Chapter 132

Chapter 132

00:39:12

The elevator climbed in silence.

No one spoke.

No one moved.

The hum of machinery was the only sound inside the small metal box as it carried Damon, Luca, and Isabella higher and higher into the tower.

Toward answers.

Toward the truth.

Toward the woman Vale had hidden for twenty-three years.

Damon stared at the glowing numbers above the elevator doors.

His reflection stared back.

Tired.

Bruised.

Older than he remembered.

The past few days had changed him.

The island had changed him.

The truth about Luca had changed him.

Everything felt different now.

Nothing was simple anymore.

Not his past.

Not his future.

Not his feelings.

Especially not those.

Beside him, Luca leaned against the wall with his arms folded.

Calm on the surface.

Tense underneath.

Damon knew him well enough now to see the difference.

Luca's jaw was clenched.

His shoulders rigid.

His eyes fixed on the floor.

He was worried.

Not about himself.

About Damon.

As usual.

The realization made something warm ache inside his chest.

Before he could think about it too much, the elevator stopped.

A soft chime echoed.

The doors slid open.

Nobody moved immediately.

The hallway beyond looked nothing like the rest of the island.

No steel walls.

No armed guards.

No laboratory equipment.

Instead, warm golden lights illuminated elegant wooden floors.

Bookshelves lined the walls.

Paintings hung in ornate frames.

Fresh flowers sat on small tables.

It looked like the home of a wealthy grandmother.

Not a prison.

Not a place hidden inside a nightmare.

The contrast was disturbing.

"Vale did this," Isabella whispered.

Damon nodded.

Of course she did.

Everything here was deliberate.

Vale wanted comfort.

Beauty.

Normality.

A twisted attempt to disguise the horror beneath it all.

At the end of the corridor stood a single white door.

Simple.

Ordinary.

Yet Damon knew it was the most important door on the island.

The Vault.

Nobody spoke as they approached it.

The countdown reflected faintly in a nearby window.

00:38:41

Time was slipping away.

Children were still in danger.

Ascension was still coming.

And yet this moment felt important.

Necessary.

The answers hidden behind that door might determine everything.

Damon reached for the handle.

His hand hesitated.

Then Luca stepped beside him.

"You don't have to do this alone."

The words were simple.

But they hit harder than Damon expected.

For most of his life, he had carried everything by himself.

Pain.

Fear.

Responsibility.

Loss.

Then Luca appeared.

And somehow refused to let him stand alone.

Even when Damon pushed him away.

Even when he hated him.

Even when he learned the terrible truth about his past.

Luca stayed.

The realization settled heavily in his chest.

Damon looked at him.

For a moment neither spoke.

Then Damon nodded.

Together.

Luca nodded back.

Together.

Damon opened the door.

The room beyond was bright.

Quiet.

Peaceful.

A large window overlooked the island.

Bookshelves filled one wall.

A small fireplace sat in the corner.

Near the window stood an elderly woman.

Gray hair.

Thin frame.

Gentle eyes.

She looked fragile.

Yet somehow stronger than anyone Damon had ever met.

The moment she saw him

She froze.

A hand flew to her mouth.

Tears instantly filled her eyes.

"My Elena..."

The words broke something inside him.

The woman stumbled forward.

Not running.

Not rushing.

As if she was afraid he might disappear.

Afraid he wasn't real.

She stopped only inches away.

Her trembling hands reached toward his face.

Then paused.

Seeking permission.

Damon didn't move.

Didn't pull away.

Slowly, she touched his cheek.

And cried.

Not quietly.

Not politely.

Years of grief poured from her all at once.

"You look just like her."

Her voice shook.

"So much like her."

Damon swallowed hard.

The pain in her voice was unbearable.

Because this woman loved Elena.

Not as a symbol.

Not as a victim.

Not as a legend.

As her daughter.

As her child.

For the first time, Damon understood what twenty-three years of loss looked like.

The woman smiled through her tears.

"My name is Sophia."

Silence.

"Sophia Moretti."

His grandmother.

The words felt unreal.

His entire life he had believed he had no family left.

No grandparents.

No relatives.

Nobody.

Now a woman stood in front of him whose blood ran through his veins.

The feeling was overwhelming.

Sophia took his hand.

Holding it tightly.

As though anchoring herself to reality.

Then her expression changed.

The joy vanished.

Urgency replaced it.

Fear.

Determination.

The look of someone who knew they were running out of time.

"You have to stop her."

The room fell silent.

The weight of her words settled heavily around them.

Damon nodded.

"Tell us everything."

Sophia looked toward the window.

Toward the island below.

Toward the nightmare that had stolen decades of her life.

Then she began.

"Thirty years ago, I worked as a genetic researcher."

Luca and Isabella exchanged glances.

Neither interrupted.

Sophia continued.

"The project was called Genesis."

The name immediately caught their attention.

Vale had mentioned it.

Project Genesis.

The secret at the center of everything.

Sophia closed her eyes briefly.

As though remembering hurt.

"As scientists, we wanted to understand why some people adapted to hardship better than others."

She smiled sadly.

"The goal was noble."

A pause.

"We wanted to cure illnesses."

"Help trauma victims."

"Improve recovery."

"Save lives."

Damon listened carefully.

Every word mattered.

Every answer mattered.

Then Sophia's expression darkened.

"That's when Vale entered the project."

The name immediately poisoned the room.

Vale.

Always Vale.

The source of every nightmare.

"At first she was brilliant."

Sophia laughed bitterly.

"Everyone admired her."

"Everyone trusted her."

"Even me."

The regret in her voice was unmistakable.

Then she looked directly at Damon.

"Until she met Elena."

Silence.

The room seemed to hold its breath.

Sophia smiled softly.

"My daughter was extraordinary."

The love in her voice was obvious.

Unshakable.

"Not because she was perfect."

"Not because she was gifted."

"Because she never stopped fighting."

A tear slid down Sophia's cheek.

"Every hardship made her stronger."

"Every setback made her kinder."

"Every failure taught her something."

Sophia's smile trembled.

"Vale became obsessed with her."

The word landed heavily.

Obsessed.

Not inspired.

Not impressed.

Obsessed.

The distinction mattered.

A lot.

"She wanted to understand Elena."

Sophia shook her head.

"Then she wanted to recreate her."

The room fell silent.

Luca frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Sophia laughed sadly.

"Vale couldn't accept that Elena was simply herself."

"She believed people could be engineered."

"Designed."

"Perfected."

The horror of it settled over them.

Then Sophia whispered:

"When Elena refused further testing, Vale took it personally."

The room grew colder.

"She stole our research."

"She disappeared."

"And years later..."

Sophia looked toward the island.

"...she built this place."

Nobody spoke.

Because they already knew the rest.

The laboratories.

The children.

The experiments.

The Program.

The suffering.

Sophia's eyes filled with tears again.

"Thousands of children suffered because one woman couldn't accept being told no."

The statement hung heavily in the air.

Then Damon finally asked the question that had haunted him for years.

"Why me?"

The room became silent.

Sophia looked directly into his eyes.

Really looked at him.

Not as a weapon.

Not as a project.

Not as an experiment.

As her grandson.

Then she smiled sadly.

"Because you're Elena's son."

Damon froze.

Sophia continued.

"Vale spent decades trying to recreate my daughter."

A pause.

"And then you appeared."

The realization slowly settled over him.

Horrible.

Terrifying.

Painful.

Vale didn't see Damon.

Not truly.

She saw proof.

Proof that Genesis worked.

Proof that her obsession had meaning.

Proof that all her crimes had been worth it.

Sophia shook her head firmly.

"She is wrong."

Her voice was stronger now.

Certain.

Unshakable.

"You're not special because of Genesis."

The words struck him harder than any punch.

"You're not valuable because of your genetics."

Another tear slipped down her cheek.

"You're valuable because you're Damon."

Silence.

Someone saw him.

Not as a symbol.

Not as an answer.

Not as a solution.

Just a person.

Just Damon.

Then alarms suddenly exploded throughout the tower.

Red lights flooded the room.

Emergency sirens screamed through hidden speakers.

Everyone jumped.

The countdown displayed on the wall changed.

00:30:00

The atmosphere instantly shifted.

Fear.

Urgency.

Panic.

Sophia's face turned white.

"No."

The word escaped before she could stop it.

Then Vale's voice echoed across the island.

Calm.

Pleasant.

Terrifying.

"Attention."

The announcement rang through every speaker.

"Ascension Protocol has begun."

Damon's blood ran cold.

The final phase had started.

And suddenly there wasn't much time left.