Chapter 9 - The Experiment That Began Before the Children Were Born
# Chapter 9 - The Experiment That Began Before the Children Were Born
Victoria Vance had been selected for Project Gemini before she ever met Charles Vance.
That was the truth hidden inside the final protocol.
And when Rebecca Reed opened the stolen file, she discovered something even more disturbing.
Victoria's marriage had not been the beginning of her nightmare.
It had been part of the experiment.
At the Vance estate, Catherine Bell stared at Charles as though she were looking at a stranger.
"Victoria?" she whispered.
Charles said nothing.
"You just told me Thomas needed treatment."
"He did."
"You said Noah and Daniel were selected to save him."
"They were involved in the protocol."
Catherine felt anger rise through her fear.
"Stop twisting your words. You said Thomas was the control. What does that mean?"
Charles moved toward his desk.
Catherine immediately retrieved the pistol from the carpet.
"Don't."
He stopped.
"You're making a mistake."
"No, Charles. I made my mistake nine years ago when I believed you loved me."
His expression hardened.
Catherine continued.
"Tell me what you did to Victoria."
Charles looked toward the rain-streaked windows.
For several seconds, he appeared to consider his options.
Then he spoke.
"Victoria was suffering from a rare neurological condition."
Catherine frowned.
"What condition?"
"An inherited disorder affecting certain memory and immune pathways."
"Was she diagnosed?"
"Her family had a history."
"That isn't what I asked."
Charles sighed.
"Her father participated in the earliest research."
Catherine stared at him.
"Her father?"
"Professor Edward Whitmore."
The name was familiar.
Edward Whitmore had been a respected neurologist before his sudden death nearly fifteen years earlier.
Catherine remembered reading his published research during medical school.
He had studied inherited neurological disorders and experimental cellular therapies.
But his final research papers had mysteriously disappeared.
Charles continued.
"Edward believed the condition could be treated before symptoms became irreversible."
"And you funded his work?"
"Eventually."
Catherine's eyes narrowed.
"How did you know him?"
Charles hesitated.
Then he answered.
"He was my mentor."
Catherine felt a chill.
"Did Victoria know?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because Edward didn't want her involved."
Catherine stepped closer.
"Yet you married her."
Charles's expression changed.
And in that brief moment, Catherine understood.
"Oh, my God."
He looked away.
"You married her because of the research."
Charles said nothing.
Catherine's voice broke.
"Was any of it real?"
He slowly turned back.
"What?"
"Your marriage. Your family. Thomas. Was any of it real to you?"
For the first time, Charles appeared genuinely wounded.
"I loved Victoria."
Catherine laughed bitterly.
"You used her."
"I was trying to save her."
"From something she didn't even know she had?"
Charles's jaw tightened.
"She would have died without intervention."
"According to whom?"
He did not answer.
Catherine lowered the pistol slightly.
"According to you?"
Silence.
Then Charles whispered:
"According to her father."
At 5:34 a.m., Rebecca Reed and the boy named Daniel were hiding inside an abandoned maintenance building near the eastern boundary of the Vance estate.
Daniel sat on a dusty wooden bench, wrapped in Rebecca's coat.
He was shivering.
His bare feet were scratched from running through the drainage tunnel.
Rebecca knelt beside him.
"Are you hurt?"
He shook his head.
"Just cold."
She examined his hands.
There were old needle marks along his forearms.
Rebecca recognized them immediately.
Her stomach twisted.
"Did they give you medicine tonight?"
Daniel nodded.
"Dr. Price brought a syringe."
"Did she use it?"
"No."
Rebecca exhaled.
"Good."
Daniel studied her face.
"Are you the Rebecca who helped Noah?"
She froze.
"Yes."
His eyes widened.
"Emily told me about you."
Rebecca smiled sadly.
"Did she?"
"She said you were brave."
Rebecca looked away.
Brave.
The word felt undeserved.
She had rescued Noah.
But she had left Daniel behind.
She had told herself there was no other choice.
For nine years, she had lived with that decision.
Daniel touched her sleeve.
"Do you know my mother?"
Rebecca swallowed.
"Yes."
"Is she nice?"
Rebecca's eyes filled.
"She is."
"Does she know about me?"
"Not yet."
Daniel looked down at the photograph in his hands.
"I've been waiting for her."
Rebecca could barely speak.
"I know."
He studied her.
"Why didn't she come?"
Rebecca closed her eyes.
"Because someone told her you were dead."
Daniel was silent for a long time.
Then he whispered:
"Did they tell her that about Noah too?"
Rebecca nodded.
The boy looked at the photograph again.
"Then she's going to be really sad when she finds out."
Rebecca began crying.
Daniel reached toward her.
"It's okay."
She shook her head.
"No, sweetheart."
He looked confused.
Rebecca took his small hand.
"It's not okay. What happened to you was wrong."
Daniel stared at her.
No adult had ever said that to him before.
After a moment, he leaned forward and rested his head against her shoulder.
Rebecca held him.
For the first time in nine years, she allowed herself to imagine that perhaps she could save both boys.
Then her phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared.
You have the wrong child.
Rebecca froze.
A second message followed.
Check the DNA records before you take him to Victoria.
She stared at the screen.
Daniel noticed her expression.
"What's wrong?"
Rebecca forced a smile.
"Nothing."
But her hands had begun trembling.
Because the message contained an attachment.
A laboratory report.
And at the bottom was a conclusion that contradicted everything she believed.
Subject B: No confirmed maternal relationship to Victoria Vance.
At St. Catherine's Medical Center, Detective Elena Brooks received authorization to search the Vance estate's lower medical facility.
The emergency warrant had been approved after investigators presented the children's statements, evidence of physical injuries, the altered medical records, and the footage showing Thomas's falsified maternity admission.
Elena immediately contacted the tactical response team.
"Secure the property. Prioritize locating any children and obtaining medical assistance for anyone found inside."
The officer on the other end acknowledged.
Elena ended the call.
Victoria stood nearby.
"You're going now?"
"Yes."
"I'm coming."
"No."
Victoria stared at her.
"Elena—"
"The property may contain armed security personnel. We don't know what conditions exist underground."
"My child is there."
"We don't know whether the boy remains at the estate."
Victoria's expression hardened.
"Then find him."
"We will."
Elena softened.
"Victoria, I need you to stay with Thomas and Noah."
Victoria looked through the glass window.
Thomas had fallen asleep again.
Noah was watching him.
The two boys looked painfully small beneath the hospital lights.
Victoria exhaled.
"Fine."
Elena nodded.
Then she hesitated.
"There's something else."
Victoria looked up.
"What?"
"We located a former research assistant who worked with Professor Edward Whitmore."
Victoria frowned.
"My father?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"The assistant says your father was involved in the early development of Project Gemini."
Victoria stared at her.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"My father died before Charles established the foundation."
Elena opened her notebook.
"The assistant claims the project existed under a different name long before Charles took control."
Victoria felt a cold sensation spread through her chest.
"What name?"
Elena looked directly at her.
"Project Eve."
Victoria stopped breathing.
She knew that name.
Not from her father's research.
From her childhood.
When she was seven years old, she had discovered a locked room in her father's laboratory.
On the door was a small silver plaque.
EVE.
Her father had caught her trying to open it.
He had become furious.
It was the only time she remembered him shouting at her.
"Never go near that room again."
Victoria had cried.
Her father had apologized.
Then he had made her promise never to mention the room to anyone.
She had kept that promise for more than thirty years.
Until now.
"Elena," she whispered, "I remember something."
The detective stopped.
"What?"
Victoria looked toward the hospital window.
"My father had a laboratory."
"Where?"
"At our old family estate."
"Is the property still standing?"
Victoria nodded slowly.
"I think so."
Elena opened her notebook.
"Do you know the address?"
Victoria hesitated.
Then she said:
"Whitmore House."
Elena's expression changed.
"Victoria, that property was purchased by Vance Holdings eleven years ago."
Victoria felt her knees weaken.
"Charles bought my father's house?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't I know?"
Elena did not answer.
Victoria looked toward the dark sky.
Her childhood home.
Her father's research.
Her marriage.
Her missing child.
Everything was connected.
And she had never noticed.
At Facility Seven, Emily sat across from Dr. Adrian Mercer.
The physician had returned after speaking with Charles.
He looked older than he had an hour earlier.
Emily watched him carefully.
"You said seventeen children."
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"How many are still alive?"
He hesitated.
"At least twelve."
Emily felt sick.
"At least?"
"Some were transferred to facilities I no longer have access to."
"Where?"
"Different countries."
Emily stared at him.
"You sold them?"
Adrian flinched.
"No."
"Then what do you call moving children around without telling their families?"
He looked down.
Emily leaned forward.
"Tell me what happened to the others."
Adrian rubbed his forehead.
"Some developed serious complications."
"What kind?"
"Neurological deterioration. Immune reactions. Organ damage."
Emily felt her stomach twist.
"Because of the treatments?"
"Possibly."
"Possibly?"
Adrian looked at her.
"Emily, I was wrong."
She laughed bitterly.
"That doesn't bring anyone back."
"I know."
"Then help the ones who are still alive."
Adrian hesitated.
Emily studied him.
"You're afraid of Charles."
"Yes."
"Then why are you still working for him?"
Adrian looked toward the locked door.
"Because he has something I can't afford to lose."
Emily frowned.
"What?"
Adrian's eyes filled.
"My daughter."
Emily went still.
"You have a daughter?"
He nodded.
"She's eleven."
"Where is she?"
Adrian looked away.
"Inside the program."
Emily felt a chill.
"What's her name?"
He hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Lucy."
Emily's heart stopped.
She knew Lucy.
A quiet girl with blond hair who had lived in the lower facility for almost three years.
Lucy loved drawing butterflies.
She had disappeared six months earlier.
The doctors told Emily she had been transferred to a better hospital.
Emily stared at Adrian.
"Lucy Mercer?"
He nodded.
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"Doctor..."
Adrian looked up.
Emily swallowed.
"Lucy told me she didn't have a father."
His face crumpled.
"She doesn't know."
"Why?"
"Because Charles threatened to hurt her if I told anyone."
Emily looked at the man she had hated for years.
For the first time, she saw not only a collaborator but also a frightened father.
That did not excuse what he had done.
But it explained why he had remained.
Emily leaned forward.
"Then help me find her."
Adrian stared at her.
"How?"
She reached beneath her pendant.
A small folded piece of paper emerged.
Adrian's eyes widened.
"What is that?"
Emily placed it on the table.
"A list."
"Of what?"
"Every child I remember."
Adrian unfolded it.
Seventeen names.
Seventeen dates.
Seventeen lives.
At the bottom, Emily had written one additional name.
Victoria Vance.
Adrian froze.
He looked up.
"Why is Victoria on this list?"
Emily's expression hardened.
"Because she was Subject Zero."
At the Vance estate, Catherine Bell watched Charles open an old file on his computer.
He had finally agreed to show her part of the Gemini records.
But only after she threatened to send everything she knew to the police.
The screen displayed a photograph of Victoria at seventeen.
She stood beside her father in a laboratory.
Her dark hair was tied back.
She was smiling.
Catherine leaned closer.
"What is this?"
"An early research photograph."
"Why was Victoria involved?"
Charles hesitated.
"Her father believed she carried a rare genetic variation."
"Did she consent?"
"She was a minor."
Catherine stared at him.
"That's not an answer."
Charles looked away.
Catherine continued.
"What did Edward do to his daughter?"
Charles's expression darkened.
"He tried to protect her."
"From what?"
"A condition that affected several members of her family."
Catherine studied the photograph.
Victoria looked healthy.
Happy.
Unaware.
"What condition?"
Charles opened another file.
A medical report appeared.
Catherine scanned the first page.
Then the second.
Her eyes widened.
"This isn't a treatment protocol."
Charles said nothing.
"It's an experimental monitoring program."
"Yes."
Catherine turned toward him.
"You were studying how certain interventions affected memory and immune responses."
Charles nodded.
"Initially."
"And the children?"
He hesitated.
"They were part of a later phase."
Catherine felt sick.
"Because they shared genetic characteristics with Victoria?"
"Some did."
She looked back at the screen.
Then she noticed a familiar name.
Rebecca Reed.
Catherine frowned.
"Rebecca was involved before Noah was born?"
Charles's jaw tightened.
"Yes."
"How?"
"She worked for Edward Whitmore."
Catherine stared at him.
"Rebecca knew Victoria's father?"
Charles nodded.
"Long before she met me."
Catherine felt the pieces shifting.
Rebecca had always claimed she joined the Vance Foundation as a young nurse.
But the records suggested a much longer connection.
"Then Rebecca knew about Project Eve."
Charles said nothing.
Catherine looked at him.
"She knew what happened to Victoria."
"Some of it."
"And she never told her?"
Charles's expression hardened.
"Rebecca has her own secrets."
Catherine studied him.
"You're trying to turn me against her."
"I'm telling you the truth."
"Your version of it."
Charles leaned forward.
"Catherine, Rebecca wasn't simply a nurse who discovered something terrible."
"Then what was she?"
Charles hesitated.
"She helped design the original protocol."
Catherine froze.
"No."
"Yes."
"Rebecca was barely old enough."
"She wasn't the lead researcher. She worked with Edward's team."
Catherine looked toward the screen.
A photograph appeared.
Edward Whitmore standing beside several researchers.
And there, near the edge of the group, stood a much younger Rebecca Reed.
Catherine felt her stomach tighten.
Rebecca had been part of the project from the beginning.
At 6:03 a.m., Rebecca opened the final protocol on her portable computer.
Daniel slept beside her on the bench.
The maintenance building was silent except for rain dripping through a damaged roof.
Rebecca entered the decryption key she had memorized years earlier.
The file opened.
PROJECT GEMINI — FINAL PROTOCOL.
She scrolled through the introduction.
Most of it was familiar.
The early neurological research.
The genetic screening.
The transfer of experimental procedures from Project Eve.
Then she reached a section she had never seen.
SUBJECT ZERO: VICTORIA WHITMORE VANCE.
Rebecca's heart began pounding.
She continued reading.
The protocol described a long-term study designed to investigate the relationship between inherited biological markers, memory formation, and experimental interventions.
Victoria had been monitored since adolescence.
Her medical records had been collected without her full knowledge.
Her relationships had been observed.
Her pregnancies had been documented.
And after her first delivery, the program had entered a new phase.
Rebecca covered her mouth.
She had believed Charles was exploiting Victoria's medical history.
But the records suggested something far more deliberate.
The pregnancies had been anticipated.
The infants had been selected.
And the placement of Thomas in Victoria's care had been planned before he was born.
Rebecca scrolled down.
A heading appeared.
PHASE THREE — MATERNAL ATTACHMENT OBSERVATION.
She stared at the words.
The protocol described monitoring Victoria's emotional attachment to a child she believed was biologically hers.
Thomas.
Rebecca felt physically ill.
Charles had not simply given Victoria another woman's baby to replace the child she lost.
He had used their relationship as part of the research.
Every birthday.
Every bedtime story.
Every moment of love between mother and son.
Observed.
Recorded.
Analyzed.
Rebecca continued reading.
Then she reached the final section.
PHASE FOUR — DISCLOSURE RESPONSE.
Her breath caught.
The protocol described a planned event in which Victoria would discover the truth about Thomas's birth.
Researchers intended to observe her psychological and physiological responses.
Rebecca stared at the screen.
A date had been entered beside the final phase.
October 11.
Today.
She checked the time.
6:07 a.m.
Then she saw the activation status.
PHASE FOUR: ACTIVE.
Rebecca's blood turned cold.
This wasn't an accidental exposure.
Someone had planned for Victoria to discover the truth today.
The restaurant.
Noah.
The cufflink.
The anonymous messages.
The photographs.
The video.
Rebecca looked toward the sleeping boy beside her.
Had someone deliberately arranged the entire sequence?
Her phone vibrated.
A new message appeared.
You finally opened the file.
Rebecca stared at it.
Another message followed.
Now you understand why we needed Victoria to remember.
She typed quickly.
Who are you?
The reply came immediately.
Someone her father trusted.
Rebecca's hands trembled.
Edward Whitmore is dead.
A pause.
Then:
Are you certain?
Rebecca stopped breathing.
Another attachment arrived.
A photograph.
An elderly man sitting in a wheelchair beside a window.
His hair was white.
His face deeply lined.
But Rebecca recognized him immediately.
Professor Edward Whitmore.
Victoria's father.
The man whose funeral she had attended fifteen years earlier.
Alive.
Rebecca stared at the image.
Then a final message appeared.
Bring Victoria to Whitmore House.
Her father is waiting.
At St. Catherine's Medical Center, Victoria stood beside the window as the first pale light of morning touched the city.
She had not slept.
Her body ached with exhaustion.
But her mind would not stop.
Noah might be her biological son.
Another boy named Daniel might be connected to her first pregnancy.
Thomas had been placed in her care through a carefully constructed deception.
Catherine Bell was alive.
Rebecca Reed had disappeared again.
And her father's research had somehow become the foundation of Charles's secret program.
Victoria looked toward Thomas.
He was sleeping peacefully beside Noah.
For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine a future in which all three boys were safe.
A future without Charles.
Without lies.
Without locked doors.
Then her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Victoria stared at it.
An elderly man in a wheelchair.
White hair.
Familiar eyes.
Her father's eyes.
Her breath caught.
"No..."
A message followed.
Victoria, I know what Charles told you.
She gripped