Chapter 5 - The Children on the List
Project Gemini contained records dating back twenty-seven years.
There were names, medical histories, trust documents, photographs, and genetic reports.
Some subjects were children of powerful families.
Others were children whose parents had worked for Cross Meridian or Vale Advanced Research.
Every file included a projected inheritance value.
Audrey felt sick as she read.
“This was never about medicine,” Miriam said.
“It was about identifying heirs.”
“And controlling them.”
The documents showed that Victor Cross had financed private medical screenings through family clinics, charitable foundations, and executive wellness programs.
The information allowed him to identify pregnancies, undisclosed children, health conditions, and succession risks before the families themselves understood their importance.
Julian had a file.
So did Audrey.
Beneath their names were two empty folders labeled Future Male Descendants.
Elias and Noah had been expected before they existed.
Audrey closed the directory.
“We destroy it.”
“Not yet,” Miriam said. “This could prove Victor’s crimes.”
“It could expose hundreds of children.”
“We can preserve it securely.”
“No one should possess this.”
Miriam looked toward her.
“Adrian died protecting it.”
“We do not know that he died.”
“Then he disappeared protecting it.”
Audrey copied only the files related to her family and disconnected the device.
For the next two years, she remained hidden.
Elias received treatment through specialists Serena trusted. His condition stabilized, though the doctors warned that future complications were possible.
Noah grew fearless and talkative. Elias remained quiet, observing every adult conversation from corners where people forgot he was listening.
Audrey told them almost nothing about Julian.
When Noah asked why they did not have a father, she answered that families came in different forms.
When Elias asked whether their father was dangerous, Audrey could not answer.
The question stayed with him.
As the twins approached their fourth birthday, Victor’s attorneys contacted Miriam.
They knew Audrey was alive.
They knew she had children.
And they threatened to have her declared responsible for the Vale laboratory fire unless she returned to New York and signed a permanent divorce settlement.
The proposed agreement contained a hidden provision.
Audrey would surrender every future claim held by any child born during the marriage.
Miriam placed the page before her.
“They want the boys’ voting rights.”
“They will never have them.”
“Then we need to confront them.”
Audrey had spent years running.
Elias had spent years watching doors.
Noah had spent years asking why they could not live where people knew their names.
Audrey signed nothing.
Instead, she called Victor’s attorneys and agreed to meet Julian in person.
Before leaving Maine, she spoke to both boys.
“You will stay with Dr. Serena and Miriam,” she said.
Noah wrapped his arms around her.
“Will you meet our father?”
Audrey glanced at Elias.
He was sitting on the stairs, holding the small tablet used for school lessons.
“How do you know that?” she asked.
“Miriam said his name.”
“You should not listen to private conversations.”
“You listen when people whisper.”
Audrey knelt in front of him.
“What do you know about Julian?”
Elias looked at the tablet.
“His voice locked Uncle Adrian inside.”
Audrey’s heartbeat changed.
“Where did you hear that?”
“The broken drive.”
“You opened those files?”
“One opened by itself.”
“That is not possible.”
Elias turned the screen toward her.
A video player was paused on the laboratory security recording.
Julian’s copied voice had been isolated and enhanced.
Lock the east doors. No one leaves until the drive is found.
Audrey took the tablet from him.
“This was not meant for you.”
“Did he hurt Uncle Adrian?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will you ask him?”
“Yes.”
Elias’s gray eyes looked painfully similar to Julian’s.
“If he did it,” the child said, “do not bring him here.”
Audrey promised.
Three days later, she walked into Julian’s executive office carrying the divorce settlement.
But when the envelope fell and Julian saw the two names, Audrey noticed something she had not expected.
He did not look like a man afraid of losing his company.
May you like
He looked like a father who had just discovered that four years of his life had been stolen.
Then the office lights went out.
