Marcus stared at the photograph.
**HELLO, MICHAEL. — DAD**
For thirty-four years, he had believed Jonathan Thorne was dead.
Now Jonathan was standing in the same building where Khloe was being held.
“I’m going,” Marcus said.
Daniel caught his arm.
“Then I’m coming.”
“The message says alone.”
“Adrian wants you emotional. Angry. Confused. That makes you easier to control.”
Marcus pulled away.
“He has my wife.”
“And that is exactly why you need me.”
Marcus stared at him, then headed for the exit.
“Stay out of sight.”
---
The abandoned research facility smelled of dust and antiseptic.
Marcus entered alone.
“Khloe?”
“Marcus!”
Her voice came from deeper inside.
He ran toward it.
A steel door opened.
Khloe stood inside.
Marcus crossed the room and pulled her into his arms.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“The baby?”
“I’m okay.”
For several seconds, Project 417, Daniel, Isabella and every lie surrounding them disappeared.
There was only Khloe.
Then someone applauded.
Slowly.
Marcus turned.
Adrian Vale Jr. stood near the wall.
Beside him was the older man from the photograph.
Jonathan Thorne.
Marcus stared at him.
Jonathan’s eyes filled with emotion.
“Michael.”
“My name is Marcus.”
Jonathan nodded sadly.
“That’s probably what I deserve.”
Marcus stepped between him and Khloe.
“Are you my father?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
Jonathan removed an old photograph.
Elizabeth Sterling held a newborn child while Jonathan stood beside her.
Unlike the photograph from Box 417, Daniel was nowhere in sight.
“Your mother and I tried to expose Project 417,” Jonathan said. “Vale discovered what we were doing.”
“Why was my identity changed?”
“To keep you alive.”
Adrian laughed.
“Tell him the rest.”
Jonathan’s expression hardened.
“Not now.”
“Tell him why I lost my childhood so his son could have one.”
Marcus looked at Adrian.
“What happened to you?”
Adrian stepped closer.
“My father needed a healthy child to preserve my identity if I died. You were selected.”
“But you survived.”
“Yes.”
“And suddenly there were two Adrian Vale Juniors.”
“Exactly.”
Jonathan continued.
“Elizabeth discovered the project. She stole you back and created Marcus Thorne.”
Marcus looked at him.
“Then why disappear?”
“Because Vale threatened everyone connected to you.”
Khloe spoke quietly.
“Adrian Vale is dead.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“The original Adrian Vale died twenty-eight years ago.”
Marcus frowned.
“Then who continued Project 417?”
Jonathan and Adrian exchanged a look.
That was when Marcus understood.
“You.”
Adrian smiled.
“Eventually.”
“You became the thing that destroyed your childhood.”
“My childhood was already destroyed.”
“That doesn’t justify destroying anyone else’s.”
Adrian’s smile vanished.
“You got a mother. A home. A name. I spent my life proving I existed.”
Khloe moved closer to Marcus.
“And tonight?”
Adrian looked at her.
“I needed all the Sterlings frightened enough to expose what they knew.”
“You had me injected.”
“I ordered no injection.”
Khloe froze.
“Then who did?”
Adrian’s expression changed.
For the first time, he appeared genuinely confused.
“I thought Isabella stopped someone from pushing you.”
Marcus looked at Jonathan.
“If Adrian didn’t order it, who did?”
A gunshot exploded.
Jonathan collapsed.
Khloe screamed.
Marcus dragged her behind a metal table.
Adrian turned toward the upper observation window.
A figure stood behind the glass.
Daniel Sterling.
Marcus stared.
“Daniel?”
But Adrian shook his head.
“That isn’t Daniel.”
The man stepped into the light.
The resemblance was extraordinary.
But not perfect.
Jonathan, bleeding on the floor, looked up.
Pure terror entered his face.
“No…”
Marcus heard footsteps descending the stairs.
The stranger entered the laboratory.
He looked first at Jonathan.
Then at Marcus.
Finally at Khloe.
“Thirty years,” he said. “And none of you ever understood Project 417.”
Marcus rose slowly.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“Daniel Sterling.”
Khloe shook her head.
“No. My father is Daniel.”
The stranger’s smile widened.
“No, Khloe.”
He looked toward the doorway.
The Daniel who had followed Marcus into the building stood there, equally stunned.
The stranger raised his gun.
“One of us is Daniel Sterling.”
Then he pointed the weapon at Khloe’s father.
“And the other has been living his life for eleven years.”