CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX: THE THIRD BABY

Elena couldn't move.

Her grandfather stood in the doorway, staring at Daniel as though the little boy had become something dangerous.

Not a child.

A witness.

Daniel clung to Elena's hand.

“Mommy…”

She squeezed his fingers.

“I'm here.”

Her grandfather's eyes narrowed.

“What did he remember?”

Elena stepped in front of Daniel.

“Why are you afraid of him?”

“I am not afraid.”

“You are.”

For the first time, she saw something she had never seen in her grandfather's eyes.

Fear.

Real fear.

He looked at Mason.

“You told her.”

Mason's jaw tightened.

“She deserved the truth.”

“You don't understand what you've done.”

“I understand perfectly.”

Her grandfather looked toward the three boys.

“Then you know what happens next.”

Damien moved between them.

“Nothing happens to my children.”

His grandfather gave him a cold look.

“You still think you can protect them?”

“I know I can.”

“You couldn't even protect your marriage.”

Damien's expression hardened.

“That ends tonight.”

The old man smiled faintly.

“Does it?”

He raised one hand.

The hospital doors slammed shut.

Metal locks dropped into place.

Gabriel immediately ran toward the nearest exit.

“Locked.”

Elena looked around.

“We're trapped.”

“No,” Mason said.

He looked at Daniel.

“Not yet.”

Daniel stared at him.

“What do you mean?”

Mason crouched.

“You remembered the third baby.”

Daniel nodded slowly.

“She looked like me.”

Mason's face tightened.

“Yes.”

“Who was she?”

No one answered.

Elena's heart pounded.

“A girl?”

Daniel nodded.

“She was crying.”

“When?”

“After they took me.”

Elena frowned.

“You saw them take you?”

Daniel's expression became distant.

“I was little.”

His voice trembled.

“I remember being in a room.”

“What room?”

“A white room.”

Mason exchanged a look with Victor.

Elena noticed.

“You know.”

Mason nodded.

“The Foundation's laboratory.”

Daniel continued.

“There was a baby beside me.”

“Your sister?”

“I don't know.”

“What did she look like?”

Daniel looked at Elena.

“Like you.”

Elena's breath caught.

“Like me?”

He nodded.

“She had your eyes.”

Elena covered her mouth.

A daughter.

Another child.

Another baby she had never known existed.

Her grandfather's expression changed.

“Enough.”

He stepped forward.

Daniel immediately hid behind Elena.

She turned toward the old man.

“You had another child.”

“No.”

“You took her.”

“No.”

“You erased her.”

His voice became sharp.

“You don't know what you're talking about.”

Mason stepped forward.

“I do.”

The old man glared at him.

“Then tell her.”

Mason's expression was grim.

“The third child wasn't taken.”

Elena frowned.

“Then where is she?”

Mason looked at Daniel.

“She's still here.”

Silence.

Elena's heart stopped.

“What?”

Mason pointed toward the floor.

“Under this hospital.”

---

A low vibration moved through the building.

The lights flickered.

Gabriel looked at the floor.

“What was that?”

Mason answered.

“The archive.”

Damien frowned.

“What archive?”

“The original Foundation vault.”

Victor stepped forward.

“That's impossible.”

Mason looked at him.

“You thought it was destroyed.”

“It was.”

“No.”

Mason shook his head.

“It was sealed.”

Elena looked at her grandfather.

“You knew.”

He said nothing.

“You knew there was a vault underneath this hospital.”

Still nothing.

“And my daughter is there?”

Her grandfather finally spoke.

“Your daughter is not there.”

“Then who is?”

He looked at Daniel.

“The answer you are searching for.”

Daniel's face went pale.

“I don't want to go there.”

Elena immediately knelt.

“You don't have to.”

Daniel looked at her.

“But she's waiting.”

Elena froze.

“How do you know?”

“I can hear her.”

Everyone went silent.

Then—

A faint sound came from beneath the floor.

A child's voice.

“Mama?”

Elena's heart shattered.

She looked down.

“Did you hear that?”

Damien nodded.

Everyone had.

The voice came again.

“Mama…”

Elena stood.

“Open it.”

Her grandfather shook his head.

“No.”

“Open it.”

“No.”

Damien stepped forward.

“If you don't, I'll find another way.”

The old man looked at him.

“You don't understand what is down there.”

“I don't care.”

“You should.”

He pointed toward Daniel.

“Because once that door opens, everyone in this building becomes a target.”

Mason shook his head.

“They already are.”

---

Gabriel found the entrance behind an old storage cabinet.

A metal staircase descended into darkness.

Elena stood at the top.

Damien held her hand.

Alexander stood beside her.

Caleb held Ethan's hand.

Daniel remained unusually quiet.

“What is it?” Elena asked.

He looked down the stairs.

“She doesn't like the dark.”

Elena's chest tightened.

“Who?”

“My sister.”

They descended.

The air grew colder.

The walls changed from old concrete to polished metal.

Lights activated one after another as they walked.

At the bottom stood a massive steel door.

There was no handle.

Only a scanner.

Mason approached.

“It requires a genetic sequence.”

Damien frowned.

“Whose?”

Mason looked at Daniel.

“His.”

Elena pulled Daniel closer.

“No.”

Daniel stepped forward.

“It's okay.”

“Daniel—”

“She knows me.”

He placed his hand against the scanner.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then the screen flashed red.

ACCESS DENIED.

Daniel looked confused.

“I did it wrong.”

Mason shook his head.

“No.”

He stared at the screen.

“That's impossible.”

“What?”

“The system doesn't recognize him.”

Elena frowned.

“Why?”

Mason's face went pale.

“Because Daniel isn't the registered child.”

Damien's eyes narrowed.

“Then who is?”

Before Mason could answer, the scanner turned green.

ACCESS GRANTED.

The door opened.

Everyone froze.

No one had touched it.

A small girl stood on the other side.

She was perhaps six years old.

Dark hair.

Pale skin.

Elena's eyes.

Damien's face.

She stared at Elena.

Then smiled.

“Mommy.”

Elena couldn't breathe.

The girl ran into her arms.

Elena caught her.

“Oh my God.”

The child buried her face against Elena.

“You came back.”

Tears streamed down Elena's face.

“I didn't know.”

“I know.”

“What's your name?”

The girl looked up.

“Lily.”

Elena's heart broke.

“Lily.”

She kissed her forehead.

“My baby.”

Damien stood frozen.

“How old are you?”

Lily looked at him.

“Six.”

His face went pale.

“That can't be.”

Mason stared at the girl.

“She's the third child.”

Victor stepped closer.

“No.”

Mason nodded.

“The Foundation didn't lose her.”

He looked at Elena.

“They raised her here.”

Elena's grip tightened.

“You kept my daughter underground?”

Her grandfather said nothing.

Elena turned toward him.

“You took my baby.”

His voice remained cold.

“We kept her alive.”

“You imprisoned her!”

“She was too valuable to release.”

Elena's eyes filled with rage.

“She is my daughter.”

The old man looked at Lily.

“She is more than that.”

“What does that mean?”

He pointed at Lily.

“She is the original.”

Elena frowned.

“The original what?”

The old man finally smiled.

“The first successful child.”

Daniel stared at Lily.

Then his face changed.

“I remember her.”

Elena looked at him.

“What?”

Daniel pointed at Lily.

“She was the baby beside me.”

Lily nodded.

“Yes.”

Daniel stared.

“You were the one they took.”

Lily shook her head.

“No.”

She looked at Elena.

“They took you.”

Elena's heart stopped.

“What?”

Lily's eyes filled with tears.

“They didn't erase your memories because of us.”

She whispered:

“They erased them because you found out the truth.”

“What truth?”

Lily looked toward the deepest part of the vault.

“There is another room.”

Everyone turned.

“What is inside?” Damien asked.

Lily's face went pale.

“Daddy.”

Damien froze.

“My father?”

Lily shook her head.

“No.”

She looked at Elena.

“Your father.”

Elena stopped breathing.

“My father is dead.”

Lily whispered:

“He isn't.”

A heavy sound echoed from the room beyond.

Three slow knocks.

Then a man's voice came through the steel door.

“Elena.”

She knew that voice.

Her father's voice.

“Open the door.”

Elena's knees nearly gave way.

The man laughed softly.

“I've been waiting for you for seven years.”

Then the door began to open from the inside.