Chapter 28: Fault Lines

Hospitals smelled like secrets. Rory looked at the ceiling, counting the beeps from her heart monitor as her enhanced healing mended damaged bones. Three days since Singapore. Max hovered for three days, remorse written all over his face. Her throat was hurting from three days of inquiries.

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The photograph of her father haunted her dreams.

"Your recovery is remarkable," Dr. Chen observed as she checked her vital signs. "The enhancement formula is regenerating tissue at an unprecedented rate."

"When can I leave?"

"Tomorrow, if your tests remain stable." The doctor cast a peek at Max, who was fast sleeping in the chair next to her bed. "He hasn't left, you know."

Rory's heart squeezed. That was the issue: every act of dedication made her misgivings feel like betrayal.

Night fell. Max stirred and reached for her hand. "How's the pain?"

"Manageable." She forced a smile. "Go home." Sleep on a real bed."

"I'm fine here."

The quiet between them was filled with unspoken words. Rory closed her eyes and pretended to sleep until his breathing deepened. She then reached for her phone, bringing up the encrypted message she had received an hour earlier.

You got what you asked for. Meeting tomorrow. Come alone. V

The morning brought discharge papers and freedom. Max insisted on wheeling her to the car despite the fact that her augmented strength had fully returned. His protection would have been nice if it hadn't seemed like another deception.

"The safehouse?" she inquired as they traveled.

"Compromised. "We are going to the penthouse."

The city sprawled beneath them, thirty levels above. Floor-to-ceiling windows transformed Singapore into a glittering tapestry. Rory gazed at the glass, letting her reflection blend with the skyline. Max unloaded their things in the bedroom, a contrast to the pandemonium in her head.

"I need to check some business holdings," she told me. "The Dumont board is getting nervous."

"I'll come with you."

"No." Too quick. She softened her tone. "You've got the syndicate to deal with. "I will take security."

His hesitancy spoke volumes. "Be careful."

The cafe was packed, ideal for concealing talks. Valentin sat in the corner, his shoulder wrapped under his clothes. A manila envelope sat between them.

"I wasn't sure you'd come," he admitted.

"Talk."

He slid the envelope across. "Bank records." Communication logs. Mrs. Rykard, your father is alive. And your husband has been meeting with him on a regular basis for months.

Photos poured out. Henri Dumont at numerous locales, all of which are recent. Max is usually lurking in the shadows, keeping an eye on everything.

"Why?"

"The syndicate sought your father's study. Max wanted the syndicate. You..." Valentin smiled. "You were the perfect bridge."

Her increased pulse rate contradicted her calm demeanor. "You expect me to trust you?"

"Believe the evidence. Max organized everything, including your family's downfall and marriage. The question is, "What will you do about it?"

She exited the cafe with shaky hands and a weighty USB disk in her pocket. The penthouse loomed ahead, a glass fortress that held more questions than answers.

Max waited in the living room, stiffness in his shoulders. "Good meeting?"

"Productive." The falsehood tasted terrible. "You?"

"The syndicate is reorganizing. "They'll come for Lucas soon." He ran his hand through his hair. "I need to tell you something."

Rory's pulse quickened. "I'm listening."

"Project Nursery wasn't only about developing better children. It was about establishing a lineage. "A generation of naturally compatible hosts." He paced the room. "My father believed he could engineer evolution itself."

"And Lucas?"

"This is proof that it worked. His DNA combines with yours..." Max met her gaze. "Any children we have would be perfect candidates for enhancement."

The implications struck her like a physical punch. "Is that why you married me?"

"At first." His candor astonished her. "But Rory, you have to know by now that everything's changed."

He moved closer. Her increased senses detected his rapid heartbeat and pupil dilation. Manipulation or truth? Her body responded anyhow, attracted to him like gravity.

"I never meant to fall in love with you," he said quietly.

His kiss tasted of both salvation and remorse. Rory let herself fall into it, fists clenched in his shirt. For a minute, she could pretend the USB drive wasn't burning in her pocket and her father's ghost wasn't standing between them.

Max pushed her against the window, the city shining behind her like fallen stars. His contact triggered something primitive in her supercharged blood. She gasped as his lips touched her neck, and her body curved into his.

"I love you," she said, annoyed that it wasn't a lie.

The window exploded.

Rory's augmentation activated as gunshots shattered their reflection. She pushed Max down, and glass fell about them like diamonds. Her phone buzzed; Valentin's warning had come too late.

Syndicate discovered the ledger. I am coming for both of you. Choose wisely.

Across the street, red dots appeared in the gloomy windows. Snipers are aiming them both. Her investigation could wait. Max couldn't die before she discovered the truth.

"We need to move," she whispered, leading him to the panic room. "Now."

"Rory." He grasped her arm. "There's something else you should know. Regarding your father—"

The floor underneath them exploded.

Time slowed. Rory saw everything with perfect clarity thanks to her improved vision: Max reaching for her, the floor falling beneath them, and the USB drive slipping out of her pocket. In that stopped moment, the choice formed.

She might save either the proof or her husband.

Her body acted before her head did.

The panic room door closed behind them as the penthouse collapsed. In the darkness, Max's breathing blended with the distant sound of explosions. Her heightened hearing detected chopper rotors approaching.

"They'll breach the room in ten minutes," they'll say.

"I know."

"Rory." His hand found hers in the darkness. "Remember this moment, no matter what happens or what you learn. Remember, I selected you. "Always you."

Her throat clenched. Outside, their world had crumbled. Inside, her heart fought with her logic. The USB disk lay somewhere among the rubble, carrying its secrets with it. But Max's words rang in her mind: anything you discover.

He knew. He was aware that she had been investigating him.

The panic room's lights flickered as backup power was activated. Their eyes met under the red emergency lighting. They came to an understanding: there were too many secrets and lies.

"Max," she began, but the room's tablet displayed an incoming message. The sender caused her blood to freeze.

Dad: It's time you learned the truth, little fox.

Her childhood nickname. Only her father used it.

The walls closed in as the past and present collided. Outside, a syndicate approached. Inside, her father's ghost reached out through time to demolish everything she believed she knew.

The most heartbreaking betrayals are sometimes disguised as love.

Sometimes the truth is the most deadly weapon of all.

And sometimes the fault lines in our hearts are deeper than any explosion could penetrate.

The tablet blinks again. One message, three words that altered everything.

Never put your trust in anyone.