CHAPTER 10 — THE FILE WITH HER NAME
Khloe's hands trembled as she stared at the photograph.
The image showed a little girl standing outside an elementary school, wearing a yellow backpack and smiling shyly at the camera.
She remembered that day.
It had been her first day of first grade.
Her mother had taken the picture.
Or at least...
That was what Khloe had always believed.
She turned the photograph over.
On the back, a single line had been typed.
Observation Day 214. Subject exhibits above-average memory retention.
Her pulse quickened.
"Mary..."
The elderly housekeeper stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Khloe silently handed her the folder.
Mary adjusted her glasses.
The color drained from her face.
"My God..."
"What?"
Mary pointed to another page.
"This wasn't taken by a family member."
Khloe frowned.
"How do you know?"
Mary looked at the angle of the image.
"The photographer was hiding."
She pointed toward a dark reflection in the corner of the photo.
A camera lens.
Partially concealed behind a parked vehicle.
Someone had secretly photographed a six-year-old child.
Khloe continued reading.
Every page documented another year of her life.
Age six.
Age eight.
Age eleven.
Age fourteen.
School grades.
Medical records.
Psychological evaluations.
Addresses.
Friends.
Teachers.
Even birthdays.
Nothing had been missed.
It was as though someone had followed her every step for over two decades.
At the bottom of each page appeared the same stamp.
PROJECT PHOENIX
Mary whispered,
"Who would do something like this?"
Khloe turned another page.
There, clipped to the file, was an envelope no larger than a postcard.
Inside lay a hospital wristband.
She froze.
The name printed on it read:
BABY GIRL PARKER
Date of Birth:
October 12, 1996
Khloe frowned.
"My last name isn't Parker."
Mary looked confused.
"What was your maiden name?"
"Collins."
Mary's expression changed.
"You were adopted?"
Khloe slowly shook her head.
"My parents never told me."
Elsewhere in the underground complex...
Marcus still faced Richard across the vast laboratory.
The alarm lights continued flashing overhead.
Technicians rushed between workstations.
Someone had infiltrated the hidden facility.
Richard barked orders.
"Seal every archive."
"Disconnect external servers."
"No one leaves."
Jonathan quietly leaned toward Marcus.
"He's scared."
Marcus nodded.
"I've never seen him like this."
Whatever had just happened...
Even Richard hadn't expected it.
An engineer hurried over carrying a tablet.
"Sir!"
Richard grabbed it.
The screen displayed security footage from moments earlier.
A hooded figure walked calmly through Corridor C.
No guards challenged them.
No alarms activated.
The person moved with complete confidence.
As if they belonged there.
Richard enlarged the image.
Then frowned.
"I know this walk."
Marcus looked over his shoulder.
The hood hid the face.
But something about the person's posture...
The way they held their shoulders...
Seemed strangely familiar.
Suddenly—
The figure stopped.
Turned directly toward the camera.
Then slowly raised one gloved hand.
Not to wave.
To reveal a silver ring.
The same family crest Ethan wore.
Marcus whispered,
"Another one."
Richard shook his head.
"No."
"There were only two rings ever made."
The feed cut to black.
A message appeared.
STOP LOOKING FOR GHOSTS.
Deep inside the archive room...
Khloe reached the final pages of her file.
Most of the records described routine observations.
Then...
Everything changed.
A section labeled:
CONFIDENTIAL — LEVEL OMEGA
Only three pages.
The first page contained one sentence.
Subject selected for Phase Two compatibility testing.
Khloe frowned.
"I don't understand."
She turned the page.
There...
Was a DNA comparison chart.
Two names appeared.
Subject K-17: Khloe Collins
Subject M-01: Marcus Bennett
Compatibility:
99.97%
Her breathing caught.
"What is this?"
Mary looked just as confused.
"It looks like..."
She stopped speaking.
"What?"
Mary swallowed hard.
"It looks like someone wanted to make sure you and Marcus would meet."
Khloe stared at the chart.
Impossible.
She and Marcus had met by chance.
Or so they believed.
Five years earlier...
A charity fundraiser in Boston.
Marcus had accidentally spilled coffee on her dress.
He insisted on paying for the damage.
They talked.
Laughed.
Fell in love.
Married eighteen months later.
It had always felt like fate.
Now...
She wasn't sure fate had anything to do with it.
Back in the main laboratory...
Marcus confronted Richard again.
"Project Phoenix."
"What is it?"
Richard remained silent.
Marcus stepped closer.
"My mother died because of it."
"My wife was attacked because of it."
"I deserve the truth."
Richard looked exhausted.
"The truth..."
"...is much worse than you imagine."
Before he could continue...
The facility's massive central monitor flickered.
Every screen switched to the same live video.
Khloe.
Standing inside the archive room.
Holding her file.
Marcus's eyes widened.
"Khloe."
Jonathan immediately grabbed his radio.
"Locate that room!"
An engineer interrupted.
"We can't."
"What?"
"The system isn't responding."
"The cameras are being controlled externally."
Then...
A distorted voice echoed throughout the underground complex.
"Good morning, Richard."
Every technician stopped working.
Every guard looked toward the speakers.
Richard closed his eyes.
"I hoped I'd never hear your voice again."
The electronic laughter that followed sent chills through the laboratory.
"You always were a terrible liar."
Marcus looked toward Richard.
"You know who this is."
Richard answered quietly.
"Yes."
"Who?"
Richard hesitated.
Then whispered a name no one else expected.
"Daniel."
Adrian's head snapped up.
"No..."
Marcus frowned.
"Who's Daniel?"
Adrian's voice shook.
"The third person in the photograph."
"The one whose face was burned away."
The voice continued.
"Thirty-three years ago..."
"...the four of us made a promise."
"Richard."
"Sarah."
"Adrian."
"And me."
"You broke that promise."
Richard stared silently at the monitor.
Marcus noticed something strange.
His father wasn't angry.
He looked...
Guilty.
Meanwhile...
Khloe heard the same voice through hidden speakers inside the archive.
The lights dimmed.
A nearby wall slowly slid open.
Behind it...
Another room.
Smaller.
Older.
Dust covered everything.
In the center stood a single rocking chair.
On it rested a faded teddy bear.
Khloe froze.
She recognized it instantly.
"My bear..."
Mary looked at her.
"What?"
"I lost this when I was four."
She slowly walked forward.
Picked it up.
Tears filled her eyes.
A tiny embroidered tag remained sewn into its paw.
For Our Little Phoenix
Khloe whispered,
"My mother made this."
Mary shook her head slowly.
"No."
She pointed to the stitched initials beneath the message.
The initials read:
S.B.
Sarah Bennett.
Marcus's biological mother.
Khloe stared in disbelief.
"That's impossible."
She had never met Sarah Bennett.
Sarah had died years before Khloe was born.
So how...
Had Sarah made a teddy bear for her?
Before Khloe could process the impossible discovery...
A hidden projector activated.
An old videotape began playing on the wall.
The recording showed a young Sarah Bennett looking directly into the camera.
She was crying.
Holding a newborn baby in her arms.
Sarah looked into the lens and said,
"If you're watching this..."
"...it means I failed to save you."
The baby slowly turned toward the camera.
Khloe felt the world spin.
Because the infant in Sarah's arms...
May you like
Was wearing the exact same hospital wristband.
BABY GIRL PARKER.
