty-four hours after their birth.
Audrey read the message again.
“That is impossible.”
Julian examined the image beneath the desk lamp.
“The child is wearing a Saint Catherine’s identification band.”
Audrey remembered the medical envelope that had exposed her sons’ existence.
Saint Catherine’s Pediatric Institute had never treated Elias.
It had never treated Noah.
At least, that was what she had believed.
Julian enlarged the photograph on his computer.
The child turned slightly toward the camera.
Only one side of his face was visible.
But on his wrist was a small birthmark.
The same shape as the Gemini symbol.
Audrey called Serena.
No answer.
She called Adrian.
His phone had been disconnected.
Julian contacted the security team stationed near the children’s school.
The officer answered immediately.
“Mr. Cross, both boys are safe.”
Audrey exhaled.
Then the officer continued.
“But Dr. Serena left the school ten minutes ago.”
“With whom?” Audrey asked.
There was a pause.
“Adrian Vale.”
Audrey looked at the old photograph.
Her phone vibrated.
A video message had arrived from an unknown number.
Adrian appeared on the screen inside a moving vehicle.
Serena sat beside him.
Neither Elias nor Noah was present.
Adrian’s expression was urgent.
“Audrey, do not contact the police. Victor’s arrest activated a second Gemini protocol.”
Audrey gripped the phone.
“What child is in the photograph?”
Adrian seemed to hear the question even though the message had been recorded earlier.
“I wanted to tell you,” he said. “But Serena believed the truth would put all three boys in danger.”
Julian moved closer.
Adrian glanced toward the rear window of the vehicle.
Someone was following them.
“The night you gave birth, a third infant was brought into Serena’s clinic. His records were exchanged with Noah’s before sunrise.”
Audrey could barely breathe.
“Why?”
“Because Victor needed everyone to believe only two children existed.”
Adrian held up a second photograph.
This one was recent.
It showed Elias and Noah sleeping inside Serena’s house.
A third boy stood outside the bedroom window, watching them.
He had Julian’s eyes.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“The third child knows where Victor kept the final Gemini archive.”
The vehicle behind him moved closer.
“And he has been asking for his mother.”
The video ended.
A new message appeared beneath it.
YOU HAVE 24 HOURS TO DECIDE WHICH SON COMES HOME.
Audrey looked at Julian.
Neither of them spoke.
Then the office doors opened.
Elias and Noah ran inside, laughing after returning early from school.
Behind them stood Eleanor Cross.
Her face was pale.
In her hand was a small red backpack that belonged to neither child.
“I found this outside my house,” she said.
Audrey opened it.
Inside were three matching silver bracelets.
Each was engraved with a name.
Elias.
Noah.
And a third name Audrey had never seen.
Nathaniel Cross.
Beneath the bracelets was a drawing of three boys holding hands outside the burned Vale laboratory.
On the back, a child had written one sentence.
DAD DOESN’T REMEMBER ME YET.
Julian stared at the words.
Then he whispered the name as if it had once belonged to a memory someone had taken from him.
“Nathaniel.”
Outside the darkened windows, a black vehicle stopped across the street.
A boy stepped onto the pavement.
May you like
He looked up at the executive office.
And raised one of the Gemini drives in his hand.
