CHAPTER THREE- THE HIDDEN FILE
1232 Words
Amelia woke to the sound of her own scream.
She sat upright, gasping, her hands flying to her stomach. For several seconds she couldn't remember where she was. Then the darkness of the Blackwood mansion returned to her in fragments.
The lights had gone out.
Someone had grabbed her.
A gunshot had exploded.
Then nothing.
“Damian?”
No answer.
She pushed herself off the floor.
“Damian!”
A groan came from somewhere nearby.
“Amelia?”
Relief nearly knocked her down.
“I'm here.”
Damian appeared through the darkness, one hand pressed against his shoulder. Blood soaked the sleeve of his white shirt.
“You're hurt.”
“It's a graze.”
“You were shot.”
“I've had worse.”
She stared at him.
“Where's my mother?”
His expression changed.
“She disappeared.”
Amelia's stomach dropped.
“No.”
“I searched the entire room.”
“She was right here.”
“I know.”
Amelia hurried toward the hallway, but Damian caught her wrist.
“Don't.”
“Let go.”
“We don't know who is still inside.”
“My mother is out there.”
“And whoever took her may be waiting for you.”
She pulled free.
“You don't understand. I spent my whole life thinking she was dead.”
“I understand more than you think.”
She stopped.
“What does that mean?”
Damian looked away.
“Nothing.”
“Don't do that.”
“Do what?”
“Hide things from me.”
He stared at her.
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“And now?”
“Now I think keeping you ignorant is more dangerous.”
Her heart beat faster.
“Then tell me everything.”
Damian took a breath.
“My father wasn't just a scientist.”
“You said he experimented on people.”
“Yes.”
“What kind of experiments?”
“Genetic modification.”
Amelia's face went pale.
“Why?”
“He wanted to create something that could survive diseases, aging, almost anything.”
“Immortality.”
Damian nodded.
She remembered her mother's terrified face.
“That child cannot be born.”
Amelia wrapped her arms around herself.
“What did my mother mean?”
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
“No.”
“Then why did she look at my stomach like she was terrified?”
Damian didn't answer.
That silence told her enough.
Amelia stepped closer.
“You know something.”
“I know my father kept records.”
“About me?”
“Possibly.”
“Where are they?”
“Some were destroyed.”
“Some?”
He hesitated.
“There is a private archive beneath this estate.”
Amelia's eyes widened.
“You've been there?”
“Once.”
“And?”
“I was sixteen. My father caught me searching through it.”
“What did you see?”
Damian's jaw tightened.
“Children.”
Her blood ran cold.
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
“Were they alive?”
“Some.”
Amelia covered her mouth.
“My God.”
“I never understood why he kept them there.”
“Until now.”
“Yes.”
She looked down at her stomach.
“You think my baby is connected to them.”
“I think my father may have known about your family long before we met.”
Before Amelia could respond, footsteps echoed from the corridor.
Damian immediately pulled her behind him.
A guard appeared.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
“What happened?”
“We found this.”
He held out a phone.
Amelia recognized it immediately.
“That's Lily's.”
She grabbed it.
The screen was open to a video.
Her hands trembled as she pressed play.
Lily appeared on the screen, sitting in a dark room.
Her face was bruised.
“Amelia, if you're watching this, you need to leave Damian.”
Amelia's heart cracked.
“Lily…”
Lily continued.
“I found the truth about your mother. I also found something about you.”
The video suddenly distorted.
Then Lily whispered, “You're not who you think you are.”
The screen went black.
Amelia stared at the phone.
“What does that mean?”
Damian took it from her.
“I don't know.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“Because we don't have answers.”
“Then let's find them.”
He looked at her.
“How?”
“The archive.”
Damian's eyes narrowed.
“You can't go there.”
“Why?”
“Because my father isn't the only person who knows about it.”
“Who else?”
He didn't answer.
“Damian.”
“His associates.”
“Are they still alive?”
“Some.”
“And are they looking for me?”
“Yes.”
Amelia's fear returned.
“Then we don't have time.”
Damian studied her for a moment.
Finally, he nodded.
“Stay beside me.”
They moved through the mansion toward a hidden staircase behind the library.
Damian pressed his hand against a section of wall.
A lock clicked.
The bookshelf slid aside.
Amelia stared.
“You've got to be kidding.”
“Stay close.”
They descended into darkness.
The air grew colder with every step.
At the bottom was a steel door.
Damian entered a code.
The door opened.
Rows of files filled the room.
Photographs covered one wall.
Amelia walked toward them.
Her breath caught.
There were dozens of children.
Some were babies.
Some were teenagers.
Each photograph had a number.
She saw Damian's face tighten.
“Don't.”
But Amelia had already seen it.
A photograph near the center showed two newborn babies.
The label beneath it read:
PROJECT A-17: SUBJECTS AMELIA AND EVE.
Amelia couldn't breathe.
“Eve?”
Damian stared at the photograph.
“That's impossible.”
She turned toward him.
“Who is Eve?”
He looked at her.
“I don't know.”
“You said that already.”
“I swear.”
Amelia pointed at the photograph.
“Then why is my name here?”
Damian stepped closer.
“I don't have an answer.”
A printer suddenly came alive behind them.
Paper slid onto the tray.
They both turned.
Damian picked it up.
His face went blank.
“What?”
He handed it to Amelia.
She read the report.
Her hands began shaking.
SUBJECT AMELIA: SUCCESSFUL.
SUBJECT EVE: SUCCESSFUL.
NEXT GENERATION: PENDING.
MALE DONOR: DAMIAN BLACKWOOD.
Amelia looked at him.
“No.”
Damian stared at the page.
“I didn't know.”
“You're the donor?”
“I don't understand.”
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Someone was coming.
Damian grabbed Amelia's hand.
“We have to go.”
She couldn't move.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
Then a man's voice spoke through the steel.
“Damian, you finally found the file.”
Damian went rigid.
Amelia whispered, “Who is that?”
The voice chuckled.
“Tell her the truth, son.”
The lock began turning.
“And tell her why her baby was created.”
The door opened.
A man stepped into the room, smiling like he had been expecting them. Damian pulled Amelia behind him, but the stranger pointed at her stomach.
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