Chapter 107
Brielle stood by the window Her fingers gripped the wooden edge Her legs felt weak and her heart thumped so loud she could barely hear anything else
She was never adopted
The words echoed over and over like someone had carved them into her mind She felt like she couldn’t breathe like the air in the room was too heavy too full of secrets
Behind her Damian didn’t speak He just stood there watching her silently His jaw clenched but his eyes soft
Brielle please he said quietly
She turned Her eyes full of pain
Please what Damian Tell me more lies You’ve been hiding things from me since day one
No he said fast I didn’t know I swear
But your dad did And Vanessa And even Rylan They all knew and no one told me
He took a slow step forward reaching for her arm She let him touch her but she didn’t lean in like before
I never wanted to hurt you he said And I didn’t know about this I would have told you if I did
She didn’t pull away but she didn’t relax either
Outside Zade was gone Checking the trees the shadows the quiet places where danger hides
Inside it was even quieter More dangerous
Brielle turned and stared at the laptop on the table The screen still glowed with the paused video
She walked toward it Damian close behind her
If they all knew she said slowly Then they hid something huge And I need to know what it is
She clicked into the next folder It opened a long list of files Most of them named with codes and numbers
Her eyes caught one that made her freeze
Subject B14
She hovered the mouse over it Clicked it
A picture loaded A young girl strapped to a medical chair Her eyes wide scared crying A white lab coat stood beside her holding a clipboard
Oh my God Brielle whispered
The girl on the screen was her
You were part of a program Damian said reading the file over her shoulder Your file says test subject It wasn’t an adoption Brielle It was an experiment
She covered her mouth as the tears came
The video file beside the picture started to play automatically
A man’s voice filled the room
Subject B14 showed increased brainwave spikes when exposed to auditory memory triggers Recommendation proceed with Stage Three observation
Brielle stumbled back shaking her head
No no no
Her voice cracked
That’s not possible That’s not me
Damian pulled her into his arms this time and she didn’t resist Her body fell into his like it always did when the pain was too much
He held her tight like he wanted to protect her from everything the past the truth the storm coming for them
But neither of them spoke for a long time
Eventually she pulled back
There’s more on that drive
Yes Damian said We haven’t even scratched the surface
She wiped her eyes and sat down again
Then let’s keep going I need to know everything
Damian sat beside her and opened the next folder It was full of images Names Charts Experiments Some successful Some failed
Then another file stood out
Vanessa Personal Confession
They exchanged a glance
Damian clicked it
Vanessa’s face appeared on screen She looked tired older Her hair was tied back and her eyes swollen like she’d been crying
If you’re watching this it means I’m probably dead or on the run she said I didn’t know how deep this went Not until it was too late
They told me Brielle was adopted But it was a lie She was born in that facility Raised for something I still don’t understand
Her real parents They were test subjects too They died in that place I think they were trying to make super humans Something military connected
Brielle blinked tears burning again
I tried to stop them Vanessa continued I stole the drive I was going to expose them But they came after me
That’s why I left Damian I had to choose between warning you and surviving I couldn’t do both
Vanessa looked straight into the camera
I’m sorry
The screen went black
For a second no one moved
Then Brielle let out a long breath
So she tried to protect us
Yeah Damian said softly She just didn’t do it very well
Before Brielle could respond Zade burst through the door gun raised breathing hard
We’ve got company he said Three SUVs parked a mile back They’re moving this way fast
Brielle stood up adrenaline rushing through her again
What do we do
You run Zade said You and Damian get in the boat Take the river and disappear I’ll handle the rest
Zade you can’t
Don’t argue Just go
Damian grabbed the laptop yanked the USB out and handed it to Brielle Keep this safe he said If they get it everything’s over
They ran
The boat rocked as they jumped in Zade already firing shots behind them
As the boat pushed off the dock Brielle looked back
Zade stood like a shield in front of the cabin taking cover and firing again and again
Then everything exploded
A grenade hit the side of the cabin Fire erupted smoke pouring into the air
Brielle screamed
Zade
But Damian pulled her down into the boat shielding her body with his as the blast echoed through the trees
The river pulled them away fast carrying them into the unknown
Behind them everything was burning
The past the lies the cabin that once felt safe
And ahead of them waited the next storm