Chapter 41 - THE FATHER BEHIND THE MASK
Daniel stared at the genetic report.
Richard was listed as Noah's biological father.
Claire was listed as the mother.
The dates made no sense.
Noah had been born before Richard's supposed marriage to Claire.
Daniel called his son.
“Where are you?”
“Outside the estate.”
“Get away from there!”
Noah hesitated.
“Dad, I found something.”
“What?”
“A recording of Richard talking about my birth.”
Daniel heard footsteps.
Then Noah shouted.
A struggle followed.
The phone dropped.
Daniel ran toward the vault exit, but Michael's voice stopped him.
“Leave now, and your son dies.”
Daniel turned toward the monitor.
Michael held Noah by the collar while Richard stood behind them.
“Come to the laboratory,” Michael ordered. “Bring the necklace.”
Daniel had no choice.
He entered the laboratory twenty minutes later.
Noah was tied to a chair.
Daniel rushed forward, but a guard struck him across the face.
He fell against a table.
Michael laughed.
“Still trying to play the hero?”
Daniel wiped blood from his mouth.
“Let him go.”
Richard approached Noah.
“Tell your father what you learned.”
Noah shook his head.
Richard slapped him.
“Tell him!”
Noah finally spoke.
“The report is fake.”
Daniel stared at him.
Noah continued.
“Richard isn't my biological father. Someone altered the records to make it look that way.”
Michael's smile faded.
Richard grabbed Noah's hair.
“Who told you?”
“Margaret.”
Richard struck him again.
Daniel charged forward.
The two men crashed into a medical cabinet. Glass shattered around them as Daniel punched Richard repeatedly.
Michael shouted for security.
A guard seized Daniel from behind and slammed him against the wall.
Richard retrieved his weapon.
“Enough!”
He pointed it at Daniel.
“Your son belongs to me.”
Noah suddenly kicked his chair forward, knocking Richard off balance.
Daniel broke free and tackled the guard.
Noah escaped his restraints.
Together, they fought their way toward the exit.
Michael activated the security system.
Steel doors slammed shut.
A red countdown appeared.
SELF-DESTRUCT: 03:00.
Daniel searched for an emergency release.
Noah pulled a silver key from his pocket.
“This opens the family vault.”
He inserted it into a concealed panel.
A door opened behind the medical cabinet.
They escaped just as an explosion shook the laboratory.
Outside, Noah collapsed onto the grass.
Daniel knelt beside him.
“Are you hurt?”
Noah shook his head.
Then he looked up.
“Dad, there's something else.”
He revealed a photograph of Claire holding a newborn beside Michael Vale.
The date was seventeen years earlier.
Daniel stared.
“Why was Michael there?”
Noah's voice trembled.
“Because he delivered me.”
Daniel felt his blood run cold.
“And?”
Noah swallowed.
“He told me that you weren't my biological father.”
Daniel looked at him for a long moment.
Then he pulled Noah into his arms.
“You are my son. Nothing changes that.”
Noah began crying.
For a few seconds, they were simply father and son.
Then a car screeched to a halt beside them.
Abigail stumbled out, covered in blood.
“Get in!”
Daniel helped Noah into the car.
“Where's Claire?”
Abigail shook her head.
“Richard took her to the old chapel.”
“Why?”
“To force her to reveal the fifth subject.”
Daniel froze.
“The fifth subject?”
Abigail nodded.
“There's another child.”
Before she could explain, a bullet shattered the rear window.
Harris stood in the road, aiming at them.
Daniel slammed the car into gear.
They sped away as Harris fired again.
Noah looked toward Daniel.
“Who is the fifth subject?”
Daniel remembered the photograph of Lily Hale.
The silver eyes.
The crescent scar.
The woman who looked exactly like Claire.
He whispered a name.
“Emma.”
Abigail shook her head.
“No.”
She looked at him with terror.
May you like
“The fifth subject is the child you buried seventeen years ago.”
If the original Emma had survived, who had Daniel buried—and why was Richard willing to destroy his entire family to recover the missing child?
