THE BOY WHO KNEW HER MOTHER’S SONG - 016
THE BOY WHO KNEW HER MOTHER’S SONG
Part 2: The Voice Buried Beneath the Ashes
“Mommy…”
The word shattered the ballroom.
For one suspended heartbeat, nobody moved.
Crystal chandeliers glimmered overhead. Champagne glasses froze halfway to trembling lips. The orchestra members sat motionless with their instruments still in hand as though even breathing might destroy the miracle unfolding before them.
And Daniel Harrington—America’s untouchable billionaire genius—collapsed completely.
He dropped to both knees in front of his daughter.
“Emily?” His voice broke apart. “Baby… say that again.”
Emily stared forward, tears spilling silently down her cheeks.
The ragged little boy continued humming softly.
The melody drifted through the ballroom like a ghost returning home.
Daniel remembered it instantly.
It had been Claire’s favorite lullaby.
She used to sing it every night while holding Emily in the rocking chair near the nursery window.
A simple melody.
A gentle one.
But hearing it now felt like someone had reached into Daniel’s chest and torn open a wound he’d spent three years trying desperately to bury.
Emily’s lips trembled.
“Mommy…” she whispered again.
The guests gasped louder this time.
One woman began crying openly.
Daniel grabbed Emily carefully, almost afraid she might disappear if he touched her too quickly.
“That’s it,” he whispered desperately. “Keep talking, sweetheart. Please.”
Emily suddenly buried her face against his shoulder.
And then she screamed.
Not words.
Not language.
Just pure terror.
A horrifying, broken sound ripped from deep inside the child as her tiny body began shaking violently.
The ballroom erupted into chaos.
“Get a doctor!” someone shouted.
“She’s having a panic attack!”
Daniel held her tightly while she sobbed uncontrollably.
But amid the chaos, the little boy stood perfectly still.
Watching.
Not frightened.
Not surprised.
Almost… expectant.
Then Emily suddenly lifted one trembling hand and pointed directly at him.
Her face had turned ghostly white.
And for the first time since the accident, words spilled from her mouth.
“Don’t let him go.”
Silence detonated through the ballroom.
Daniel looked at the boy sharply.
The child met his stare without blinking.
Then security grabbed him.
“Wait!” Daniel barked.
The guards froze.
Emily clung desperately to her father’s jacket.
“He knows,” she whispered.
Daniel felt coldness spread through his veins.
“What does he know?”
Emily’s breathing became uneven.
The boy answered before she could.
“He knows what happened that night,” the child said quietly.
Every muscle in Daniel’s body locked.
The ballroom suddenly felt too hot.
Too crowded.
Too small.
Daniel stood slowly, keeping Emily behind him.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Eli.”
“How old are you?”
“Nine.”
“Who brought you here?”
Eli glanced around the ballroom.
“No one.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I followed your cars.”
The answer should have sounded ridiculous.
But something about the boy’s eyes unsettled Daniel deeply.
They weren’t childish eyes.
They carried the exhausted stillness of someone who had seen too much.
Daniel studied him carefully.
Thin frame.
Bruises near one wrist.
Rain-soaked hoodie.
Sharp intelligence behind guarded eyes.
And then Daniel noticed something else.
The necklace around the boy’s neck.
A silver chain.
With a tiny moon-shaped pendant.
Daniel’s pulse stopped.
Claire owned an identical necklace.
He had given it to her the year Emily was born.
“Where did you get that?” Daniel asked sharply.
Eli touched the pendant instinctively.
“Your wife gave it to me.”
The ballroom exploded with whispers.
Daniel stepped forward.
“That necklace belonged to Claire.”
“She wanted me to keep it.”
“That’s impossible.”
Eli’s expression darkened.
“She said if something happened to her, I should never trust the police.”
The sentence hit Daniel like a gunshot.
“What?”
“She said there were dangerous people around you.”
A cold wave swept through Daniel’s body.
Guests shifted uneasily.
Some exchanged uncomfortable looks.
Daniel forced himself to stay calm.
“You’re lying.”
Eli shook his head slowly.
“She knew she was going to die.”
Emily whimpered.
Daniel turned instantly.
His daughter’s face had gone pale again.
“She told me not to tell,” Emily whispered.
Daniel stared at her.
The entire ballroom disappeared.
Nothing existed except those six words.
“She told you not to tell what?”
Emily’s eyes flooded with tears.
But before she could answer, a loud crash thundered from outside.
Everyone jumped.
Another crash followed.
Then screams.
The massive ballroom doors burst open.
A bloodied security guard stumbled inside.
“Mr. Harrington!” he shouted breathlessly. “Someone’s in the house!”
The lights went out.
Women screamed.
Darkness swallowed the ballroom instantly.
Then came the gunshot.
Glass exploded somewhere nearby.
Panic erupted.
Guests scattered blindly.
Daniel grabbed Emily instinctively.
“Stay behind me!”
Emergency backup lights flickered dimly red across the ballroom.
The elegant celebration transformed into a nightmare.
People shoved each other trying to escape.
A senator crashed into a table.
Crystal shattered across marble floors.
Another gunshot echoed.
Then a voice boomed from the darkness.
“WHERE IS THE BOY?”
Eli’s face drained of color.
Daniel saw it immediately.
Fear.
Real fear.
Not the fear of getting caught.
The fear of someone who knew exactly who had come for him.
Daniel moved instantly.
“Come with me.”
Eli hesitated.
Another gunshot exploded.
“NOW!” Daniel barked.
The three of them ducked behind overturned tables as security agents rushed into the ballroom with weapons drawn.
“Protect Mr. Harrington!” one shouted.
Daniel grabbed Eli’s arm.
“Who are they?”
Eli swallowed hard.
“They killed your wife.”
Daniel felt reality tilt beneath him.
Before he could respond, masked men stormed through the entrance.
Three of them.
Black tactical gear.
Silenced rifles.
Professional.
Not robbers.
Not random attackers.
Assassins.
Guests screamed and dropped to the floor.
One of the intruders scanned the crowd quickly.
Then his eyes locked onto Eli.
“There he is.”
Daniel reacted without thinking.
He shoved Emily and Eli toward a side hallway.
“RUN!”
Gunfire erupted.
Marble shattered beside them.
Daniel grabbed both children and sprinted through the servants’ corridor while alarms screamed throughout the estate.
Emily clung tightly to his hand.
Eli ran surprisingly fast despite his thin frame.
Behind them came shouting.
Footsteps.
More gunfire.
Daniel’s mind raced wildly.
Nothing made sense.
Claire.
The necklace.
The boy.
The attackers.
Emily speaking.
It all collided into a terrifying possibility Daniel had never once allowed himself to consider.
What if the accident hadn’t been an accident?
He pushed the thought away instantly.
Impossible.
The police investigation had been extensive.
Brake failure caused by rain.
That was the official report.
But then why would armed men break into his home tonight trying to capture a homeless child?
Daniel shoved open a hidden panel leading into the estate’s private security hallway.
Only family members knew it existed.
The narrow passage was dimly lit and soundproof.
For a moment, the chaos outside faded.
Daniel slammed the hidden door shut.
Emily collapsed against the wall breathing hard.
Eli remained standing.
Watching Daniel carefully.
“You need to listen to me now,” the boy said.
Daniel turned sharply.
“Who are you really?”
“My name is Eli Mercer.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Eli reached slowly into his hoodie pocket.
Daniel tensed instantly.
The boy pulled out a tiny flash drive.
“She told me to give you this if anything happened to her.”
Daniel stared at the device.
His hands suddenly felt numb.
“Claire gave you that?”
Eli nodded.
“She said you couldn’t know until Emily remembered.”
Daniel felt the air leave his lungs.
“What are you talking about?”
Eli looked toward Emily.
“She saw what happened.”
Emily covered her ears immediately.
“No…” she whispered.
Daniel knelt beside her.
“Emily. Look at me.”
She trembled violently.
“Baby… what did you see?”
Tears streamed down her face.
“I promised Mommy…”
“Promised what?”
Emily shook her head desperately.
Daniel’s chest tightened.
Then the child whispered something so quietly he almost didn’t hear it.
“Mommy wasn’t driving.”
Daniel froze.
Everything inside him stopped.
Claire had been driving that night.
That was established immediately after the crash.
He remembered the police report.
The wreck.
Claire trapped behind the wheel.
Emily in the back seat.
But Emily was shaking her head now.
“No…” she cried. “Mommy switched seats.”
Daniel stared at her in horror.
“What?”
Emily squeezed her eyes shut.
“There was another man.”
The narrow hallway suddenly felt suffocating.
Daniel looked toward Eli.
The boy nodded grimly.
“She remembered.”
A deafening explosion rocked the estate.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The attackers were getting closer.
Daniel stood immediately.
“We’re leaving.”
He led them deeper through the hidden corridor toward the underground garage.
As they hurried through the narrow passage, Daniel’s mind spiraled.
Another man.
Switched seats.
Claire knew she was going to die.
None of it was possible.
Yet every instinct in his body screamed otherwise.
They reached the underground garage moments later.
Luxury vehicles lined the massive concrete chamber.
Daniel rushed toward a black armored SUV.
Then stopped dead.
The driver’s side door hung open.
A body lay beside the vehicle.
Daniel’s personal head of security.
Dead.
Emily gasped.
Daniel covered her eyes instantly.
But Eli stared grimly at the corpse.
“He found us already,” the boy whispered.
A slow clap echoed through the garage.
Daniel turned sharply.
A man stepped from the shadows.
Tall.
Elegant.
Silver-haired.
Expensive charcoal suit untouched by the chaos upstairs.
And smiling.
Daniel’s blood turned to ice.
“Victor.”
Victor Langley smiled warmly.
Daniel had known him for nearly fifteen years.
Business partner.
Investor.
Godfather to Emily.
One of the most powerful men in Silicon Valley.
And suddenly Daniel realized he had never truly known him at all.
Victor’s calm eyes moved toward Eli.
“There you are.”
Daniel stepped protectively in front of the children.
“You sent those men?”
Victor sighed lightly.
“You’ve made tonight unnecessarily dramatic.”
Daniel’s fists clenched.
“What is happening?”
Victor looked genuinely disappointed.
“Claire should have trusted you enough to tell you.”
“Tell me what?”
Victor’s expression darkened slightly.
“That your company was never yours.”
Daniel stared at him.
Victor walked slowly closer.
“Harrington Technologies revolutionized predictive behavioral AI. Governments paid billions for it. Militaries begged for access. Intelligence agencies built entire surveillance systems around your algorithms.”
Daniel felt sick.
“What does that have to do with Claire?”
Victor smiled thinly.
“She discovered what we were really using it for.”
A terrible silence filled the garage.
Daniel remembered countless classified contracts.
Encrypted government partnerships.
Victor always handled the confidential divisions.
Daniel focused on innovation.
Expansion.
Public image.
But Claire…
Claire had once worked in cybersecurity.
She understood systems.
Data.
Secrets.
Victor’s smile faded.
“She became a problem.”
Emily suddenly began crying harder.
Daniel’s rage exploded.
“You killed her.”
Victor didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked toward Emily.
“She wasn’t supposed to remember.”
Daniel lunged.
Victor moved faster.
A handgun appeared instantly.
Pointed directly at Daniel’s chest.
“Careful.”
Daniel froze.
Victor’s calmness was terrifying.
“You think I wanted this?” Victor asked softly. “Claire forced my hand. She stole evidence. She planned to expose everything.”
Eli stepped forward suddenly.
“She copied the files before she died.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“There’s the brave little hero.”
Daniel looked between them.
“You know him?”
Victor laughed quietly.
“Oh, Daniel. Eli isn’t random.”
The boy stiffened.
Victor tilted his head.
“Tell him.”
Eli looked away.
Daniel’s pulse hammered.
“Tell me what?”
Victor smiled.
“Eli’s father worked for me.”
The garage fell silent.
“He was one of our lead engineers,” Victor continued. “Brilliant man. Unfortunately, he developed a conscience too.”
Eli’s jaw tightened.
“You murdered him.”
Victor shrugged.
“He endangered billions of dollars.”
Daniel felt nausea rise.
Victor looked almost bored discussing death.
“That shelter Claire volunteered at?” Victor said. “Not coincidence. She met Eli there after his father disappeared.”
Daniel looked toward the boy.
Eli’s eyes burned with fury.
“She promised she’d protect me.”
Victor’s expression hardened.
“And instead she turned you into a liability.”
Daniel realized something horrifying.
Claire had been investigating Victor secretly.
And Emily had witnessed something during the crash.
Something so traumatic her mind buried it completely.
Victor raised the gun slightly.
“Give me the drive, Eli.”
Eli stepped backward.
“No.”
Victor sighed.
“You children always think courage changes outcomes.”
Then came another voice.
“Drop the weapon.”
Everyone turned.
A woman stood near the garage entrance holding a pistol.
Detective Sarah Bennett.
The lead investigator from Claire’s crash.
Daniel’s eyes widened.
“Sarah?”
Victor smiled faintly.
“Well. This is becoming crowded.”
Sarah kept the gun steady.
“It’s over, Victor.”
Victor chuckled.
“No. It really isn’t.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You knew?”
Sarah’s expression tightened painfully.
“Not at first.”
She stepped closer.
“Claire contacted me two days before she died. She said she uncovered corruption involving Harrington Technologies and federal contracts.”
Daniel’s head spun.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Claire believed someone inside your company was watching you.”
Victor smiled.
“She was right.”
Sarah aimed carefully.
“End this now.”
Victor looked almost amused.
Then the garage lights suddenly died.
Darkness.
Gunfire exploded instantly.
Emily screamed.
Daniel threw himself toward the children.
More shots.
Concrete shattered nearby.
Someone cried out.
Then silence.
Emergency lights flickered back on.
Daniel looked up.
Sarah lay on the ground bleeding from her shoulder.
Victor was gone.
And so was Eli.
Daniel’s heart stopped.
“ELI!”
A distant car engine roared through the garage.
Daniel sprinted toward the exit tunnel.
Too late.
A black SUV disappeared into the night.
Taking Eli with it.
Emily collapsed sobbing.
“He took him…”
Daniel stared into the darkness.
Every instinct screamed the same truth.
Victor wasn’t cleaning up loose ends anymore.
He was hunting something.
The flash drive.
Daniel rushed back to Sarah.
Blood soaked her sleeve.
But she remained conscious.
“He has a private compound,” she whispered painfully.
Daniel knelt beside her.
“Where?”
Sarah grabbed his wrist tightly.
“Listen carefully. Claire hid copies of the files.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“Where?”
Sarah looked toward Emily.
“In the music box.”
Daniel frowned.
“What music box?”
Emily suddenly looked up.
“The blue one.”
Daniel’s chest tightened.
Claire’s old music box.
The one Emily slept beside every night before the accident.
It was still in the nursery.
Sarah coughed weakly.
“Victor doesn’t know.”
Sirens echoed faintly outside.
Police were finally arriving.
But Daniel suddenly understood something terrible.
The police couldn’t protect them.
Victor had connections everywhere.
Money.
Power.
Government contracts.
Influence.
And if Claire died trying to expose him, then anyone close to the truth was already in danger.
Especially Emily.
Daniel lifted his daughter gently.
“We’re leaving.”
Sarah grabbed his arm again.
“Daniel… don’t trust anyone.”
Then she lost consciousness.
Rain hammered the windshield as Daniel sped through the empty highway outside the city.
Emily sat silently in the passenger seat clutching the silver necklace Eli had dropped during the chaos.
The little moon pendant swayed softly in her trembling hands.
Daniel drove with one hand while gripping the flash drive tightly with the other.
His entire world had detonated in less than two hours.
Claire had been murdered.
His closest friend was a killer.
And somehow a homeless child held the key to exposing a conspiracy powerful enough to send armed men into his home.
Daniel glanced toward Emily.
She looked exhausted.
Fragile.
But alive.
And speaking.
Three years of silence broken open in a single night.
“Emily,” he said softly.
She looked at him carefully.
The sound of her own voice still seemed to frighten her.
“Can you tell me what you remember?”
Emily stared down at the necklace.
“It was raining,” she whispered.
Daniel swallowed hard.
“We were driving home.”
She nodded.
“Mommy was scared.”
Daniel gripped the wheel tighter.
“She kept looking behind us.”
A chill crawled up his spine.
“Then what happened?”
Emily squeezed her eyes shut.
“There was a man waiting on the road.”
Daniel frowned.
“What man?”
“He stopped the car.”
Daniel’s heartbeat accelerated.
Claire never mentioned stopping.
The police reports never mentioned another vehicle.
Emily continued shakily.
“Mommy got out.”
“Why?”
“She was yelling.”
Daniel felt sick.
“What was she yelling about?”
Emily’s voice shrank.
“She said she wouldn’t give him the files.”
Daniel nearly slammed the brakes.
Files.
Claire had the evidence with her that night.
Emily looked terrified now.
“The man pulled Mommy away from the car.”
Daniel’s breathing became uneven.
“And then?”
Emily started crying quietly.
“He hurt her.”
Daniel’s vision blurred with rage.
“She told me to hide.”
A tear slid down Emily’s cheek.
“She climbed back inside after.”
Daniel whispered, “What happened to the man?”
Emily stared straight ahead.
“He got into the driver seat.”
Daniel froze.
The world around him disappeared again.
“What?”
“He drove the car.”
Daniel’s chest tightened violently.
Emily’s tiny voice cracked.
“Mommy switched seats with him after the crash.”
Daniel struggled to breathe.
That explained everything.
Claire had protected Emily even while dying.
She staged the scene.
To hide the killer.
To protect her daughter.
To protect the evidence.
And Emily had watched the entire thing.
No wonder she stopped speaking.
No child could survive that kind of horror unchanged.
Daniel suddenly understood why Claire left the drive with Eli instead of him.
She believed Daniel was being watched.
Used.
Manipulated.
And maybe she feared he was already too deeply connected to Victor to trust.
Daniel’s throat tightened painfully.
How many warnings had he ignored?
How many nights had Claire tried telling him something was wrong while he buried himself in work?
A sudden pair of headlights appeared behind them.
Fast.
Closing quickly.
Daniel checked the mirror.
Black SUV.
No license plates.
His blood ran cold.
“They found us.”
The SUV accelerated hard.
Daniel slammed the gas pedal.
Rain blurred the highway into streaks of silver and black.
The pursuing vehicle gained rapidly.
Emily gripped the dashboard.
“Daddy…”
Gunfire exploded.
The rear windshield shattered.
Emily screamed.
Daniel swerved violently.
Another shot tore through the back tire.
The SUV fishtailed dangerously.
Daniel fought the wheel desperately.
Ahead, an unfinished bridge emerged through the rain.
Road closed signs blocked the entrance.
No time.
The attackers were almost beside them now.
Daniel made a decision.
He jerked the wheel sharply onto the unfinished bridge.
The vehicle bounced violently over loose concrete.
Behind them, the pursuing SUV followed.
Gunfire echoed again.
Emily ducked crying.
The bridge narrowed.
Ahead lay unfinished sections plunging into darkness over the river below.
Daniel’s damaged tire shredded completely.
The SUV spun.
Metal screamed.
The vehicle slammed sideways into a concrete barrier.
Airbags exploded.
Daniel’s head struck the window hard.
Everything blurred.
Smoke filled the cabin.
Emily cried somewhere beside him.
The attackers’ SUV screeched to a halt nearby.
Doors opened.
Footsteps approached.
Daniel forced himself awake.
Blood dripped down his forehead.
He looked toward Emily.
Alive.
Terrified.
The armed men were almost at the vehicle.
Then another engine roared through the storm.
Headlights blasted across the bridge.
A motorcycle.
The rider slammed directly into one attacker, sending him over the bridge railing.
Gunfire erupted.
The rider moved with shocking speed.
Two shots.
Two men dropped instantly.
Daniel stared in disbelief.
The motorcyclist removed the helmet.
And Daniel felt the impossible happen.
His heart stopped.
Claire Harrington stood in the rain.
Alive.
Emily screamed.
“Mommy!”
Daniel could barely breathe.
Claire rushed toward the vehicle.
Her face looked older.
Scarred.
Exhausted.
But undeniably hers.
Daniel whispered her name like a prayer.
“Claire…”
She opened the damaged door quickly.
“We don’t have time.”
Daniel stared at her in absolute horror.
“You’re dead.”
Claire’s eyes filled with pain.
“I know.”
The surviving attacker raised his weapon.
Claire shot him instantly.
The gunfire echoed across the river.
Emily launched herself into Claire’s arms sobbing uncontrollably.
Claire held her tightly.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered over and over. “I’m so sorry.”
Daniel stumbled from the wrecked SUV.
Rain soaked him instantly.
His mind couldn’t process what he was seeing.
“You were alive this entire time?”
Claire looked at him with heartbreaking sadness.
“I had to disappear.”
Daniel’s voice exploded.
“You let us believe you were dead for THREE YEARS!”
Claire flinched.
“Victor would’ve killed Emily if he knew I survived.”
Daniel shook violently with fury and disbelief.
“You abandoned us.”
“No.” Claire’s voice cracked. “I protected you.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Protected us?”
Tears mixed with rain down Claire’s face.
“You were compromised, Daniel.”
The words hit like knives.
“I didn’t know who inside your company was loyal to Victor. I didn’t know if I could trust you anymore.”
Daniel staggered backward.
Claire stepped closer carefully.
“I found proof that Victor was selling behavioral prediction systems to governments illegally. Surveillance models. Population control programs. Election manipulation algorithms.”
Daniel stared at her.
“No…”
“You built the technology,” she whispered. “Victor weaponized it.”
Daniel felt sick.
Claire looked shattered.
“The night of the crash, Victor’s men intercepted us. I hid the evidence before they reached the car.”
Daniel’s mind reeled.
“You switched seats.”
Claire nodded slowly.
“They thought I died in the crash.”
Emily clung to her desperately.
“I missed you,” the little girl sobbed.
Claire broke apart completely.
“I know, baby.”
Daniel stared at them both.
His entire identity felt fractured.
Three years mourning a wife who had been alive.
Three years watching his daughter drown in silence.
Three years manipulated by the man he trusted most.
Sirens echoed faintly in the distance again.
Claire looked toward the road.
“We need to move now.”
Daniel grabbed her arm.
“No. Not until you explain everything.”
Claire hesitated.
Then she whispered the sentence that changed everything again.
“Victor isn’t the one in charge.”
Daniel froze.
“What?”
Claire’s expression darkened with fear.
“He works for someone else.”
A cold silence settled over the bridge.
Daniel stared at her.
“Who?”
Claire looked directly into his eyes.
“Your father.”
The storm seemed to stop around them.
Daniel couldn’t move.
Couldn’t think.
“My father is dead.”
Claire shook her head slowly.
“No, Daniel.”
Lightning split the sky overhead.
Claire’s voice trembled.
“He’s been alive this whole time too.”
Daniel felt the world collapse beneath him.
His father, Richard Harrington, had supposedly died from a heart attack twenty years earlier.
Daniel had inherited nothing.
Built everything himself.
Or at least… that’s what he believed.
Claire looked terrified.
“He created the entire network before you were even born.”
Daniel backed away.
“No.”
“He used your company as the perfect cover.”
Daniel shook his head violently.
“You’re lying.”
Claire stepped closer.
“Daniel, listen to me carefully. Everything you think you know about your life was designed.”
The rain hammered harder.
Claire reached slowly into her jacket.
Daniel tensed.
She pulled out an old photograph.
Faded.
Water-damaged.
Claire handed it to him.
Daniel looked down.
And his blood froze solid.
The photograph showed a younger Victor standing beside Richard Harrington.
Behind them stood rows of computer servers.
Military insignias.
Government officials.
And one handwritten phrase across the bottom:
PROJECT ORPHEUS
Daniel’s hands trembled violently.
Claire looked toward the dark highway.
“We have to find Eli before they break him.”
Daniel stared at the photograph.
Then at his supposedly dead wife.
Then at his daughter crying in the rain.
And for the first time in his life, Daniel Harrington understood a horrifying truth.
He wasn’t the architect of the empire.
He had been engineered by it.
Miles away, beneath an abandoned industrial warehouse on the edge of the city, Eli sat chained to a metal chair beneath flickering fluorescent lights.
Blood dripped slowly from his split lip.
Victor Langley stood across from him calmly removing leather gloves.
The underground room hummed with computer servers.
Dozens of screens covered the walls.
Government seals glowed faintly across encrypted systems.
Facial recognition feeds.
Satellite maps.
Behavioral prediction models.
Entire populations reduced to data.
Victor studied the child silently.
“You caused extraordinary trouble tonight.”
Eli glared at him.
“You’re afraid.”
Victor smiled faintly.
“Fear is inefficient.”
“Then why are you shaking?”
Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The boy noticed.
Good.
Eli leaned back despite the restraints.
“She’s alive, isn’t she?”
Victor said nothing.
Eli smiled through blood.
“You never found her.”
Victor walked slowly closer.
“Your father once believed children were incapable of understanding sacrifice.”
Eli’s jaw tightened.
“You killed him because he tried stopping you.”
Victor crouched beside him.
“No. I killed him because he became emotional.”
Eli spat blood onto the floor.
Victor sighed.
“Where are the remaining files?”
Eli stayed silent.
Victor nodded toward one of the guards.
The guard stepped forward carrying a syringe.
Eli’s breathing quickened despite himself.
Victor’s voice remained calm.
“You should know something before we continue.”
Eli looked up.
Victor smiled thinly.
“Daniel finally met his wife tonight.”
The boy froze.
Victor enjoyed the reaction.
“She survived longer than expected.”
Eli’s eyes widened.
“She’s alive?”
“For the moment.”
Victor stood again.
“But not for much longer.”
He glanced toward the surveillance monitor.
The screen displayed Daniel, Claire, and Emily fleeing into the storm.
Victor’s smile slowly faded.
“Bring me Richard.”
One of the guards hesitated.
“Sir?”
Victor’s eyes hardened.
“It’s time the son finally meets his father.”
The lights flickered.
Deep inside the underground facility, massive steel doors began unlocking one by one.
And somewhere in the darkness beyond them…
someone started laughing.
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3…
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