CHAPTER FIVE- THE BLOODY KEY
1223 Words
Amelia landed hard on a metal platform.
Damian crashed beside her, then immediately reached for her.
“Are you hurt?”
“My ankle.”
“Can you stand?”
She tried. Pain shot through her leg.
“I think so.”
Above them, the floor slammed shut.
They were trapped.
A red light flickered overhead.
Amelia looked around. “Where are we?”
“An old service tunnel.”
“How do you know?”
“My father built this place.”
“Of course he did.”
“Damian, my sister is upstairs.”
“I know.”
“And your father gave us ten minutes.”
“I know.”
“Then stop standing there.”
He looked at her.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Find a way out.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket.
“No signal.”
Amelia almost laughed.
“Perfect.”
A metallic sound echoed through the tunnel.
They both froze.
Someone was coming.
Damian raised his gun.
“Stay behind me.”
A figure emerged from the darkness.
Amelia’s heart stopped.
“Lily?”
Her sister stumbled forward.
Amelia rushed toward her.
“Lily!”
They collided in a desperate embrace.
“You’re alive.”
“Barely,” Lily whispered.
Amelia pulled back.
“Who did this to you?”
Lily looked at Damian.
“Not him.”
Damian lowered his gun.
“Then who?”
“I don't know.”
Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
“But I know what Victor wants.”
Amelia’s stomach tightened.
“What?”
Lily looked at her stomach.
“The baby.”
Amelia instinctively covered it.
“Why?”
“Because your baby can destroy everything he built.”
Damian frowned.
“Explain.”
Lily took a shaky breath.
“Before I was taken, I found documents in the hospital system. Someone had been accessing Amelia’s medical records for months.”
“Who?”
“Victor.”
Damian’s jaw tightened.
“What did he find?”
“Her blood type. Her genetic profile. Everything.”
Amelia stared at Lily.
“Why would he care about me before I even met Damian?”
“Because he knew who you were.”
The words chilled her.
Lily reached into her jacket and pulled out a small flash drive.
“I stole this.”
Damian took it.
“What is it?”
“Your mother’s file.”
Amelia’s breath caught.
“My mother?”
Lily nodded.
“Victor kept her records hidden.”
Damian studied the drive.
“Where did you find it?”
“In a private server beneath the hospital.”
A loud alarm suddenly sounded.
Lily jumped.
“They know we’re here.”
Damian grabbed Amelia’s hand.
“Move.”
They hurried through the tunnel.
Amelia limped beside him.
“Where are we going?”
“To the emergency exit.”
“Will it open?”
“It should.”
They reached a steel door.
Damian entered a code.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Amelia stared at the countdown displayed on a small screen above the door.
04:12.
“We’re running out of time.”
Damian punched the keypad.
“Come on.”
Lily suddenly pointed toward the wall.
“There.”
A tiny camera blinked above them.
“Victor can see us.”
Damian raised his gun and destroyed it.
The alarm became louder.
A voice filled the tunnel.
“Damian.”
Victor.
“Still trying to save everyone?”
Damian looked upward.
“Release Eve.”
“No.”
“Then you’ll lose everything.”
Victor laughed.
“You still don’t understand.”
The screen above the door changed.
A photograph appeared.
Amelia’s mother.
Standing beside Victor.
Beside her were two babies.
But something else was written beneath them.
SUBJECT A-17: AMELIA.
SUBJECT A-18: EVE.
DONOR: DAMIAN BLACKWOOD.
Amelia stared.
“Donor?”
Damian said absolutely nothing.
She turned toward him.
“You knew.”
“I didn’t.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I swear.”
Victor’s voice returned.
“Damian didn’t know. His mother did.”
Amelia froze.
“My mother?”
“She helped me create you.”
“No!”
Victor continued.
“She wanted to save herself. I wanted a perfect genetic subject. We both got what we wanted.”
Amelia’s eyes filled with tears.
“My mother would never do that.”
“She did.”
Lily grabbed her hand.
“Don’t listen to him.”
Victor laughed.
“Your mother regretted it. That’s why she stole Amelia and ran.”
Amelia’s heart broke.
“She chose me.”
“Yes.”
“And Eve?”
“She wasn’t strong enough to escape.”
A sob escaped Amelia.
Damian stepped beside her.
“We’re ending this.”
Victor’s voice became colder.
“You have two minutes.”
The steel door suddenly unlocked.
Damian pushed it open.
They rushed through.
The corridor beyond was empty.
Then a gunshot exploded.
Lily screamed.
Damian pulled Amelia down.
A bullet struck the wall.
“Get behind me!”
Another shot.
Damian fired back.
A guard fell from a balcony.
“Run!”
They raced toward the staircase.
Amelia’s ankle screamed with every step.
Then she heard a voice.
“Amelia!”
She looked up.
Eve stood behind a glass wall.
Her hands were pressed against it.
“Eve!”
Amelia rushed forward.
Damian grabbed her.
“Wait.”
“That’s my sister!”
The glass door opened.
Eve stepped into the corridor.
She looked exactly like Amelia.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Same trembling lips.
Amelia couldn’t move.
Eve whispered, “You came.”
Tears filled Amelia’s eyes.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
Eve shook her head.
“No. You haven’t.”
“What?”
“You didn’t know I existed.”
“I didn’t.”
Eve looked at Damian.
“He did.”
Damian stiffened.
“No.”
Eve stepped closer.
“You don’t remember me?”
“I’ve never met you.”
She smiled sadly.
“You were there.”
Amelia looked between them.
“What is she talking about?”
Eve reached into her pocket.
She pulled out an old photograph.
It showed Damian as a teenager standing beside two little girls.
Amelia’s heart stopped.
Damian stared at the picture.
His face went pale.
“I remember.”
Eve whispered, “You promised you’d come back for us.”
A voice sounded behind them.
Victor.
“And now he has.”
Damian turned.
Victor stood at the end of the corridor.
But he wasn’t alone.
Armed men surrounded him.
Victor smiled.
“Now we can finally begin.”
Amelia stepped backward.
“Begin what?”
Victor looked at her stomach.
“The birth.”
Damian raised his gun.
Victor nodded toward the armed men.
“Put the gun down.”
Damian didn’t move.
Victor smiled.
“Or your sister dies.”
Eve stepped in front of her.
“No.”
Victor frowned.
Eve looked at Amelia.
“I know how to stop him.”
She reached for Amelia’s hand.
“But you have to trust me.”
Amelia stared at her twin.
Then the lights went out.
A scream echoed through the corridor.
When the emergency lights returned, Eve was gone.
And in Amelia’s hand was a bloody key.
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