CHAPTER 57: Victor’s Threat

CHAPTER 57: Victor’s Threat
Victor’s POV 

I watched as the screen faded to black while my face slowly spread into a grin. They had ten minutes. Panic had its moment while planning remained impossible. Perfect. Fear functioned optimally as a quick and intense constriction of the throat.

While darkness filled the room around me soft light from the wall-mounted monitors created an ambient glow. The monitors displayed Kieran’s estate in one screen while others showed city streets and a hallway with Evelyn tied to a chair. Cameras were everywhere. Eyes, mine alone. They remained clueless about how much time had passed since I started watching and waiting.

I reclined in the chair while the quietness enveloped me. I tapped my fingers against the chair's armrest following the countdown displayed on the center screen. Kieran thought he was in control. Thought he could protect those boys. But the truth? He was always three steps behind. 

I’d been working on this for years. The moment Serena approached me with her ambitious plan marked the beginning of my work. Two babies. One hidden. One raised like royalty. A perfect experiment in nurture and neglect. But she hadn’t gone far enough. She wanted answers—I wanted evolution. 

Control held the ultimate power instead of money or names. It was in control. The essence of power comes from controlling people until they conform to forms they never desired. Serena was too soft. Serena believed she could manipulate love as if it were a chess piece. I knew better. Love was a weakness. Fear? Now that was a weapon. 

I left my chair and headed toward the furthest part of the room. The second phase of our project was secured behind a locked door in that location. Files. Records. Names. Experiments that had failed. Children who hadn’t made it. And one—just one—who had. 

They thought Adrian and Damien were rare. Special. But they were just the start. The proof of concept. The beginning of a new legacy. 

My fingertips moved across the chilly metal surface of the drawer before I pulled it open. The file marked "Subject A-3 – Phase Two" appeared in the drawer when I opened it. A name was scrawled at the top. One even Serena didn’t know. I smiled. 

In time they would discover that what they faced next eclipsed their past.

I returned to the screens. Kieran was pacing now. Good. The cracks were starting to show. He had always been proud, polished, careful. Even the most capable people become foolish when desperation takes hold. And Kieran? He was on the verge of losing all that he believed he had managed to control.

As I observed every action he took I told him to the screen “You should’ve listened when I warned you.” “Now you’ll bleed like the rest.” 

The other screen revealed Adrian and Damien standing near the door while they whispered together. Plotting. Their faces showed their anxiety while flames burned in their eyes. I had to admit—it was impressive. They were stronger together than apart. This situation was never included in Serena’s strategy although it did not affect the outcome. They rushed to my trap while attempting to rescue Evelyn.

And Evelyn? Evelyn occupied the precise location where her presence was necessary.

I increased the sound level on her camera. Her breathing was labored as she leaned back against the chair with a bleeding wound on her temple. Brave woman. Her chin remained up despite being restrained. Her eyes revealed her fear to me. The terror that Serena experienced still shone in her eyes before she surrendered everything to my control.

The small room next door contained Evelyn who was held captive there. As the door opened she remained motionless because she recognized me immediately.

“She warned you of the risk in your actions through gritted teeth.”

“I enjoy dangerous games,” I responded coolly as I moved closer. “And you know the rules. Kieran comes alone, or you die.” 

She let out a sharp breath. “You won’t win. They’ll find me.” 

I knelt down next to her as I gazed deeply into her eyes. “Oh, I know they will. That’s the point. We’re focused on bringing them together, not on saving anyone. When the fabricator encounters both segments of his falsehood what occurs then?

Her eyes flickered with confusion. Just enough. 

I stood again, smoothing down my jacket. I casually inquired about the reason behind my decision to let Serena survive so long ago.

She didn’t answer. 

“Because she believed in control through love. Through guilt. She was soft. But you?” I smiled. “You were the opposite. You tried to fix things. Tried to protect them. You thought hiding the truth was noble.” 

She told me her intention had been to keep them safe from people like me.

I leaned in close. “And look where that got you.” 

I spun around and walked away from her location while she continued to breathe rapidly and shallowly. She was strong—but everyone breaks eventually. Ten minutes wasn’t just a threat. It was a countdown to truth. 

As I returned to the control room, I quickly looked at the screen once more. Seven minutes left. 

My next move had to be precise. Kieran was no fool. He’d suspect a trap. Kieran's guilt served as his leash which I could manipulate to draw him closer. He loved Evelyn. His feelings for her persisted though they didn’t align with her expectations. That made him weak. 

I lifted my mobile device to make a secure connection.

“Activate the backup team,” I said. “East corridor. Eliminate anyone Kieran brings with him. Quietly. No loose ends.” 

The voice from the other side acknowledged with a simple "Understood."

I terminated the communication and resumed monitoring the screens. Six minutes. 

Adrian and Damien were preparing to leave. Good. Let them follow him. Let them try to be heroes. They didn’t understand yet. They weren’t the saviors of this story. They were the fuel. 

The experiment focused on pressure dynamics when truth confronted blood. And tonight, the answers would write themselves. 

I stared at Kieran’s image. He had aged. His mouth lines became more pronounced and his eyes lost their former sharpness. Time had taken its toll. Underneath his suit remained the traitor who once sacrificed everything to preserve a falsehood.

Serena had begged him to forget. To let go of the files. The truth. But he couldn’t. He buried it instead—deep. The secret became buried so profoundly that he lost track of its hiding place.

But I didn’t forget. 

The memory of him giving me the first sample stayed with me to this day. Two vials. A choice. Serena thought only one baby would survive. I knew better. I knew they both would. 

And now? They were standing in front of him. His legacy. His failure. 

Five minutes. 

I pressed the comms button and spoke into the microphone while being aware Kieran would receive my message.

“Tick tock, old man,” I said. “It’s time to make a choice. Face your past by coming alone or let her die with the knowledge that you couldn’t confront your past.

There was silence on the other end. A single word flew back to me through the comms channel radiating intense anger.

“Coward.” 

I chuckled softly. Your insults will stop once you see her body.

I cut the feed. Let him sweat. Let him wonder. 

I knew how this would end. 

He’d come. He would always return for the things that eluded his attempts to save. That was his curse. 

But this time, there’d be no salvation. 

Four minutes. 

I moved to the window and gazed at the darkness of the night. The city sparkled below, alive and unaware. This forgotten corner of the world became the setting where history was being rewritten once more.

From my drawer I removed the second file and positioned it next to the first one. Two photos. Two names. 

Adrian Wolfe. Damien Wolfe. 

Underneath them, a third file. One even Serena never touched. 

Subject A-3. Name: Ezra. 

He was the unknown one. The shadow behind the curtain. The next step in the line. 

He was mine entirely whereas Adrian and Damien stood apart.

The clock ticked down to three minutes. 

Someone began knocking on the steel door from outside.

One. Two. Three knocks. 

I froze. 

That wasn’t supposed to happen. 

The monitors showed no signs of motion near the hallway when I checked them.

Another knock. Then a soft voice, muffled but clear: 

“It’s time, Victor. Let me in.” 

My blood turned cold. That voice. It couldn’t be. 

It wasn’t Kieran. 

It wasn’t Adrian or Damien. 

It was someone I buried years ago. Or thought I had. 

I moved slowly toward the door while wondering if this was just a dream.

The voice returned to me with increased volume.

“You forgot about me, Victor. But I didn’t forget about you.” 

The lights flickered. 

The screen displayed a frozen timer at exactly 02:00.00. Stuck. 

My breath caught. 

Behind the door… something waited. 

Something I never planned for.