Chapter 8: The Truth They Buried
The words on every screen burned into my mind.
*SUBJECT MIA REYNOLDS LOCATED.*
*BEGIN EXTRACTION.*
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Not even Victor.
The confidence had disappeared from his face.
And that frightened me more than anything else.
Because if the man who had walked into the house believing he controlled everything was now afraid, then whoever was coming was worse.
Marcus grabbed my hand.
“Extraction?””
I looked at him.
“I don't know.””
Thomas was already moving.
“Everyone away from the windows.””
Richard helped Evelyn stand.
“We need to leave.””
Victor laughed quietly.
Nobody expected it.
Everyone turned.
“You think you can leave?””
Thomas aimed his flashlight toward him.
“Not now, Victor.””
“No.””
Victor looked at the screens.
“You still don't understand.””
Marcus stepped closer.
“Then explain.””
Victor's eyes moved to me.
“I wasn't here to take your children.””
I stared at him.
“Then why?””
“To stop them from taking you.””
The room went silent.
I shook my head.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
Victor looked exhausted.
“I expect you to believe what happens next.””
A low rumble moved through the house.
Not thunder.
Engines.
Multiple vehicles.
Thomas looked toward the driveway.
“They're surrounding the property.””
Marcus's expression hardened.
“How many?””
Thomas checked his phone.
“At least six.””
Richard looked at Victor.
“You knew.””
“Yes.””
“And you still came.””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Victor looked at me.
“Because Daniel was right.””
The name stopped everyone.
Marcus stepped forward.
“About what?””
Victor swallowed.
“Your father discovered the foundation wasn't the real organization.””
Richard froze.
“What?””
Victor nodded.
“The foundation was only a front.””
My stomach tightened.
“Front for what?””
Victor looked at the screens.
“For something older.””
The lights flickered.
A woman's voice suddenly came through the speakers.
“Mia Reynolds.””
I froze.
The voice was calm.
Professional.
Almost kind.
Marcus immediately looked around.
“Where is that coming from?””
No one answered.
The voice continued.
“You have been relocated eight years longer than expected.””
My skin crawled.
Relocated?
Like I was an object.
Like my life was a file.
“I don't know who you are,” I shouted.
The voice replied instantly.
“You know one of our employees.””
A pause.
“Dr. Nathaniel Price.””
My chest tightened.
“You killed him?””
“No.””
The voice remained calm.
“He failed.””
I felt sick.
Marcus moved closer.
“Who are you?””
The voice ignored him.
“Mia Reynolds, you need to understand something.””
I stared at the speaker.
“What?””
“You were never selected because you carried four children.””
I held my breath.
“Then why?””
“Because you survived the process.””
Marcus looked at me.
“The process?””
I felt my hands shaking.
The voice continued.
“Most subjects did not.””
A horrible silence followed.
Richard whispered,
“Subjects.””
Victor closed his eyes.
“Now you understand.””
I looked at him.
“What did they do?””
Victor didn't answer.
The voice did.
“Your body adapted.””
I felt a wave of nausea.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“I am not a subject.””
The voice remained calm.
“You are the first successful case.””
Marcus stepped forward.
“She is a person.””
“Yes.””
The voice paused.
“And that is why the research became complicated.””
I stared at the screens.
“What research?””
The answer came immediately.
“Human genetic adaptation.””
The room felt smaller.
The children were behind me.
I could hear Noah breathing.
I could hear Olivia crying quietly.
I turned.
“Don't listen.””
But they had heard enough.
Children always hear more than adults think.
Sophia looked at me.
“Mama…”
I crouched.
“It's okay.””
She shook her head.
“No, it's not.””
My heart broke.
She was eight years old.
She should have been thinking about presents and snow.
Not people calling her a subject.
I pulled all four children close.
Marcus stood beside us.
The first time he had ever done that.
Not because he was supposed to.
Because he wanted to.
The speaker crackled again.
“Mia, we know Marcus Reynolds is there.””
Marcus looked up.
“Of course you do.””
“We know Richard Vale is there.””
Richard's face changed.
“And Victor Hale.””
Victor smiled bitterly.
“Everyone's here.””
The voice continued.
“Excellent.””
Thomas looked at Victor.
“This was your plan.””
“No.””
Victor shook his head.
“This was theirs.””
A sudden crash came from the front of the house.
Everyone jumped.
Thomas looked toward the door.
“They're inside.””
Marcus turned.
“Can we get out the back?””
Thomas shook his head.
“They anticipated that.””
Richard looked at Victor.
“You brought them here.””
Victor's expression darkened.
“No.””
He looked toward me.
“Daniel did.””
Marcus stared.
“My father?””
Victor nodded.
“Not intentionally.””
“What does that mean?””
Victor took a breath.
“Daniel created a failsafe.””
Richard looked confused.
“What failsafe?””
Victor answered quietly.
“Your mother.””
Everyone looked at Evelyn.
She froze.
“What?””
Victor continued.
“Daniel knew if the organization discovered the children, they would eventually come for Mia.””
I looked at Evelyn.
“Why would he trust you?””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Because he knew I was wrong.””
I didn't understand.
Victor continued.
“Daniel discovered the truth after Marcus left.””
Marcus looked stunned.
“He knew?””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn't he tell me?””
“Because he was already being watched.””
Richard nodded slowly.
“The murder.””
Victor nodded.
Marcus went silent.
Then he whispered,
“He tried to protect us.””
“Yes.””
I looked at the chaos around me.
The secrets.
The lies.
The years stolen.
And for the first time, I saw Marcus not as the man who abandoned me.
But as someone else who had been manipulated.
Not innocent.
Never innocent.
But also not the only person who had failed us.
The back door suddenly exploded open.
Everyone screamed.
Two men in tactical clothing entered.
Thomas reacted instantly.
He grabbed the nearest lamp and threw it.
The room erupted into chaos.
Marcus pushed the children behind the sofa.
“Stay down!””
I covered them with my body.
Someone shouted.
Someone fell.
Victor grabbed a fallen weapon.
Richard pulled Evelyn away.
Thomas fought like someone who had spent his entire life preparing for this exact moment.
Then a woman stepped into the doorway.
She wasn't wearing tactical clothing.
She wore a simple black coat.
Her hair was tied back.
Her expression was calm.
Too calm.
She looked around the room.
Then at me.
“Mia.””
I stood slowly.
“Who are you?””
The woman smiled faintly.
“My name is Dr. Helena Cross.””
The name meant nothing.
But Victor reacted.
He actually stepped backward.
“No.””
Helena looked at him.
“Hello, Victor.””
“You weren't supposed to come.””
“Nobody expected you to betray us.””
Victor laughed.
“Betray?””
Helena ignored him.
She looked at the children.
“Those are them.””
My body went cold.
I stepped in front of them.
“You're not taking them.””
Helena looked almost sad.
“I don't want the children.””
Everyone froze.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Then what do you want?””
Her gaze moved to me.
“You.””
Marcus immediately stepped forward.
“No.””
Helena looked at him.
“You still believe you can protect her.””
Marcus didn't move.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
He didn't hesitate.
“Because she's my family.””
The words hit me harder than I expected.
Helena studied him.
“Interesting.””
“What?””
“You spent eight years denying that.””
Marcus looked down briefly.
Then back at her.
“I know.””
The room went quiet.
Helena looked at me again.
“You need to come with me.””
“No.””
“If you don't, they will come for the children.””
I held my breath.
“What?””
She pointed toward the screens.
“The extraction protocol is not for you.””
My stomach dropped.
“Then what is it for?””
Helena looked at the children.
“For anyone carrying your genetic signature.””
I stared.
“What does that mean?””
She answered softly.
“It means your children are not targets because of what they inherited from their father.””
She looked directly at me.
“They are targets because they inherited something from you.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“What?””
Helena took one step closer.
“The procedure Dr. Price performed on you was not an experiment.””
I felt dizzy.
“Then what was it?””
Her voice lowered.
“A transfer.””
The room became silent.
Marcus looked at me.
“What transfer?””
Helena looked at him.
“Your children did not inherit the adaptation.””
A pause.
“They were born with it.””
My heart stopped.
“No.””
Helena continued.
“You carried the change.””
I felt the world shifting.
“That makes no sense.””
“It does.””
She looked at my wrist.
“At first, they thought the pregnancy caused the adaptation.””
She paused.
“Then they realized the opposite.””
I couldn't breathe.
“What opposite?””
Helena's eyes met mine.
“You were already changing before you became pregnant.””
A cold silence filled the room.
Marcus whispered,
“Mia…”
I looked at him.
Because suddenly, eight years of memories felt different.
The exhaustion I recovered from faster than doctors expected.
The injuries that healed quickly.
The illnesses I never seemed to catch.
Things I had ignored.
Things I thought were luck.
Helena said quietly,
“You are the beginning.””
I shook my head.
“I am a mother.””
“Yes.””
Her expression softened.
“And that is exactly why they are afraid of you.””
A loud alarm began outside.
Thomas looked toward the windows.
“They're bringing more people.””
Helena looked at me.
“This is your last chance.””
I stared at her.
“At what?””
“To decide whether you want to keep running…”
She looked at Marcus.
“…or finally learn what they did to you.””
The lights went out.
Again.
But this time, when they came back on, the screens showed something different.
Not my name.
Not the children's.
A file.
A medical record.
From eight years ago.
My medical record.
At the bottom was a signature.
A signature I had never seen before.
Marcus picked up the screen image.
His face went pale.
Because the person who authorized the procedure that changed my life…
May you like
was not Dr. Price.
It was signed by *Marcus Reynolds.*
