Chapter 96: The Truth Unravels
MIRA
I stared at Victoria. At the gun pointed at my head. At my father’s body bleeding on the floor.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said quietly.
“Yes, I do. You know too much now. About my sister. About my real agenda.” Victoria’s hand was steady. “I can’t let you warn anyone.”
“You won’t make it out of here alive. My people are everywhere.”
“Your people don’t know what I am. What I’m capable of.” She smiled coldly. “Did you really think I was human? That I was just some intelligence operative?”
“What are you talking about?”
“My sister and I. We’re not like other people. We were part of the first experiments. The ones that created powered individuals in the first place.”
My blood ran cold. “That’s impossible.”
“Is it? Where do you think all this power came from? Natural evolution?” She laughed. “No. It was created. In a lab. Fifty years ago. My sister and I were among the first subjects.”
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? Then explain how I’ve been alive for seventy-three years but only look forty. Explain how I can do this.”
She raised her free hand. The air around it shimmered. Twisted.
My father’s body lifted off the floor. Suspended in mid-air.
“Telekinesis. One of many gifts the experiments gave us.” She dropped his body carelessly. “My sister got the genius intellect. I got the power. Together, we were supposed to rule this new world of powered individuals.”
“But you turned against her.”
“No. She turned against the original plan. We were supposed to protect powered children. Guide them. Instead, she wanted to weaponize them. Use them for profit.” Victoria’s eyes hardened. “I’ve spent twenty years trying to stop her. But I needed leverage. Resources. Your father provided both.”
“By pretending to work for him.”
“Exactly. And now that he’s dead, I have access to everything he built. The files. The network. The children.”
“You’ll use them just like Dr. Chen wanted to.”
“No. I’ll protect them. By controlling them. There’s a difference.”
“Control is just another word for prison.”
“Maybe. But it’s a safe prison. Better than being hunted by people like my sister.”
Behind Victoria, I saw movement. Kade. Creeping closer. Silent.
I needed to keep her talking.
“What happened to the other experiments? The other children from fifty years ago?”
“Most died. The process was unstable. Only twelve of us survived to adulthood. And now there are only three left.”
“Three? You, your sister, and who?”
“Someone you know quite well actually. Someone who’s been very close to you this whole time.”
My mind raced. Someone close to me. Someone old enough to have been part of experiments fifty years ago.
“Helen,” I breathed.
Victoria smiled. “Very good. Yes. Helen was subject seven. I was subject three. My sister was subject one. We’ve been watching each other for decades. Playing this long game.”
“Helen never said anything.”
“She was programmed not to. Part of the experiment. Loyalty implants. She physically cannot betray whoever she’s assigned to protect.” Victoria tilted her head. “Right now, that’s you. Which makes her very dangerous to me.”
“Where is she?”
“On her way here, I’d imagine. She’ll sense you’re in danger. Come running to save you.” Victoria checked her watch. “Which gives me about three minutes to kill you and disappear.”
“You won’t get away with this.”
“I already have.”
She pulled the trigger.
But Kade tackled her from behind. The bullet went wild. Hit the ceiling.
They struggled. Victoria was stronger than she looked. Enhanced. Dangerous.
Kade went flying into the wall. Slumped down. Not moving.
“Kade!” I screamed.
Victoria turned the gun back to me. “Where were we?”
The door burst open. Helen ran in. Saw the situation. Her eyes went cold.
“Victoria. Step away from her.”
“Hello, Seven. Still following your programming, I see.”
“My programming is the only thing keeping you alive right now. If you hurt her, I’ll kill you. Slowly.”
“You can try. But we both know I’m stronger.”
“Stronger isn’t always better.”
They moved at the same time. Colliding in the center of the room. Power against power. The walls shook. Windows cracked.
I crawled to Kade. Checked his pulse. Alive. Just unconscious.
“Kade. Wake up. Please wake up.”
His eyes fluttered open. “Did we win?”
“Not yet.”
Helen and Victoria were locked in combat. Telekinesis against enhanced speed and strength. The room was being torn apart.
“We need to leave,” I said. “Now.”
“What about them?”
“They’re not our fight.”
We crawled toward the door. Behind us, the two women were destroying everything. Furniture flying. Walls crumbling.
Then Victoria screamed. Helen had her pinned. Hand around her throat.
“You lose,” Helen said coldly.
“Do I?” Victoria smiled. Blood on her teeth. “I already uploaded everything to my sister. Every file. Every name. Every location. She has it all now.”
Helen’s eyes widened. “No.”
“Yes. In ten minutes, her people will start collecting children. Hundreds of them. And you can’t stop it.” Victoria laughed. “I win. Even if I die, I win.”
Helen snapped her neck.
Victoria’s body fell. Lifeless.
Helen turned to me. “We have a problem.”
“I heard. Ten minutes.”
“Less now. We need to warn everyone. Get the children to safety.”
“How? There are thousands of them. We can’t protect them all.”
“No. But we can protect yours. And maybe a few others if we move fast.”
We ran. Out of the compound. Into the vehicles. Drove like hell back to the palace.
I called Zane from the car. “Get the children. All of them. Pack only what you need. We’re leaving in five minutes.”
“What’s happening?”
“The Collective has every name. Every location. They’re coming for all of them. We need to run.”
“Where do we run to?”
“I don’t know. Anywhere. Everywhere. Just move.”
We made it back to the palace. Chaos everywhere. Children crying. Adults packing frantically.
Delilah appeared with Danny. “What’s going on?”
“The Collective knows where everyone is. We have to scatter. Make ourselves hard to find.”
“I can help. I know places. Safe houses Marcus used.”
“Show me.”
She pulled out a map. Marked locations. “These are all off grid. No electronics. No way to track.”
“Perfect. Divide the children. Send them in groups. Different locations.”
We worked fast. Luna and Sol with Zane to one location. Kieran and Maya to another. Ivy and both Damiens to a third.
Alexander stayed with me. He was too young to be separated.
“What about you?” Zane asked. “Where will you go?”
“Somewhere they won’t expect. Somewhere obvious.”
“That’s insane.”
“Exactly. They’ll look for us in hiding. Not in plain sight.”
“Mira…”
“Trust me. Please.”
He kissed me. Hard. Desperate. “Come back to me.”
“Always.”
They left. All of them. Scattered to the winds.
Helen, Alexander, and I stayed behind. Alone in the palace.
“Where are we really going?” Helen asked.
“To find Dr. Chen. End this once and for all.”
“That’s suicide.”
“Probably. But I’m tired of running. Tired of being hunted. Time to become the hunter.”
“How do we find her?”
I pulled out my phone. Looked at the last message she’d sent. The coordinates for the trap that caught Zane.
“She’ll go back there. To her main facility. That’s where she feels safe.”
“And we just walk in?”
“No. We break in. Loudly. Make her come to us.”
“You have a death wish.”
“I have a mother’s rage. There’s a difference.”
We drove through the night. Alexander sleeping in his carrier. Helen silent beside me.
The facility appeared at dawn. Massive. Industrial. Heavily guarded.
“Last chance to turn back,” Helen said.
“Not turning back. Are you with me or not?”
“I’m programmed to protect you. So yes. I’m with you.”
“Good. Then let’s end this.”
We approached the main gate. Guards raised weapons.
“Stop! This is private property!”
I didn’t stop. Kept walking. Helen beside me.
“I’m here to see Dr. Chen. Tell her Mira Darkmore wants to talk.”
The guards looked confused. Radioed someone.
Five minutes later, the gates opened.
Dr. Chen stood there. Smiling.
“Mira. How unexpected. And you brought Helen. How lovely.”
“We need to talk.”
“I agree. Come. Let’s talk somewhere more comfortable.”
She led us inside. Through corridors. To a conference room.
“Sit. Please.”
We sat. Alexander stirred but didn’t wake.
“Beautiful baby,” Dr. Chen said. “Such potential. Such power.”
“Stay away from him.”
“Or what? You’ll kill me? We both know you won’t. You’re not a killer.”
“I’ve killed before. When necessary.”
“But never in cold blood. Never when someone is unarmed and talking reasonably.” She poured coffee. “That’s your weakness, Mira. You’re too good. Too compassionate. It makes you predictable.”
“And you’re too confident. That makes you sloppy.”
“Do I seem sloppy to you? I have every powered child’s location. Every name. Every weakness. I hold all the cards.”
“Except one.”
“What’s that?”
“Me. You want my cooperation. My blood. My children. But you can’t take them by force. Because then others will rise against you. You need me to surrender willingly.”
Dr. Chen smiled. “Very perceptive. Yes. I need you to choose this. To see that cooperation is the only logical path.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then everyone you love dies. Starting with your husband. I have people watching all your safe houses. One word from me, and they all burn.”
My blood went cold. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?” She pulled out her phone. Showed me a live feed.
Zane. With Luna and Sol. In one of Delilah’s safe houses.
Surrounded by armed men.
“One word,” Dr. Chen repeated. “That’s all it takes.”
I looked at Helen. At Alexander. At the impossible choice in front of me.
Surrender. Or watch everyone I love die.
“What do you want?” I asked quietly.
“Your complete cooperation. You. Your children. Your blood. Everything.”
“And in exchange?”
“Everyone lives. You’ll be housed comfortably. Your children raised well. No harm comes to anyone.”
“As prisoners.”
“As protected individuals. There’s a difference.”
“Not much of one.”
“Perhaps. But it’s the only option you have.”
I thought about my children. About Zane. About everything we’d built.
And I made my choice.
“Fine. I surrender. On one condition.”
“What condition?”
“You let me say goodbye. To my family. One last time. Then I’ll come willingly.”
Dr. Chen considered. “Acceptable. You have one hour. Say your goodbyes. Then return here. If you don’t, everyone dies.”
“I understand.”
She smiled. “Good. I knew you’d see reason eventually.”
We left. Drove away from the facility.
Helen looked at me. “You’re not really surrendering.”
“Of course not. But I needed her to think I was.”
“Why?”
“Because now she’ll relax. Let her guard down. Give us an opening.”
“An opening for what?”
I pulled out my phone. Made a call.
“Delilah? I need your help. And I need it now.”
On the other end, Delilah’s voice was steady. “What do you need?”
“Everything Marcus knew about Dr. Chen. Every weakness. Every vulnerability. Everything.”
“I’ll send it now. But Mira, what are you planning?”
“Something crazy. Something desperate. Something that will either save us all or kill us all.”
“So basically a normal Tuesday for you.”
Despite everything, I laughed. “Yeah. Basically.”
I hung up. Looked at Helen. At Alexander sleeping peacefully.
“Ready to start a war?”
“I thought we were already in one.”
“No. That was just the warm up. Now the real fight begins.”
My phone buzzed. Files from Delilah. Hundreds of them.
I opened the first one. Started reading.
And there it was. Dr. Chen’s weakness. Hidden in Marcus’s notes.
She wasn’t just enhanced. She was dying. The experiments that gave her power were also killing her. She had maybe six months left.
Unless she got new genetic material. Fresh DNA. From someone with compatible markers.
Someone like Alexander.
She didn’t want to control powered children. She wanted to harvest them. Use their DNA to extend her own life.
That changed everything.
“Helen. How fast can you get to the other safe houses?”
“With my speed? Twenty minutes to reach them all.”
“Do it. Warn everyone. Tell them to move. New locations. Don’t tell me where. I can’t know.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m going back to that facility. And Dr. Chen will make me talk. I can’t give up what I don’t know.”
“That’s your plan? Let her torture you?”
“That’s the distraction. While she’s focused on me, you get everyone to safety. Then come back with reinforcements. End this.”
“This is insane.”
“Do you have a better plan?”
She didn’t. We both knew it.
Helen took off. Moving faster than any human could. Gone in seconds.
I held Alexander. Kissed his head.
“Mama’s got to do something scary, baby boy. But I’ll come back. I promise.”
I drove back to the facility. Alone now.
The gates opened. Dr. Chen was waiting.
“Back so soon? Couldn’t stay away?”
“I came to talk. Really talk. About what you want.”
“I told you what I want.”
“No. You told me what you said you wanted. But I know the truth now. You’re dying. The experiments are killing you. You need Alexander’s DNA to survive.”
Her smile faltered. “Who told you that?”
“Does it matter? The point is, I know. And I’m willing to make a deal.”
“What kind of deal?”
“You can have samples of his DNA. Enough to study. To create treatments. But you leave us alone. Forever.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then I destroy every sample you have. Burn this whole facility down. Make sure you die in six months with nothing to show for it.”
She studied me. “You’d really do that? Risk your life?”
“For my son? Absolutely.”
“Interesting. You’re more ruthless than I gave you credit for.”
“I’m a mother. We’re all ruthless when it comes to our children.”
Dr. Chen smiled. “Very well. Let’s discuss terms.”
She led me deeper into the facility. To a lab. Medical equipment everywhere.
“We’ll take samples now. This won’t hurt him.”
“I’m watching the whole time.”
“Of course.”
She prepared a syringe. Moved toward Alexander.
And that’s when I struck.
I grabbed the syringe. Jammed it into her neck. Pushed the plunger.
She staggered back. “What did you do?”
“That wasn’t empty. That was filled with a compound Delilah sent me. One Marcus created. It blocks the enhanced abilities temporarily. You’re just human now.”
Her eyes widened. Tried to use her power. Nothing happened.
“You bitch.”
“Yeah. I am. And you underestimated me.”
I hit her. Hard. Years of training. Years of being a wolf. All poured into that punch.
She went down.
I grabbed Alexander. Ran for the exit.
Alarms blared. Guards everywhere.
But then Helen appeared. With Kade. And Delilah. And fifty wolves from allied packs.
“Thought you could use some help,” Helen said.
“Perfect timing.”
We fought our way out. Brutal. Desperate. But effective.
The facility burned behind us. Everything Dr. Chen had built. Gone.
We made it to the vehicles. Drove away as explosions rocked the building.
“Is it over?” Delilah asked.
“Not yet. But we’re close.”
My phone rang. Unknown number.
I almost didn’t answer. But something made me pick up.
“Hello?”
“Mira. It’s me.”
My mother’s voice.
My dead mother’s voice.
“That’s impossible.”
“No, honey. What’s impossible is that you believed I was dead for eighteen years. I’m alive. I’ve been alive this whole time. And we need to talk. About your father. About The Collective. About the real reason you were born. Meet me at the old house. One hour. Come alone. Or you’ll never know the truth.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone.
My mother was alive.
Everything I thought I knew was a lie.
And the truth was waiting for me at the house where I grew up.