Chapter 8: The Daughter They Erased
I turned so quickly that my shoulder struck the concrete wall.
The voice behind us was calm.
Too calm.
“Now you know why they erased your memory.””
A man stepped into the weak light.
Daniel Mercer.
Not a photograph.
Not a recording.
Not a dead name from an old report.
Alive.
Standing ten feet away from me.
Tyler raised his weapon.
“Put it down,” Rourke ordered.
Mercer didn't move.
He was wearing civilian clothes, but I recognized the posture immediately. Military training had carved it into him years ago.
I stared at his face.
“You knew.””
Mercer looked at me.
“Yes.””
“You knew Lily was mine.””
“Yes.””
“You knew my father.””
His expression tightened.
“Yes.””
I couldn't stop shaking.
“You watched me for years.””
“I protected you.””
“No.””
My voice cracked.
“You hid me.””
Mercer didn't deny it.
Rourke stepped between us.
“Start talking.””
Mercer looked at him.
“You still think orders matter.””
“They do when people are dying.””
“That's why you're still alive.””
Tyler raised his weapon higher.
“You took my daughter.””
Mercer looked at him with something almost resembling pity.
“She was never your daughter.””
Tyler's face twisted.
“Don't say that.””
“You signed the transfer papers.””
“I was twenty-three.””
“You signed them.””
“I didn't know what they meant.””
“You knew enough to put your name on the line.””
Tyler stepped forward.
“I loved her.””
Mercer's expression hardened.
“You loved the idea of being a father after you thought everyone else was dead.””
Tyler's eyes filled.
“You don't know what I lost.””
Mercer looked at me.
“I know exactly what you lost.””
I stepped toward him.
“Tell me about my father.””
Mercer was silent.
I pointed at the projector.
“That recording was made before Black Ridge.””
“Yes.””
“Why was my father talking to Vale?””
“Because your father discovered Echo.””
I looked at the frozen image of him on the screen.
“What did Echo do?””
Mercer walked to the projector and pressed a button.
The video restarted.
My father's voice filled the tunnel.
“The marker doesn't come from the mother or father independently.””
He looked exhausted.
“It activates when both parents carry the dormant sequence.””
I stared.
Mercer paused the recording.
“He wasn't talking about you.””
“Then who?””
“Your father was talking about your biological mother.””
I frowned.
“My mother?””
Mercer nodded.
“Your mother isn't your biological mother.””
The words didn't register.
“What?””
Tyler stared at him.
“That isn't possible.””
“It is.””
I laughed once.
A hollow sound.
“My mother raised me.””
“She did.””
“She gave birth to me.””
“No.””
My stomach turned.
“Then who did?””
Mercer looked at me.
“Elena.””
The tunnel went silent.
I felt as if someone had pulled the floor out from beneath me.
“Elena was my mother?””
“Yes.””
Rourke's expression changed.
“That would mean—”
“Lily is Eleanor's daughter,” Mercer said.
“And Elena is Eleanor's mother.””
Tyler stared at him.
“Then how old was Elena?””
“Twenty-two.””
He looked at me.
“So she had Eleanor first.””
Mercer nodded.
“Then Lily.””
I couldn't breathe.
The pieces began rearranging themselves inside my head.
The medical files.
The blood sample.
The erased records.
The reason Elena had looked at me like she was grieving.
“Why didn't she tell me?””
Mercer answered quietly.
“Because she thought you were safer without knowing.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
I pointed toward the projector.
“My father said Vale would kill us.””
“He would've.””
“Then why was I taken to Black Ridge?””
“Because Vale needed the sample.””
“What sample?””
“Your blood.””
“Why mine?””
Mercer looked at the screen.
“Because your body carried the complete marker.””
I swallowed.
“And Lily?””
“She inherited it.””
Rourke stared at him.
“So Echo was an experiment.””
“No.””
Mercer turned toward him.
“Echo was a search.””
“For what?””
“The ability to identify children who could survive a particular exposure.””
“What exposure?””
Mercer's eyes moved to me.
“The substance inside the cylinder.””
I remembered the symbol.
“What was it?””
“An experimental biological agent.””
Tyler cursed under his breath.
“That's why they wanted the children.””
“They wanted the carriers.””
“Why?””
“Because the marker made them valuable.””
I shook my head.
“Valuable to whom?””
Mercer didn't answer.
I stepped closer.
“Who was paying for this?””
He looked directly at me.
“Your father.””
Silence.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“My father wouldn't.””
“He did.””
“You're lying.””
“I wish I were.””
I backed away.
The man who had taught me how to ride a bicycle.
The man who stayed awake beside me during thunderstorms.
The man whose old shirts still smelled like cedar long after he'd died.
“You're saying he helped them.””
“No.””
Mercer shook his head.
“He helped build Echo.””
My chest tightened.
“Why?””
“Because he believed he could control it.””
“And when he couldn't?””
“He tried to destroy it.””
Mercer turned the projector toward the final frame.
My father was standing beside a woman.
Elena.
She was younger.
Pregnant.
I stared at the image.
“That was before I was born.””
“Yes.””
“They knew.””
“They knew you were coming.””
I pressed a hand against my mouth.
Mercer continued.
“Your father discovered that Vale intended to use Echo on living subjects.””
“He refused.””
“He tried to stop him.””
“And Vale killed him.””
“Yes.””
The answer came too quickly.
I looked up.
“Then why did Vale tell everyone my father died in an accident?””
“Because the truth would expose Echo.””
Rourke's voice was quiet.
“How many people knew?””
Mercer hesitated.
“Six.””
“Who?””
“Myself. Vale. Elena.
Your father. Colonel Hayes.””
Tyler looked at him.
“My father?””
“Your father knew part of it.””
Tyler stared.
“What part?””
“That Eleanor survived.””
My brother's face went rigid.
“You're telling me my parents knew?””
“Yes.””
“And they let me believe she was dead?””
“They believed it was the only way to keep you alive.””
Tyler laughed bitterly.
“So everyone was protecting everyone except us.””
Mercer didn't respond.
I looked at him.
“Where's Elena?””
He lowered his eyes.
“Vale took her.””
“Is she alive?””
“Yes.””
“How do you know?””
“Because he needs her.””
“For what?””
“To unlock the last file.””
I glanced at the drive.
“The one we found.””
Mercer nodded.
“Your biological record.””
I stepped closer.
“Then let's get her.””
He shook his head.
“You don't understand.””
“Explain.””
“Vale isn't here for revenge.””
“Then why?””
“He needs Lily's DNA.””
My blood went cold.
“What happens if he gets it?””
“Echo becomes reproducible.””
Rourke's face tightened.
“You mean he can make more.””
“Yes.””
“How many?””
“As many as he wants.””
Tyler stared at the floor.
“And Lily is the key.””
Mercer nodded.
“Her genetic sequence completed what yours began.””
I closed my eyes.
Eight years.
Eight years of believing my life had been ordinary.
Office work.
Bills.
Family arguments.
A quiet apartment.
All of it built on a lie.
Then I remembered the photograph.
Lily's smile.
The little gap between her teeth.
My eyes.
My blood.
My daughter.
“Where is she?””
Mercer hesitated.
“There's something else.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
He reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded map.
He opened it on the table.
A red circle surrounded one location.
San Onofre.
A deserted training facility near the coast.
“Vale is taking Elena there.””
“Then that's where we're going.””
Mercer shook his head.
“Not yet.””
“Why?””
“Because Vale expects you to come.””
“Good.””
“He expects Rourke too.””
Rourke frowned.
“What does that matter?””
Mercer looked at him.
“Because the entire Black Ridge team was part of the plan.””
Rourke went still.
“All of us?””
“All of you.””
“Even Eleanor?””
“Especially her.””
I stared at him.
“What plan?””
Mercer folded the map.
“The night of Black Ridge wasn't an extraction operation.””
“What was it?””
“A selection.””
“For Echo?””
“For survivors.””
Rourke's expression hardened.
“How many teams?””
Mercer looked at me.
“Three.””
I felt sick.
“Three?””
“Black Ridge was the only team that survived.””
“Why?””
“Because somebody killed the other two.””
Tyler looked up.
“Who?””
Mercer didn't answer.
Instead, he pointed toward the tunnel entrance.
Headlights appeared in the distance.
A vehicle was approaching.
Fast.
Mercer picked up his weapon.
“They found us.””
Rourke moved toward the entrance.
“How many?””
“Enough.””
I grabbed the map.
“Then we're going.””
Mercer caught my wrist.
“No.””
I pulled free.
“You said you wanted me to know the truth.””
“I did.””
“Then stop deciding what happens to me.””
His eyes met mine.
“You're not a soldier anymore.””
“I never was.””
“That's exactly why you're dangerous.””
Rourke opened the tunnel door.
The sound of engines grew louder.
Tyler checked his weapon.
“We have seconds.””
I looked at Mercer.
“Where is Lily right now?””
He finally answered.
“She's at the San Onofre facility.””
I froze.
“You said she was with a foster family.””
“She was.””
“Then why is she there?””
Mercer's eyes darkened.
“Because Vale took her before we reached her.””
I felt the blood leave my face.
“You knew.””
“I found out ten minutes ago.””
“And you didn't tell me?””
“I needed you to come here first.””
“Why?””
Mercer looked toward the tunnel entrance.
“Because the only person who can save Lily is not you.””
My heart stopped.
“Then who?””
He looked at Rourke.
“You're going to hate the answer.””
Rourke tightened his grip on his rifle.
“Tell me.””
Mercer said,
“The man Lily calls Daddy.””
Tyler's face went white.
A second later, Mercer added,
“He isn't Tyler.””
Before anyone could react, the tunnel lights went out.
A woman's scream echoed from somewhere beneath the facility.
May you like
And I recognized the voice.
Elena.
