CHAPTER SIXTY: WAKE UP

“Wake up.”

The voices came from everywhere.

Not one voice.

Hundreds.

Maybe thousands.

Elena tightened her hold on Hope.

“What is happening?”

No one answered.

The floor beneath them vibrated.

Nora remained unconscious on the ground.

Daniel knelt beside her.

“Nora!”

He shook her shoulder.

She didn't respond.

“Elena!” Mason shouted. “Don't let Hope touch the floor!”

Elena looked down.

The baby's eyes were open.

Strangely calm.

“What?”

“Keep her in your arms.”

“Why?”

“Because the system has recognized her.”

A deep mechanical sound rolled through the vault.

The screens flickered.

One by one, the faces disappeared.

Then a single message appeared.

SUBJECT ZERO — ACTIVATION SEQUENCE INITIATED.

Elena's blood ran cold.

“Subject Zero.”

She looked at Nora.

“You said Nora was Subject Zero.”

Mason shook his head.

“I was wrong.”

Elena's eyes widened.

“How?”

“Because I thought Subject Zero referred to the first successful child.”

His gaze moved toward Hope.

“It doesn't.”

Damien stepped closer.

“Then what does it mean?”

Mason stared at the baby.

“It means the child who comes before all the others.”

Silence.

Elena's arms tightened around Hope.

“But Hope was created from Nora.”

“Yes.”

“So how can she be first?”

Mason's expression darkened.

“Because they didn't create her from Nora.”

He looked at the genetic monitor.

“They created Nora from her.”

Elena froze.

“What?”

“The Foundation reversed the process.”

Mason pointed toward the screen.

“Nora wasn't the original.”

Elena stared at her daughter.

“Then what was she?”

“A carrier.”

“And Hope?”

Mason swallowed.

“The source.”

---

A sharp cry came from the floor.

Nora's eyes opened.

“Mommy…”

Elena immediately knelt while still holding Hope.

“Nora.”

The girl looked frightened.

“Don't let them take her.”

“I won't.”

“They're coming.”

“Who?”

Nora looked toward the walls.

“The children.”

Elena frowned.

“What children?”

“The ones underground.”

Daniel suddenly stood.

“I heard them too.”

Damien looked at him.

“You heard them?”

Daniel nodded.

“They're waking up.”

A heavy thud sounded beneath their feet.

Then another.

Then another.

The entire vault shook.

Gabriel looked toward the staircase.

“Whatever is underneath us is moving.”

Victor stepped forward.

“We need to leave.”

Elena shook her head.

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

“Because if those children are trapped down there, I'm not leaving them.”

Damien looked at her.

“I knew you'd say that.”

He reached for her hand.

“Then we do it together.”

---

They moved deeper into the facility.

The further they went, the louder the sounds became.

Doors unlocking.

Machines activating.

Children crying.

Elena's chest tightened.

“How many are there?”

Mason checked the monitor.

“I don't know.”

Gabriel stared at the readings.

“That's impossible.”

“What?”

“There are hundreds of life signals.”

Damien looked at him.

“Hundreds?”

Mason nodded.

“The Foundation has been maintaining this facility for years.”

Elena's face hardened.

“Children.”

“Yes.”

“Then we're getting them out.”

A voice suddenly came through the speakers.

“You can't.”

Everyone stopped.

The founder.

Elena looked toward the nearest monitor.

The woman's face appeared.

“You still don't understand.”

Elena stepped closer.

“Then explain it.”

“You think you're rescuing children.”

“I am.”

“No.”

The founder smiled.

“You're releasing them.”

Elena frowned.

“Isn't that the point?”

“You don't know what they are.”

“They're children.”

“They're carriers.”

Mason's face tightened.

“Don't listen to her.”

The founder continued.

“Every child in this facility carries a piece of the sequence.”

Elena looked toward the corridors.

“Then why were they kept here?”

“To keep the sequence dormant.”

Daniel suddenly grabbed Elena's hand.

“Mommy.”

“What?”

“She's lying.”

Everyone looked at him.

“How do you know?”

Daniel pointed at the speaker.

“She doesn't want them to wake up.”

The founder's smile disappeared.

Daniel continued.

“Because if they wake up, they won't listen to her anymore.”

Silence.

The founder's expression changed.

“You shouldn't be able to remember that.”

Daniel stared at the screen.

“I remember everything now.”

Elena's heart pounded.

“What do you remember?”

Daniel looked at her.

“The room.”

“What room?”

“The first room.”

Mason stepped closer.

“What did you see?”

Daniel's face became pale.

“You.”

Elena froze.

“Me?”

“You were holding Hope.”

Elena stared at him.

“That can't be.”

“It was before Nora.”

“Before?”

Daniel nodded.

“You were crying.”

“What did I say?”

Daniel looked toward the floor.

“You said you were sorry.”

Elena's eyes filled with tears.

“Sorry for what?”

Daniel's voice dropped.

“For giving her to them.”

Elena looked at Hope.

A strange ache filled her chest.

She didn't remember.

But somehow, she believed him.

---

A door opened at the end of the corridor.

A little boy stepped out.

Then another.

Then a girl.

They were all different ages.

Some looked frightened.

Others stared blankly.

Elena's heart broke.

“Come here.”

They didn't move.

The founder's voice came through the speakers.

“Don't touch them.”

Elena ignored her.

She stepped forward.

“My name is Elena.”

The children stared.

“You don't have to be afraid.”

A little girl took one hesitant step.

Then another.

“What happens if we leave?”

Elena looked at her.

“You'll be safe.”

The girl frowned.

“They said we'd die.”

Elena's expression hardened.

“They lied.”

Another child stepped forward.

“Are you our mother?”

Elena's heart broke.

“No.”

She swallowed.

“But I'll help you find yours.”

The children slowly began moving toward her.

Mason watched in disbelief.

“The system is responding to her.”

Damien frowned.

“Why?”

Mason looked at Elena.

“Because they recognize her.”

“As what?”

Mason didn't answer.

The founder did.

“As the woman who gave them life.”

Elena froze.

“No.”

The founder smiled.

“Ask your father.”

Everyone turned toward him.

Elena's father looked away.

“Dad?”

He didn't respond.

“Look at me.”

He finally did.

“Is it true?”

His silence was devastating.

Elena's voice trembled.

“How many?”

He closed his eyes.

“Not all of them were born naturally.”

Her heart sank.

“How many children came from me?”

He couldn't answer.

“Dad!”

“Four.”

Elena froze.

“Four?”

“Four children were created using your genetic material.”

She looked at the children.

Then at Hope.

Then Nora.

Alexander.

Daniel.

Caleb.

Ethan.

Her voice broke.

“But I only gave birth to three pregnancies.”

“Yes.”

“Then the others?”

“Created.”

Elena stared at him.

“You used my DNA.”

“We had no choice.”

She stepped back.

“You always say that.”

Her father looked ashamed.

“I thought I was saving you.”

“You were building them.”

“No.”

“You were.”

Elena looked at the frightened children.

“You turned my blood into a laboratory.”

Her father had no answer.

---

The founder's voice returned.

“Now you understand.”

Elena looked at the screen.

“You used me.”

“Yes.”

“You used my children.”

“Yes.”

“You destroyed my family.”

The woman smiled.

“No.”

She leaned closer to the camera.

“Your family destroyed itself.”

Elena's eyes narrowed.

“What do you want?”

“Hope.”

“No.”

“Then Nora.”

“No.”

“Then Alexander.”

“No.”

“Then Daniel.”

“No.”

“Then Lily.”

Elena tightened her arms around Hope.

“You aren't getting any of them.”

The founder's smile vanished.

“Then you will lose them all.”

The screen went black.

A second later, every door in the facility opened.

The children screamed.

Machines began shutting down.

Red warning lights flashed.

Mason stared at the control panel.

“She's deactivating the life-support systems.”

Elena's face went pale.

“How long?”

“Ten minutes.”

Damien immediately turned to Gabriel.

“Find another power source.”

“I'm trying.”

“Try harder.”

Elena looked at the children.

“Everyone stays together.”

Daniel suddenly pointed toward a narrow corridor.

“There.”

“What?”

“The room.”

Mason followed his gaze.

“There is no room there.”

Daniel shook his head.

“There is.”

He walked toward the wall.

“It was hidden.”

He placed his hand against it.

A section of the wall unlocked.

A secret door opened.

Inside was a small chamber.

At the center stood a glass cylinder.

Elena stared.

Inside was a photograph.

Not of a child.

Of her.

Standing beside the founder.

And beside them was a man Elena had never seen before.

Daniel stared at the photograph.

“That is him.”

“Who?”

“The man who made us.”

Mason's face went pale.

Damien looked at him.

“You know him.”

Mason slowly nodded.

“I thought he died.”

“Who is he?”

Mason looked at Elena.

“The real founder of the Foundation.”

Elena stared at the photograph.

Then the lights inside the chamber came on.

A hidden monitor activated.

A man's face appeared.

Older.

Calm.

Smiling.

Elena's blood ran cold.

Because she recognized him.

Not from a photograph.

Not from a memory.

But from the deepest, darkest corner of her mind.

He had been standing beside her hospital bed.

He had held her hand.

And he had whispered something to her newborn daughter.

The recording began.

“Elena, if you're watching this, then you've finally remembered.”

She couldn't breathe.

The man smiled.

“I know you have questions.”

The screen went black for a moment.

Then one sentence appeared.

I am your biological father.

Elena staggered backward.

Her father stood behind her.

“No.”

The recording continued.

“And the man you called Dad for twenty-seven years…”

A pause.

“…was never your father.”

Elena turned slowly.

Her father's face had gone white.

The screen displayed one final message.

Your entire life was built on a lie.

Then every door in the facility locked at once.

And the voice of the real founder whispered:

“Now let's see which of your children survives the truth.”