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Chapter Twenty-Five: The Race for File Nineteen
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2026-08-05 23:58:58The laboratory became eerily quiet.
Every pair of eyes fixed on the old computer terminal.
The green text remained unchanged.
EXTERNAL ACCESS DETECTED
FILE 19 ACCESSED REMOTELY
Dr. Nathaniel Dawson didn't blink.
His hands trembled slightly as he moved toward the terminal.
"No..."
He reached the keyboard and pressed several keys in quick succession.
Nothing happened.
The system ignored him.
"It won't respond," he murmured.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I'm no longer the administrator."
A chill settled over the room.
"You built this place," Ronan said.
"I did."
"And you can't access it?"
Dawson gave a bitter smile.
"I lost that privilege a very long time ago."
Inspector Mara Voss stepped beside the monitor.
"Can you identify who's connected?"
Dawson typed another command.
The screen flickered.
Then a new line appeared.
REMOTE USER VERIFIED
Instead of a name, a single symbol filled the display.
A black wolf enclosed within three silver rings.
The same emblem carved into the steel door.
Daniel's face tightened.
"They found us."
"You recognize it?" I asked.
He nodded slowly.
"We used to call them the Custodians."
"Who are they?"
"The people who stayed behind after Genesis ended."
"Scientists?"
"No."
His voice grew colder.
"They were supposed to protect the project."
"And instead?"
"They protected whoever bought it."
No one spoke.
The old scientist suddenly closed the terminal.
"We're leaving."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because they know this laboratory is active."
Ronan looked around the room.
"There has to be another exit."
"There is."
Dawson pointed toward the far wall.
"But we don't have much time."
Marcus moved closer to the photographs lining the wall.
"Wait."
His voice was unusually quiet.
"Something's missing."
I followed his gaze.
The empty frame marked Subject A-01 remained untouched.
But the frame beside it...
Had fallen.
The brass plaque lay on the floor.
SUBJECT A-02
The photograph was gone.
Only four bent nails remained in the wall.
"Was someone else's picture here?" I asked.
Dawson stopped walking.
His shoulders stiffened.
"Yes."
"Who?"
Silence.
"Doctor."
He closed his eyes.
"I hoped you wouldn't notice."
Ronan stepped forward.
"Answer him."
Dawson slowly turned.
"Subject A-02 was removed twelve years ago."
"By whom?"
"Your father."
"My father?"
"He said no one could ever see that photograph."
"Why?"
The old scientist hesitated.
Then answered.
"Because the child standing beside Adrian..."
He looked directly at Ronan.
"...was you."
The laboratory fell silent.
Ronan stared at him.
"That's impossible."
"I wish it were."
"You said A-02."
"Yes."
"I was never part of Genesis."
Dawson's expression was filled with regret.
"You were never supposed to remember."
Ronan took a step backward.
"I've never been here."
"You have."
"When?"
"You were six."
His breathing became uneven.
"No."
"You and Adrian played in the courtyard almost every afternoon."
I looked at Ronan.
He looked as stunned as I felt.
"We never met before the academy," I said.
"So you believed."
Fragments flashed through my mind.
Not memories.
Feelings.
The scent of freshly cut grass.
Children laughing.
A wooden swing.
Too distant to grasp.
Daniel suddenly spoke.
"I remember the courtyard."
Everyone looked at him.
"There was a huge oak tree."
Dawson nodded.
"Yes."
"And a stone wolf fountain."
"Yes."
Daniel frowned.
"I always thought it was a dream."
Before anyone could ask another question, the laboratory lights dimmed.
A mechanical voice echoed from hidden speakers.
Unauthorized retrieval detected.
Archive lockdown in sixty seconds.
Inspector Voss looked toward the corridor.
"We need to move."
Dawson hurried to the opposite wall and pressed his hand against what looked like solid concrete.
A hidden door slid open.
Beyond it stretched a narrow passage illuminated by soft white lights.
"Go," he said.
None of us moved.
I looked back at the photographs one last time.
The empty frame labeled A-01.
The missing photograph of A-02.
The charter.
The torn pages.
Twenty-four years of secrets.
Then my eyes caught something almost invisible beneath the empty frame.
A child's handwriting.
Faded with age.
Carved into the wood.
I crouched.
The letters were shaky.
As though written by someone still learning.
Adrian and Ronan promised to stay brothers forever.
I stopped breathing.
Not rivals.
Not strangers.
Brothers.
I slowly looked up at Ronan.
He hadn't seen the words yet.
He was staring at the missing A-02 frame, his face pale.
Another warning echoed through the laboratory.
Forty-five seconds to lockdown.
I slipped my fingers over the carving.
Someone had tried to sand it away.
But not completely.
Someone had wanted the promise forgotten.
Someone had failed.
Before I could tell Ronan what I'd found, the emergency lights switched from white to red.
The hidden passage began to close.
And somewhere beyond the narrowing doorway...
Footsteps were running toward us.
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