Chapter 9 - Project Winter
Victor’s confession did not bring clarity.
It created a larger darkness.
Project Winter had begun as a private medical study funded by Adrian’s grandfather. The program claimed to research childhood stress, genetic illness, and leadership development.
In reality, it studied heirs.
Children from powerful families were tested, isolated, observed, and ranked. Their emotional responses were measured. Their loyalty was manipulated. Their identities were treated as variables.
Adrian and Elias had been the program’s most valuable subjects because they were identical twins.
“One child was raised inside the family,” Victor explained. “The other was kept nearby under controlled conditions. Your grandfather wanted to know whether power came from blood or environment.”
Adrian stood beside the clinic window, his back to everyone.
“And my father allowed this?”
“Richard believed the program would protect the company from an unsuitable heir.”
“I was nine.”
“You were tested from infancy.”
Elena covered her mouth.
Adrian did not move.
“What happened to Elias?”
“Your mother discovered the full extent of the program. She tried to take both of you away.”
“The fire?”
“Started during the confrontation.”
“By whom?”
Victor hesitated.
“That answer could destroy everything your mother tried to save.”
Adrian turned.
“Do not speak about her as if you respected her.”
Victor accepted the accusation.
“Elena cannot attend the Winter Charity Ball.”
The abrupt shift made Elena suspicious.
“Why?”
“Because the ball is not only a charity event. It is where the final Project Winter accounts will be transferred into the Beaumont merger.”
Adrian stared at him.
“The foundation money?”
“Some of it has been used to support survivor payments and maintain hidden facilities.”
“You stole from the foundation.”
“I redirected funds to keep people alive.”
“Without telling me.”
“Your father left mechanisms inside the company that activate if Project Winter becomes public. Trusts collapse. Evidence disappears. People die.”
Elena studied Victor.
“You said the final accounts will be transferred. To whom?”
“Beaumont Bank.”
“And after that?”
“The old project will be buried permanently.”
Adrian laughed once without humor.
“You expect me to believe the Beaumont agreement is mercy?”
“I expect you to understand that truth has consequences.”
“It already had consequences. For Elias. For my mother. For every child in those photographs.”
Victor reached for the ring.
Elena noticed a dark mark beneath it where the metal had pressed against his skin for years.
“Who ordered the SUV to follow me?” she asked.
“I did not.”
“Who photographed me in the east wing?”
Victor’s eyes moved toward her.
“That was Cassandra.”
“How did she know where to look?”
“I told her to determine whether you had entered the east wing.”
Adrian crossed the room in two steps and grabbed Victor by the jacket.
“You used her to watch my wife.”
“I was trying to recover the file before someone else did.”
“You brought danger to her.”
“I kept the worst of it away from you for twenty-two years.”
Adrian released him with disgust.
Victor straightened his jacket.
“The ball must continue. If it is canceled, the people behind Project Winter will know the archive has been found.”
“Let them know.”
“They may still have Elias.”
The room went silent.
Adrian’s anger disappeared beneath shock.
“You said he survived.”
“I said he was removed.”
“Is he alive?”
“I do not know.”
Elena saw something in Victor’s face.
Not uncertainty.
Fear.
He knew more.
Adrian saw it too.
Before he could press further, Victor’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen and answered.
No one spoke from the other end.
Then a child’s voice recording played.
“Adrian, don’t let them take me again.”
The same words from Evelyn’s cassette.
Victor ended the call.
May you like
A message appeared immediately.
THE BALL CONTINUES, OR ELIAS DIES UNKNOWN.
