Chapter 22 The Gift That Terrifies
The morning light felt wrong. It was too bright and too ordinary after what they had been through. Iris was standing on the cracked concrete outside a brownstone building. She had her arms wrapped around her body trying to hold herself
The children. Elias, Lila and Noah. Were inside a reinforced SUV. They were guarded by Captain Reyes and two medics. Their small faces were looking out of the tinted windows. They were wide-eyed with exhaustion and fear.
Lucien was a few feet away. He was talking in tones with Dr. Amara Soto and Dr. Elias Kane. Dr. Kane was pale and sweating because of a gunshot wound. Serena Vale was leaning against another vehicle. She had her arms crossed and looked lost.
Five children.
This kept echoing in Iriss head. They had fought for three. One was revealed through DNA chaos.. Now there was a cryogenic pod that Captain Reyess team had secured from a sub-level.
"I need to see her " Iris said. Her voice was hoarse. "I need to see my daughter."
Lucien turned to her. He walked over in three strides. His hand cupped the back of her neck. His thumb stroked her hairline. It grounded her.
"They're stabilizing the pod now " he said. "Dr. Kane says she's in stasis. We don't know what waking her will do."
"I don't care " Iris whispered. Tears were slipping down her cheeks. "Shes been alone in the dark for years. I won't let her wake up to strangers."
Lucien pulled her against his chest. His heartbeat was steady.. She could feel the tremor in his arms.
They moved towards a medical command vehicle. Inside the cryogenic pod hummed softly under lights. Iris saw her daughter. A girl with soft brown curls and delicate features. She looked peaceful like she was sleeping.
Dr. Kane was leaning on a crutch. His face was ashen. "Her name was listed as Hope in the files " he said. "She was conceived from your material and Luciens shortly after the crash. Elena kept her as insurance. The stasis was meant to preserve her until the neural tech was perfected."
Amara Soto checked the readings. "We can begin controlled thaw. Its risky. Her brain activity is... Unusual."
Sophia was standing in the corner. She was silent and pale. The revelation that she was Iriss twin had broken something in her.
The thaw sequence began. A secure call came through on Luciens encrypted line. He answered on speaker.
A new voice filled the vehicle. It was deep, cultured and ice-cold. "Mr. Graves. Ms. Vale. Congratulations on surviving my sisters games."
Iriss blood ran cold. "Who is this?"
"Damien Vale " he said. "Elenas older brother. Your uncle. I've been watching from the sidelines for years."
Twist number one landed hard.
Damien continued. "The cryogenic child is not your daughter. She's a clone. Created from samples after the original fetus was lost in the crash. But here's the real gift: she contains the perfected network. Wake her. She can either save your other children... Or erase them completely with a single thought."
Luciens hand tightened around the phone. "What do you want?"
"Everything " Damien said. "Transfer control of Graves Enterprises and the neural patents to my offshore accounts within six hours.. I activate the remote link I have to the clones implant. She will wake up remembering nothing but loyalty to me."
The line went dead.
Inside the vehicle panic rippled. Dr. Kane staggered. "Hes telling the truth. There's a transmitter in the pod. I missed it earlier."
Amara worked frantically. "I can jam it temporarily. Not for long."
Iris stepped forward. She placed her hand on the pod. "Her name is Hope. She's mine. Clone or not she's mine."
The thaw continued under tension. Hopes vital signs strengthened. Her eyelids fluttered.
When the pod finally opened Hope drew in a breath. She sat up slowly. Her green eyes scanned the room. They landed on Iris and Lucien.
"Mommy? Daddy?" Hopes voice was small, confused. Full of hope.
Iris rushed forward. She gathered Hope into her arms sobbing. Lucien joined them. The other three children were brought in carefully. For minutes the five siblings met in a tangle of limbs and tentative touches.
The peace was shattered within minutes.
Hope stiffened in Iriss arms. Her small hand clutched Iriss shirt. "The man in my head is angry " she whispered. "He says... He says if you don't give him the companies he'll make me hurt you."
Damiens voice came through the pods speaker. "A demonstration, then."
Hope convulsed. Her eyes rolled back. The other children cried out as shared phantom pain hit them.
Captain Reyess team worked fast. They triangulated the signal. It led to a jet circling thirty thousand feet above the city.
Lucien made a call. "Ground the jet. Use whatever leverage we have."
While the adults worked Iris sat on the floor with all four children. Sophia and Serena joined them. The expanded broken family formed a circle of comfort.
Hours passed in a blur of checks and strategy sessions. Lucien and Iris stole five minutes alone in a SUV. They made love gently born of exhaustion and the desperate need to feel something real.
Afterward Lucien kissed her slowly. "No matter what DNA says no how many uncles or mothers crawl out of the woodwork we are choosing each other every single day."
Iris nodded against his neck. "Every day."
The universe wasn't done twisting the knife.
A new report came in. Captain Reyes looked grim. "The jet was grounded.. Damien wasn't on it. He sent a decoy. We found documents. Elena wasn't working alone with Marcus. There was an original partner. A government black-site program called Project Elysium. They want the children as living weapons.. They have legal claims."
Twist number two.
Serena stepped forward. Her voice was shaking. "I'm not your niece or whatever. I was born from the program. Lucien... You were drugged and used as a donor times during the early days. I'm one of the results. So is least one more child we haven't found yet."
Lucien looked physically ill. Iris reached for his hand.
Dr. Amara added another layer. "The cryogenic pod wasn't the one. There are two signals. One in Switzerland. One in Singapore. More children. More clones. Stolen lives."
Five became seven.. More.
Hope spoke again. Her voice was eerily calm. "The man in my head says hello. He says the gift is almost ready.. That Mommy has to make a choice by midnight tonight."
The final message, from Damien appeared on every screen:
Choose which two children you will save. The rest belong to Project Elysium.. They all become weapons. Tick tock, family.
The children cried. Sophia broke down completely. Serena punched a wall. Kane collapsed from blood loss. Had to be rushed to emergency care.