CHAPTER 6: She Was Never Their Daughter… She Was the Most Valuable Secret on Earth
"Five minutes until self-destruct."
Red emergency lights flooded the underground vault.
Metal doors slammed shut.
The walls trembled as explosives hidden beneath the foundation came online.
Evelyn stood frozen.
Her father's words echoed inside her mind.
"You are not our biological daughter."
She looked at the birth certificate again.
The name "Evelyn Carter" wasn't there.
Instead, it read:
Subject E-17
Project Phoenix
"What is this?" she whispered.
Her father slowly closed his eyes.
"Twenty-six years ago, the government created a classified program called Project Phoenix."
"They weren't trying to build a weapon."
"They were trying to create the perfect human."
Evelyn's breathing became uneven.
"No..."
"You were the only child who survived."
Catherine laughed quietly.
"Not survived..."
"Perfected."
Samuel, badly injured but still conscious, struggled to his feet.
"Don't tell her anymore!"
But it was too late.
Her father continued.
"Your intelligence..."
"Your memory..."
"The speed at which you heal..."
"None of it is normal."
Evelyn suddenly remembered something.
The helicopter.
The freezing ocean.
The broken ribs.
The head injury.
Doctors had said survival was impossible.
Yet within days...
Her wounds had almost disappeared.
She had called it a miracle.
It wasn't.
It was Project Phoenix.
Suddenly, the vault doors exploded inward.
A squad of heavily armed soldiers stormed inside.
None of them wore national flags.
Only a black phoenix insignia.
Their commander removed his helmet.
He smiled at Evelyn.
"Welcome home."
Catherine stepped backward in fear.
"You weren't supposed to arrive yet."
The commander ignored her.
He looked only at Evelyn.
"You don't belong to the Carter family."
"You belong to us."
Samuel grabbed Evelyn's arm.
"Run!"
Gunfire erupted.
Bullets shattered the steel shelves.
Her father pushed Evelyn behind a concrete pillar.
"I've hidden you your entire life."
"But I can't anymore."
The commander slowly walked forward.
"No more lies."
He pulled a tablet from his pocket.
A holographic image appeared.
Rows and rows of children.
Each one labeled with a number.
Every picture had one word stamped across it.
DECEASED
Except one.
E-17
STATUS: ACTIVE
The commander's smile widened.
"You were never the experiment."
"You were the prototype."
The countdown echoed again.
Two minutes remaining.
The commander calmly pressed another button.
A satellite image appeared above the vault.
Evelyn stared in horror.
Dozens of black helicopters were surrounding the entire estate.
Hundreds of armed operatives were landing.
"This operation has taken twenty-six years," the commander said.
"And tonight..."
"We finally bring Phoenix back."
Her father reached into his coat and handed Evelyn a small silver flash drive.
"If I die..."
"Never let them open this."
"What is it?" Evelyn asked.
His voice trembled.
"The only file capable of destroying Project Phoenix forever."
The commander suddenly laughed.
"Oh, let her keep it."
He raised his pistol.
"Because she won't leave this vault alive."
Then...
The countdown reached...
10...
9...
8...
The floor beneath everyone began to crack open.
Molten fire burst upward from deep below the mansion.
Her father looked into Evelyn's eyes one last time.
Then he shouted the words she never expected to hear.
"Evelyn... don't trust Samuel!"
Before she could ask why...
May you like
Samuel pulled a gun...
And aimed it directly at her back.
