Chapter 5 - THE MAN BEHIND THE HOSPITAL DOOR
Nathan's death changed everything.
Federal investigators took control.
Daniel was questioned.
I was questioned.
Jonah's records were sealed.
Tyler's condition became national news.
But someone was still moving pieces behind the scenes.
The investigator traced the hospital access logs.
One person had entered Nathan's office the night before he died.
Evan Hale.
Daniel's cousin.
We found him at a private airfield.
He tried to flee.
He failed.
During interrogation, he finally confessed.
But his confession revealed something worse.
“The person running the research isn't me.”
“Who?”
Evan looked terrified.
“He's the one who convinced my father.”
“Name.”
“Dr. Victor Kane.”
Daniel froze.
“Impossible.”
“Why?”
“Because Kane died.”
Evan shook his head.
“That's what everyone thinks.”
Victor Kane had been the chief scientist behind the original research.
He had disappeared after the trial collapse.
He was presumed dead.
Instead, he had built a private network.
And he had been using children with the mutation to continue research.
The question was why Tyler.
Why Jonah.
Why now?
Evan answered.
“Because they need three compatible genetic profiles.”
“Three?”
“Tyler.”
“Jonah.”
“And?”
“Daniel.”
Silence.
Daniel stared.
“I don't have the mutation.”
Evan laughed bitterly.
“You do.”
Daniel looked at me.
“What?”
“The mutation has a delayed expression.”
“You could remain healthy for decades.”
“Until?”
“Stress. Injury. Illness. Age.”
Daniel's face went pale.
The same disease that threatened Tyler and might threaten Jonah could eventually affect him.
And Kane had known.
They needed Daniel's DNA to complete the treatment.
The transplant wasn't the end.
It was the beginning.
Kane wanted a living family line.
Three generations.
Three genetic profiles.
One cure.
And absolute control over the patent.
That afternoon, Daniel received a call.
Victor Kane.
“You have something I need.”
Daniel answered.
“You already took enough.”
Kane laughed.
“You don't understand.”
“Where is Tyler?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
“With me.”
Daniel's face hardened.
“Let him go.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“When I have the complete genetic set.”
Daniel asked,
“You took Tyler.”
“Yes.”
“You want Jonah.”
“Yes.”
“And me.”
“Yes.”
“What happens then?”
“You all get treated.”
“Or killed?”
Kane laughed.
“Depends on cooperation.”
I listened.
Then Daniel said,
“You're a coward.”
Silence.
“You've spent your life experimenting on children because you can't build anything without stealing from people.”
Kane hung up.
Daniel looked at me.
“I know where he is.”
“Where?”
“Old research center in West Virginia.”
We traveled there with federal agents.
The facility was abandoned.
Mostly.
The basement was active.
We found Tyler.
Alive.
Weak.
Terrified.
He hugged Jonah immediately.
Jonah held him.
“I came back.”
Tyler cried.
“I knew you would.”
Then a voice echoed through the hallway.
“Touching.”
Victor Kane stepped from the shadows.
He was older.
Gray-haired.
Thin.
But still calm.
Daniel stepped forward.
“You're finished.”
Kane smiled.
“No.”
He pointed toward the ceiling.
A timer began counting down.
Ten minutes.
He had planted explosives.
“Take my research.”
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“Let the boys go.”
“You don't understand.”
Kane pointed at Jonah.
“He is worth more than your entire company.”
Jonah stepped forward.
“You mean my blood.”
“Yes.”
“My DNA.”
“Yes.”
Jonah looked at Tyler.
“You hurt him.”
“Necessary.”
Jonah's face hardened.
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“People aren't experiments.”
Kane smiled.
“That's what every frightened child says.”
Jonah replied,
“And that's what every coward says before hurting one.”
Kane raised his gun.
Daniel moved.
The shot went wide.
Federal agents opened fire.
Kane escaped through a side corridor.
Explosions began.
Daniel grabbed Jonah.
I grabbed Tyler.
We ran.
The facility collapsed behind us.
Outside, helicopters arrived.
The boys were safe.
But Kane was gone.
The next morning, federal agents found another hidden lab.
Inside were dozens of files.
One contained my name.
Another contained Jonah's.
And one contained a single photograph.
Daniel, me, and Jonah.
Taken fourteen years ago.
May you like
Before Tyler was born.
Someone had been watching us long before we knew.
