Chapter 26 The Ego of a Monster
ARIA'S POV
"Wait." I grabbed Marcus's arm as he reached for his laptop. "Before we plan this rescue, I need to know something. How do we even get into the medical facility? Cross will have guards everywhere."
Marcus's expression shifted to something almost like a smile. "That's the thing, Aria. I still have my access badge. Cross thinks I'm loyal. He doesn't know I'm planning to betray him."
"But once we attack, he'll know. We get one shot at this."
"Exactly." Marcus pulled up a calendar on his phone. "Which is why we don't attack the medical facility at all."
I stared at him. "What? But Kael, Luna, and Dr. Park are there—"
"For now. But in seventy-two hours, Cross moves them." Marcus showed me the calendar entry. "The Genetic Purity Summit. Every important person involved in the Legacy Program will be there. Cross is receiving an award for his 'contributions to genetic research.' It's the biggest night of his life."
"So?"
"So Cross's biggest weakness isn't physical. It's psychological." Marcus's eyes gleamed. "He's a narcissist. Everything he does is about recognition. Proving he's the smartest person in the room. That's why he keeps detailed records of his crimes—he wants history to remember him as a genius."
I thought about all the videos Marcus had shown me. Cross always seemed so calm, so confident. Like he was performing for an invisible audience.
"He wants to be famous," I said slowly.
"Not just famous. Worshipped." Marcus pulled up another video. "Watch this. It's from last year's summit."
The video showed Cross giving a speech to a room full of people in expensive clothes. He talked about genetic perfection, human evolution, and the future of the species. The audience applauded after every sentence.
Cross's face during that applause—it wasn't just satisfaction. It was pure joy.
"He loves it," I whispered. "Being praised. Being treated like he's special."
"Exactly. And this year's summit is even bigger. International leaders. Wealthy supporters. Media coverage from outlets he controls." Marcus paused the video. "Cross has been planning this night for years. It's his moment to reveal the enhanced subjects to the world and be celebrated as the man who evolved humanity."
"What if we ruin it?" I said, understanding dawning. "What if instead of celebration, he gets exposed? Humiliated in front of everyone he wants to impress?"
"It would destroy him." Marcus nodded. "Not physically—though we'll need to capture him too. But psychologically? Publicly? Having his crimes broadcast to everyone he respects? That's the kind of damage Cross can't recover from."
I liked this plan. Liked it a lot. "But how do we broadcast anything? Cross controls the media outlets covering the summit."
"He controls the traditional outlets. But not the internet." Marcus grinned. "We go live on every social media platform simultaneously. Show the world what Cross really is before he can spin the narrative."
"Luna could do that," I said, then my heart sank. "But Luna's captured."
"Then we break her out first." Marcus opened his laptop and pulled up the medical facility schematics. "Small team. In and out before Cross even knows we're there. We get Luna, Kael, and Dr. Park. Then we have seventy-two hours to prepare for the summit."
"That's still insane. The medical facility is—"
"Understaffed tonight," Marcus interrupted. "I checked the security schedule. Cross moved most of his enhanced subjects to Switzerland for summit preparation. The facility only has basic guards and maybe five enhanced subjects. Terrible odds, but better than facing his entire army."
I studied the schematics. Marcus was right—this might be our only window.
"Even if we rescue them, Kael's enhancement is already sixty percent complete," I said quietly. "What if we can't reverse it?"
"Dr. Park mentioned a kill switch. Something that frees all enhanced subjects." Marcus highlighted a section of the facility. "His laboratory is here. If the kill switch exists, that's where it'll be."
"So we break in, find the kill switch, rescue three people, and escape. All before Cross realizes what's happening."
"Yes."
"Still sounds impossible."
"It is impossible." Marcus met my eyes. "But it's the only chance we have. Sometimes impossible is all we get."
I thought about Kael, strapped to that table, slowly losing himself. About Luna, terrified and waiting for enhancement. About Dr. Park, who'd spent eight years trying to fix his mistakes.
Sometimes impossible is all we get.
"Okay," I said. "Let's do the impossible. When do we move?"
"Now. Tonight. Before Cross completes any more enhancements." Marcus pulled up a detailed map. "I know a way into the facility through the old maintenance tunnels. We go in through the basement, hit Dr. Park's lab first for the kill switch, then rescue the others."
"What about weapons? Enhanced subjects are insanely strong."
Marcus opened a duffle bag I hadn't noticed before. Inside were tasers, tranquilizer guns, and something that looked like a grenade.
"EMP devices," Marcus explained. "They temporarily shut down the chips Cross implants in enhanced subjects to control them. Won't work forever, but gives us a few seconds advantage."
I picked up a taser. "You really came prepared."
"I've been planning to betray Cross for three years. Just needed someone brave enough—or crazy enough—to help me do it." Marcus shouldered the bag. "Ready?"
"No. But let's go anyway."
We left the boathouse and moved through the forest toward campus. Marcus led us along paths I'd never seen, routes that avoided all security cameras.
"How do you know these paths?" I asked.
"Cross taught them to me. For sneaking around without being detected." Marcus's voice was bitter. "He trained me to be his perfect spy. Never realized I'd use that training against him."
We reached the maintenance tunnel entrance—a rusted grate hidden behind overgrown bushes. Marcus pulled out a key and unlocked it.
"Stay close," he whispered. "And if something goes wrong, run. Don't try to be a hero."
"Says the guy who's betraying a psychopath to save his siblings."
Marcus smiled sadly. "That's different. They're my family. I'm supposed to protect them."
"Kael and Luna are my family too," I said. "The family we choose is just as important as the family we're born with."
We climbed down into darkness.
The tunnel was cold and damp. Water dripped somewhere in the distance. Marcus used a small flashlight to guide us through the maze of passages.
After ten minutes of walking, we reached a metal door.
"Dr. Park's lab is on the other side," Marcus whispered. "Once we open this door, we're committed. No turning back."
I nodded. "Open it."
Marcus pushed the door open slowly. It didn't creak—he must have oiled the hinges in preparation.
We stepped into Dr. Park's laboratory. Equipment covered every surface. Computers hummed. And in the center of the room, a large machine displayed a blinking red light.
"That's it," Marcus breathed. "The control system for all enhanced subjects."
We approached carefully. The screen showed a map with hundreds of glowing dots—each one an enhanced subject. Their locations. Their status. Everything.
And at the top of the screen, a single button labeled: EMERGENCY OVERRIDE - FULL SYSTEM RESET.
"The kill switch," I whispered. "This is it. This is how we free them all."
"Don't touch it yet," Marcus warned. "If we activate it now, Cross will know immediately. We have to wait until the summit. Hit the switch when he's on stage in front of everyone. Maximum impact."
He was right. We needed to time this perfectly.
Marcus pulled out a flash drive and started downloading data from the computer. "Taking copies of everything. The more evidence we have, the better."
While he worked, I explored the lab. Found files on every enhanced subject. Medical records. Psychological profiles. Notes on the enhancement process.
Then I found a file labeled: SINCLAIR TWINS - BREEDING PROTOCOL.
My hands shook as I opened it.
The file detailed Cross's plan for me and Asher. How many embryos he wanted to create. Which genetic traits he wanted to emphasize. Where he'd find surrogates to carry the babies.
He'd planned our entire reproductive future without our consent. Treated us like livestock instead of people.
Rage burned through my fear.
"Marcus," I said. "We're not just exposing Cross at the summit. We're destroying him. Completely. No mercy."
"Agreed." Marcus finished downloading and pocketed the flash drive. "Now let's get our people and—"
Alarms shrieked through the building.
Red lights flashed. Metal doors slammed shut throughout the facility.
"No," Marcus breathed. "He knows we're here."
Cross's voice came through speakers in the ceiling: "Hello, Marcus. Hello, Aria. Did you really think I wouldn't notice you accessing my laboratory? I've been watching since you entered the building. And now you're trapped."
The door we'd entered through locked with a heavy clunk.
"I'm actually impressed," Cross continued. "Marcus, you played your role as traitor better than I expected. And Aria, walking into my facility to rescue your friends? Admirably stupid."
Enhanced subjects appeared in the doorway—not five like Marcus thought, but twenty. They'd been waiting in the shadows. Watching us the whole time.
"But here's the twist," Cross said, sounding delighted. "Marcus, your siblings? They've been dead for two years. I killed them when they turned fourteen and tested positive for Omega genetics. Everything I've shown you since then has been pre-recorded video. You've been working for me, betraying your friends, for absolutely nothing."
Marcus made a sound like a wounded animal.
"Now," Cross said. "Surrender and I'll make your enhancements quick. Resist and I'll make them last for days."
The enhanced subjects advanced.
We were trapped.