CHAPTER 4 — THE WOMAN THEY BURIED WASN'T EMMA
The church echoed with gunfire.
Nathan refused to let go of Emma.
Her body lay motionless in his arms.
Rain dripped through the shattered roof, mixing with the blood on the cold stone floor.
Marcus grabbed Nathan's shoulder.
"We have to move!"
"I'm not leaving her!"
"You don't understand."
Marcus knelt beside Emma and placed two fingers against her neck.
For several seconds...
Nothing.
Then...
A faint heartbeat.
"So she's alive!" Nathan gasped.
Marcus shook his head.
"No..."
"This heartbeat isn't natural."
Nathan stared at him.
"What are you talking about?"
Marcus carefully lifted Emma's sleeve.
Hidden beneath her wrist was a tiny circular scar.
No bigger than a coin.
Nathan frowned.
"I've never seen that before."
Marcus's face turned pale.
"They found her."
"They activated it."
"Activated what?"
Marcus whispered words Nathan never imagined hearing.
"The Whitmore Resurrection Program."
Nathan blinked.
"The what?"
Before Marcus could explain—
The church doors exploded inward.
Smoke filled the room.
Masked soldiers rushed inside.
Their leader slowly removed his helmet.
Nathan froze.
He recognized the man immediately.
Richard Kane.
Marcus's older brother.
A man everyone believed had died fifteen years ago.
Richard smiled.
"Hello, little brother."
Marcus stepped in front of Nathan.
"I buried you."
Richard laughed.
"No."
"You buried someone else."
Nathan felt a chill run through his body.
Richard looked directly at Emma.
"Give her to me."
Marcus raised his gun.
"Never."
Richard sighed.
"You still don't understand."
"The girl isn't your mission anymore."
"She's our property."
Nathan exploded with anger.
"She's not property!"
Richard looked at him almost sympathetically.
"You still believe she's human."
Silence.
Nathan stared.
"What does that mean?"
Richard slowly reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old black-and-white photograph.
It showed a hidden laboratory beneath the Whitmore Mansion.
Doctors in white coats surrounded several children.
Each child wore a numbered bracelet.
Nathan's breathing became uneven.
One bracelet caught his eye.
Subject 07
The child...
Was Emma.
Richard pointed at the picture.
"Your father didn't build an empire."
"He built experiments."
Nathan looked sick.
"No..."
"He searched for children with rare genetic traits."
"He wanted to create people who could survive anything."
Marcus shouted,
"Don't listen to him!"
But Richard ignored him.
"Most children died."
"Only one survived."
He smiled.
"Emma."
Nathan looked down at the unconscious woman in his arms.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The strange scar.
Her impossible survival.
The way she never seemed afraid.
The secrets she always carried.
Richard continued.
"Do you know why the bullet didn't kill her?"
Nathan remained silent.
"Because that wasn't the first bullet."
"She has survived seven."
Nathan's blood ran cold.
Seven?
Richard slowly approached.
"Your mother stole her from the laboratory."
"She thought she destroyed the project."
"But she only delayed it."
Marcus fired.
BANG!
Richard dodged.
His men opened fire.
Bullets tore through the church.
Nathan shielded Emma with his own body.
Suddenly—
Emma's eyes opened.
Nathan gasped.
"Emma!"
Her breathing was calm.
Too calm.
She slowly stood up without saying a word.
Blood still stained her shirt.
Yet...
The wound was already closing.
Nathan stepped backward in disbelief.
"What..."
Emma looked at the hole in her chest.
Then touched it gently.
The bleeding stopped.
Within seconds...
The skin healed.
As though the bullet had never existed.
Nobody moved.
Even Richard smiled.
"There she is."
"Our greatest achievement."
Emma looked around the church.
Confused.
Lost.
Then her eyes landed on Nathan.
For a brief moment...
Warmth returned to her face.
"Nathan..."
She whispered.
Then everything changed.
Her pupils turned icy blue.
Her expression became completely empty.
Almost mechanical.
She slowly turned toward Richard.
Richard spoke one sentence.
"Subject Zero-Seven."
"Return to your creator."
Emma took one step forward.
Nathan grabbed her hand.
"Emma, don't!"
She stopped.
Her body trembled violently.
As if two people were fighting for control inside her mind.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I..."
"I can't..."
Richard frowned.
"Interesting."
Marcus suddenly understood.
"She's resisting the command."
Richard's smile vanished.
"Impossible."
Emma screamed in agony.
She clutched her head.
Flashes of memories exploded inside her mind.
Nathan as a little boy.
His mother hugging her.
Secret birthdays.
Hidden lullabies.
Promises.
Love.
A family she had never been allowed to have.
Then...
One final memory surfaced.
A locked steel door beneath the mansion.
Across it, painted in faded red letters:
SUBJECT 00
Emma's eyes widened.
"No..."
She whispered.
"He..."
"He's still alive."
Nathan looked at her.
"Who?"
Emma slowly turned toward him.
Terrified.
"There was another child."
"The first experiment."
"The only one more dangerous than me."
Marcus's face lost all color.
Richard immediately shouted,
"Kill them!"
Gunfire erupted again.
The church shook violently.
But before anyone could fire another shot—
A deep rumbling echoed beneath the ground.
The stone floor cracked open.
An enormous hidden elevator began rising from beneath the church.
Everyone stared in horror.
Its steel doors slowly slid apart.
Inside...
A man dressed entirely in black stood perfectly still.
He looked no older than thirty.
Yet his eyes carried decades of hatred.
Emma whispered through trembling lips.
"No..."
"It can't be..."
The man smiled.
Then spoke his very first words.
"I've been waiting..."
May you like
"...for my little sister."
TO BE CONTINUED...
