CHAPTER 15 — THE PHOENIX CHILDREN
The message remained on every phone screen.
72 HOURS REMAINING
No one spoke.
The abandoned underground parking area felt colder than before.
Marcus stared at the countdown.
Seventy-two hours.
That was all the time they had before something called the Phoenix Protocol would begin.
Something powerful enough to erase everyone who knew the truth.
His entire life had been a carefully constructed illusion.
Now the illusion was collapsing piece by piece.
First Isabella.
Then the attack.
Then the stolen envelope.
Then Sarah's message.
Now Emma.
His sister.
A person who had existed for decades...
And he had never known.
Marcus finally looked at Emma.
"I need answers."
Emma nodded.
"I know."
"No more half-truths."
"I agree."
He stepped closer.
"Who are you?"
Emma smiled sadly.
"That's a complicated question."
"No."
Marcus shook his head.
"It's actually simple."
"You're my sister."
"You're alive."
"Everyone lied."
"I want to know why."
Emma looked toward Richard.
"He should tell you."
Marcus turned.
Richard remained silent.
"Father."
The word came out bitterly.
Richard looked at him.
For a moment, Marcus thought the old man might refuse.
Instead...
Richard sighed.
"Your grandfather created Project Phoenix before I was old enough to understand what it was."
"He believed the future belonged to those who could control human potential."
Marcus frowned.
"Human potential?"
Richard nodded.
"He wasn't interested in money."
"He was interested in evolution."
Adrian added quietly,
"Alexander believed humanity was inefficient."
"He believed emotions created weakness."
"Fear."
"Love."
"Loyalty."
"All obstacles."
Marcus looked disgusted.
"So he wanted to remove them."
Emma nodded.
"Not remove."
"Control."
Richard continued.
"When Sarah discovered what Alexander was doing..."
"She tried to stop him."
"She learned that the project had moved from research into experimentation."
Marcus looked toward Khloe.
"And Elizabeth?"
Emma answered.
"She was the breakthrough."
Khloe looked confused.
"Me?"
Emma nodded.
"Your biological memory patterns were unique."
"You could retain information differently."
Marcus frowned.
"Why her?"
Emma looked at him.
"Because she wasn't supposed to be part of the experiment."
"She was an accident."
The words hung in the air.
Khloe touched her stomach.
"What accident?"
Emma looked at her carefully.
"Your parents were researchers."
"They discovered what Phoenix was becoming."
"They planned to expose it."
"But before they could..."
"They were killed."
Khloe's face went pale.
"My parents..."
Emma nodded.
"They weren't ordinary people."
"They were part of the original Phoenix team."
Mary stepped back.
"How does she know all this?"
Emma looked at the elderly housekeeper.
"Because I was there."
Mary frowned.
"You were a child."
"I remember."
Marcus noticed something.
"You remember everything."
Emma looked at him.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She hesitated.
"Because I was the first subject."
Silence.
Even Richard looked uncomfortable.
Marcus stared.
"What?"
Emma looked down.
"I wasn't born into Project Phoenix."
"I was created by it."
Adrian shook his head.
"No..."
Emma looked at him.
"You knew."
Adrian lowered his eyes.
"I knew what they were attempting."
"But I didn't know how far they had gone."
Jonathan interrupted.
"We need to focus."
"The countdown."
Everyone turned toward him.
"We have seventy-two hours."
"Where do we even begin?"
Emma pulled the device from the SUV again.
"With the original Phoenix server."
Marcus frowned.
"I thought it was destroyed."
Emma smiled faintly.
"Everyone thinks that."
"That's why it survived."
They entered the SUV.
As they drove away from the abandoned facility, Marcus sat beside Khloe.
For the first time in hours, they were alone.
He looked at her.
"Are you okay?"
Khloe laughed softly.
"No."
"Are you?"
Marcus looked out the window.
"No."
They sat quietly.
Then Khloe reached for his hand.
"I was afraid you'd hate me."
Marcus looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because I knew things about your family."
"Because I hid the envelope."
"Because our entire relationship might have been manipulated."
Marcus squeezed her hand.
"Maybe someone brought us together."
"But they didn't make me love you."
Khloe's eyes filled.
"Marcus..."
"I chose you."
In the front seat, Emma watched them through the mirror.
A small smile appeared.
"You really are different."
Marcus looked up.
"What?"
"Alexander was wrong."
"About what?"
Emma looked at Khloe.
"He thought love was weakness."
"He never understood."
"Love is the reason people survive impossible things."
Hours later...
The SUV arrived at an old abandoned church outside the city.
Emma led them inside.
Behind the altar was a hidden staircase.
They descended.
Below the church was another facility.
Smaller.
Older.
The original Phoenix headquarters.
Inside the underground room were hundreds of boxes.
Old documents.
Hard drives.
Photographs.
Everything the Thorne family had tried to erase.
Emma walked to a locked metal cabinet.
"This is it."
Marcus looked at the cabinet.
"The original server?"
Emma nodded.
"The first one."
She entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a small black device.
No bigger than a laptop.
Marcus frowned.
"That's it?"
Emma smiled.
"That's everything."
Before they could connect it...
The lights went out.
Again.
Everyone froze.
Jonathan immediately raised his weapon.
"Not again."
A voice echoed from the darkness.
"You're all so predictable."
Marcus recognized it.
His blood ran cold.
"Ethan."
The lights returned.
Ethan stood on the balcony above them.
But he wasn't alone.
Beside him stood several armed men.
And at the front...
Was Isabella Rossi.
Marcus stared.
"You're alive."
Isabella smiled.
"You say that like it's surprising."
Khloe stepped forward.
"You attacked me."
Isabella's expression changed.
"I did."
"And I would do it again."
Marcus's eyes hardened.
"Why?"
Isabella looked toward Ethan.
Then toward Emma.
"Because I finally understand my role."
Emma looked shocked.
"No."
Isabella smiled.
"Yes."
She removed a necklace from around her neck.
Attached to it was a golden phoenix symbol.
The same symbol as Project Phoenix.
Marcus stared.
"What is that?"
Ethan answered.
"She was never working for us."
"She was working for him."
Marcus looked upward.
"For who?"
Ethan's face became serious.
"The true Director."
The underground speakers suddenly activated.
An old man's voice filled the room.
Calm.
Powerful.
Familiar.
A voice Marcus had heard only once.
On the hidden recording.
Alexander Thorne.
"Hello, grandchildren."
Everyone froze.
Richard looked horrified.
"Father..."
The voice continued.
"You spent thirty years running from my work."
"You hid my children."
"You destroyed my legacy."
A pause.
Then:
"But you forgot one thing."
"The Phoenix always rises."
The server device suddenly activated.
A red light appeared.
A message displayed:
AUTHENTICATION REQUIRED
Then:
INSERT ORIGINAL PHOENIX SUBJECT
Everyone looked at Emma.
Then Khloe.
Then Marcus.
Three children.
Three pieces of the same experiment.
But the screen changed.
A fourth option appeared.
UNKNOWN SUBJECT DETECTED
Everyone froze.
Jonathan whispered,
"Unknown?"
The screen displayed a name.
Marcus stared.
Because he recognized it.
It was a name that had never appeared in any family record.
SUBJECT: SARAH BENNETT
But Sarah had been dead for thirty-three years.
Then the server spoke:
WELCOME BACK, SARAH.
The room went silent.
And somewhere...
A heartbeat monitor started.
Not connected to anyone.
May you like
A heartbeat.
Still alive.
