"Adrian Cole."
Elias slowly turned toward Ethan.
For the first time, the old man's expression showed genuine fear.
"Your brother has finally come home."
The lights went out.
And somewhere inside the hospital, a door slammed open.
CHAPTER 11: TWENTY-THREE YEARS OF LIES
The emergency lights turned the hospital corridor red.
Miller immediately drew his weapon.
"Stay here!"
Ethan laughed bitterly.
"Why? So you can tell me another lie?"
Miller looked at him.
"Your brother is dangerous."
"Apparently, everyone in my family is."
Before Miller could respond, a gunshot echoed from the corridor.
A guard fell.
Then another shot.
Miller rushed toward the entrance.
Elias grabbed Ethan's arm.
"Listen to me carefully."
Ethan pulled away.
"I'm done listening."
"Adrian doesn't know the whole truth."
"Neither do I!"
Elias looked at him.
"Then perhaps it's time you learned."
He opened a drawer beneath the table and removed an old recording device.
"Your mother gave me this before she disappeared."
Ethan stared at it.
"Where is she?"
Elias didn't answer.
He pressed play.
A woman's voice filled the room.
It was Mara Cole, Ethan's mother.
"If you're hearing this, then something has gone wrong."
The recording continued.
"Ethan, I need you to know that I never wanted to separate you from Adrian. I loved both of you equally. But your father believed one of you had to become the next leader of Project Genesis."
Ethan looked toward Elias.
"Which father?"
Elias remained silent.
Mara continued.
"Robert tried to stop the program. He wanted to take both children away. But Elias had already arranged everything."
Her voice trembled.
"Adrian was taken first. Ethan was supposed to follow. I managed to escape with Ethan, but I couldn't save both of you."
There was a pause.
Then she said something that made Ethan's heart stop.
"Adrian was not the dangerous child. Ethan was."
The recording ended.
Ethan stared at the device.
"What does that mean?"
Elias sighed.
"When you were very young, you had an extraordinary memory. You could remember faces, numbers, conversations, and locations after seeing them only once."
Ethan frowned.
"So?"
"Project Genesis was built around information. Your ability made you valuable."
Elias continued.
"Adrian was intelligent, but he was emotionally unstable. He questioned everything. He refused to follow orders."
Ethan slowly understood.
"That's why you wanted me."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
"You wanted to use me."
"Initially."
"And Adrian?"
"Your brother was supposed to be eliminated."
Ethan looked away.
Suddenly, the door opened.
A figure appeared in the doorway.
Adrian.
He was wearing a black jacket, and a small cut crossed his cheek.
His eyes moved from Ethan to Elias.
"So this is where you've been hiding."
Elias smiled.
"Adrian."
"Don't say my name."
Adrian entered the room.
Ethan stepped forward.
"You're my brother."
Adrian looked at him.
"I know."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Would you have believed me?"
Ethan couldn't answer.
Adrian turned toward Elias.
"You told him about Project Genesis. Did you tell him what happened to our mother?"
Elias remained silent.
Adrian laughed.
"Of course not."
He approached the table.
"Twenty-three years ago, our mother tried to destroy the program. She had discovered that Elias was planning to replace several senior government officials with people who had been given fabricated identities."
Ethan looked at Elias.
"Is that true?"
Adrian continued.
"She stole the original records and tried to escape with us. But Elias found her."
Ethan felt his stomach tighten.
"What happened?"
Adrian looked at him.
"She was arrested."
Elias finally spoke.
"She was protecting you."
Adrian turned sharply.
"By letting you erase our memories?"
"Enough."
"No. You don't get to tell us when enough is enough."
Adrian pulled a small envelope from his jacket.
He placed it on the table.
Inside was an old hospital record.
Ethan picked it up.
There were two names.
ETHAN VOSS.
ADRIAN VOSS.
Both boys had been registered as the biological children of Elias Voss and Mara Bennett.
Ethan stared at the document.
"Then why did Robert raise me?"
Adrian answered.
"Because Robert was the only person Elias couldn't control."
He paused.
"Robert had been your mother's closest friend. He agreed to raise you under a different identity after she was arrested."
Ethan looked toward Elias.
"Where is she now?"
The old man looked down.
"She died."
Adrian immediately laughed.
"Another lie."
He turned toward Ethan.
"She's alive."
Ethan felt the room spin.
"Where?"
"Inside the Blackwood detention facility."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I needed the original evidence first."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Now I have it."
He placed a small device on the table.
A digital screen displayed a countdown.
00:19:42.
Ethan stared.
"What is that?"
"The final protocol."
Elias suddenly stood.
"Adrian, don't!"
Adrian looked at him.
"You spent twenty-three years controlling our lives. Now it's your turn to watch everything disappear."
Ethan pointed toward the device.
"What happens when the countdown reaches zero?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Every file connected to Project Genesis will be transmitted to the public."
Elias shouted:
"That will expose innocent people!"
Adrian smiled bitterly.
"Then perhaps they should have thought about that before building their empire on the lives of children."
Suddenly, Miller returned.
His face was covered in blood.
He raised his weapon toward Adrian.
"Step away from the device!"
Adrian turned.
"You're late."
Miller fired.
The bullet struck the wall.
Adrian disappeared behind the table.
Ethan dropped to the floor.
Then Elias did something unexpected.
He grabbed the device and smashed it against the metal edge of the table.
The screen went dark.
Adrian stared at him.
"You just destroyed the only copy."
Elias shook his head.
"No."
He reached into his pocket.
"I destroyed the wrong one."
He removed a second device.
A small red light was blinking.
Ethan stared at it.
"What is that?"
Elias looked at his sons.
"The original transmission."
Adrian's face changed.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely afraid.
Because the device was not sending the files to the public.
It was sending them to someone else.
Someone whose name appeared on the screen.
VICTORIA MORGAN.
Victoria Morgan stood inside the abandoned police headquarters.