Chapter 5 - We Reached the University Too Late—Someone Had Taken Lucas, and the Only Clue Was a Hospital Bracelet Left on His DeskLucas had disappeared from campus.
No struggle.
No witnesses.
No cameras working.
Just a bracelet on his desk.
The original newborn bracelet.
The same one from the Bell family.
On the back was a sentence.
You should have left him forgotten.
Sebastian's face became terrifying.
But I knew him well enough by then to see the difference.
He wasn't angry.
He was afraid.
“Why would someone take him now?”
I asked.
“Because he was found.”
“Who?”
“The person who knew what he was worth.”
“What is he worth?”
Sebastian looked at me.
“To me?”
“That's not what I mean.”
He lowered his voice.
“Luca is proof.”
“Proof of what?”
“That my brother stole him.”
“And?”
“That someone helped.”
He had spent seventeen years believing Luca died or disappeared permanently.
Now someone wanted the truth buried again.
We traced the disappearance to an old medical research building.
Inside, we found files.
The Bell family.
Elena.
Marco.
Sebastian.
And Luca.
The project was called Northstar.
It wasn't criminal experimentation.
It was something worse.
A private genetic study.
Certain families were being tracked for rare inherited traits.
The Moretti family was one of them.
Luca had a marker linked to a potentially fatal childhood disorder.
Doctors had predicted he might need specialized treatment.
But the people running Northstar wanted something else.
They wanted to sell access to the genetic data.
The babies were assets.
Luca was one.
His mother discovered the truth.
She tried to stop them.
Marco helped.
They disappeared.
The trail went cold.
Until now.
I found a video.
Elena.
Alive.
Speaking to the camera.
“If you're watching this, my son survived.”
Sebastian stepped closer.
“She knew.”
Elena continued:
“Sebastian, if you're alive, I'm sorry.”
His face crumbled.
“I could not trust you.”
I looked at him.
“She believed someone close to you was compromised.”
Then she said:
“Marco did not take Luca to hurt you.”
“He took him to save him.”
Sebastian closed his eyes.
Elena continued:
“Northstar has a list of children.”
“Luca is one.”
“They are still searching.”
“Protect him.”
The video ended.
Silence.
Then a message appeared.
HE IS AT THE OLD MERCY HOSPITAL.
We went.
The hospital had been abandoned for years.
Inside, we found Lucas.
Alive.
Bound.
Terrified.
I approached first.
“Lucas?”
He looked at me.
“Who are you?”
“A nurse.”
He stared.
“Where is Sebastian?”
“Coming.”
A door slammed.
Sebastian entered.
Lucas looked at him.
For a moment, neither moved.
Sebastian whispered:
“Luca.”
The young man frowned.
“How do you know my name?”
May you like
Sebastian stopped six feet away.
“Because I have been looking for you for seventeen years.”
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