By the time my husband finally came home, our three-year-old daughter had already been buried / Chapter 27 / 121

Chapter 27 - The Venom in the Cup

"Step away from the vault, Clara," Jonathan commanded, his tone calm, authoritative, like a teacher addressing an unruly child.

Andrew immediately stepped in front of me, raising his pistol, but before his finger could tighten on the trigger, a suppressed round struck his right thigh. Andrew cried out, collapsing to one knee, but he kept his weapon raised, his teeth bared in defiance.

"Don't shoot him again!" I screamed, dropping to my knees beside Andrew, forcing him to lower the weapon. "Father, stop! Please!"

"Father?" Jonathan chuckled, walking slowly toward us, his polished boots clicking against the concrete floor. "You haven't called me that in ten years. Not since you chose to marry into the Vance family instead of fulfilling your duties to the Foundation."

"My duties?" I stared at him, disgust burning through my fear. "You wanted me to be a broodmare for your biological experiments! You took Chloe! You took her brother!"

Jonathan’s eyes flickered with a cold, intellectual satisfaction. "So, you know about Marcus."

"Where is he?" I demanded, my fingernails digging into the concrete floor. "What did you do to my son?"

"Marcus is safe. He is living in our private compound in Geneva, receiving the finest education and medical care this world can provide," Jonathan said smoothly. "He is thriving, Clara. Because unlike his sister, Marcus was treated with the complete cycle of the enzyme from infancy. He is faster, stronger, and more resilient than any human child in history. He is the future of our family."

"He is a four-year-old boy!"

"He is the apex of human evolution!" Jonathan’s voice rose, echoing with fanatical zeal through the vaulted chamber. "Look at this world, Clara! Corrupt politicians, crumbling empires, diseases that wipe out millions while pharmaceutical parasites sell placebo pills! We have unlocked cellular immortality! But it requires sacrifice. Chloe was the control subject. Her sacrifice was necessary to calibrate Marcus's treatment."

"You monster," Andrew growled, spitting blood onto the toe of Jonathan's boot. "You aren't a visionary. You're just an old man terrified of dying."

Jonathan didn't even look down. He signaled with a flick of his gloved fingers.

One of the operatives stepped forward and slammed the butt of his rifle into Andrew’s temple. Andrew slumped forward, unconscious, his head bouncing off the cold stone.

"Andrew!" I reached for him, but two guards grabbed my arms, hauling me backward and forcing me to my knees before my father.

Jonathan knelt down, bringing his face inches from mine. He smelled of expensive sandalwood and gun oil. "Here is how this ends, Clara. You will tell me where Chloe is hidden. In return, I will take you to Geneva. You will be reunited with Marcus. You will live in luxury, watching your son conquer the world. And Chloe... Chloe will be allowed to pass quietly, without pain. Her data is already recorded. She has served her purpose."

I looked into the eyes of the man who had raised me, the man whose blood ran in my veins, and for the first time in my life, I felt no fear. Only an icy, boundless hatred that burned hotter than any flame.

"I have a counter-proposal, Father," I whispered.

"Oh?" Jonathan smiled indulgently. "And what could you possibly offer me?"

"Julian didn't just build this vault with your money," I said, my voice dropping to a low, venomous murmur. "He linked the refrigeration unit’s power grid to the city’s natural gas main. Look behind you."

Jonathan’s smile vanished.

He spun around.

Behind the glass of the refrigeration unit, beside the blue ampoules of serum, a small electronic device sat blinking with a steady, green light. It was connected directly to an open gas valve, a tiny sparking igniter wired to a countdown receiver.

In my left hand, concealed beneath the long sleeve of my coat, was Andrew’s burner phone.