Chapter 4 - The Hidden Laboratory Proved Nathan's Father Had Experimented on His Own Family—and Someone Had Recently Returned to Finish the WorkThe room was sealed.
No windows.
The door wouldn't open.
Nathan's security team worked from the other side.
I examined the laboratory.
Old equipment.
Expired chemicals.
Medical records.
And several photographs.
The first showed Nathan as a child.
The second showed his younger sister.
The third showed his father.
The fourth showed Nathan's mother.
Each photograph had notes beneath it.
SUBJECT A.
SUBJECT B.
SUBJECT C.
I felt sick.
Nathan stared.
"That's me."
"Yes."
"Why is there a record of my childhood?"
I found the original research logs.
Nathan's father had been conducting environmental exposure studies.
He believed certain toxins could enhance or suppress specific genetic traits.
The studies had been illegal.
His own family had been the test group.
Nathan had developed mild symptoms.
His sister had developed others.
Their mother had become chronically ill.
The experiments were stopped after their father died.
Or so everyone believed.
Then we found newer notes.
Dated only eight months earlier.
Someone had resumed the work.
The name at the top:
Dr. Malcolm Reeves.
Nathan's face hardened.
"My doctor."
The doctor had access to the family medical records.
He had prescribed treatments.
He had diagnosed the twins.
He had controlled which tests were ordered.
And he had dismissed environmental causes every time someone suggested them.
He wasn't simply incompetent.
He was part of the experiment.
The door suddenly opened.
Security rushed in.
We ran into the hallway.
Nathan called Reeves.
No answer.
The security team searched the estate.
He was gone.
His office was empty.
His safe was open.
Inside was a photograph of Nathan's wife.
On the back:
She discovered the greenhouse.
We returned there.
Beneath the soil was a sealed metal container.
Inside were chemical drums.
Testing equipment.
And a notebook.
Reeves had written everything.
The boys' illness had been intentional.
He wanted to measure their response over time.
He had been secretly increasing their exposure.
But why?
The answer appeared on the final page.
Phase One: Determine susceptibility.
Phase Two: Identify antidote.
Phase Three: Repeat with controlled subjects.
There was a fourth line.
Phase Four: Apply to target families.
This wasn't about the twins.
The twins were test subjects.
A prototype.
The real goal was to create a chemical system that could incapacitate specific people without affecting others.
A weapon.
Nathan read the page.
His expression became deadly.
"Reeves used my sons to develop a weapon."
I nodded.
Then another name appeared.
Sponsor: V.C. Holdings.
Nathan looked at me.
"What is V.C. Holdings?"
His security chief answered.
"Your family trust."
Nathan stared.
"That isn't possible."
I checked the financial records.
Someone had used Nathan's own money to fund the experiments.
Then the identity of the person authorizing the payments appeared.
Valeria Coleman.
May you like
Nathan's sister.
He went completely silent.
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