CHAPTER 8: THE SON WHO WAS BURIED... CALLED FROM THE DEAD
Nathan couldn't breathe.
His phone slipped from his hand and hit the pavement.
Only one sentence echoed inside his mind.
"I'm your son."
Seven years ago, the hospital had handed him a death certificate.
They told him his newborn baby had died minutes after birth.
Nathan had never even been allowed to hold him.
Harper quickly traced the phone call.
"It lasted only twelve seconds."
"But I got a location."
She looked up.
"It's less than three miles away."
Without wasting another second, they raced through the empty streets.
The GPS led them to an abandoned children's hospital that had been closed for nearly a decade.
Every window was boarded shut.
Every hallway smelled of dust and decay.
Then...
A tiny voice echoed from upstairs.
"Dad..."
Nathan sprinted toward the sound.
Room 307.
The door creaked open.
A little boy sat alone on an old hospital bed.
He looked almost identical to Lily.
The same blue eyes.
The same smile.
The same birthmark on his wrist.
Nathan's legs gave out.
"My son..."
The boy nodded.
"My name is Noah."
"I've waited my whole life to meet you."
Nathan wrapped him in the tightest embrace imaginable.
Lily stood beside them with tears streaming down her face.
"I have a brother..."
For one beautiful moment...
Everything felt perfect.
Then...
Slow...
Deliberate...
Applause echoed through the hallway.
Clap...
Clap...
Clap...
Richard Harper stepped out of the shadows.
Surrounded by armed guards.
He smiled.
"What a touching family reunion."
Nathan stood in front of Lily and Noah.
"You'll never touch them."
Richard laughed.
"Oh, Nathan..."
"I don't want the children."
"I need what's inside them."
Everyone stared at him.
Richard pointed toward Noah.
"The chip."
Nathan frowned.
"What chip?"
Richard smiled wider.
"The hospital didn't fake your son's death."
"They kidnapped him."
"And before he ever opened his eyes..."
"They implanted a biometric microchip inside his body."
Michael's face turned pale.
"The Omega Key..."
Richard nodded.
"Exactly."
"The chip is the only key capable of unlocking Project Phoenix."
Lily suddenly remembered something.
"My rabbit..."
She tore open the old stuffed rabbit.
Hidden deep inside was another tiny microchip wrapped in Emily's wedding ring.
Harper gasped.
"There were two keys..."
Richard's smile vanished.
"So Emily split the access code."
"One half inside the boy..."
"The other hidden with the girl."
Nathan finally understood everything.
Emily had never been protecting money.
She had been protecting her children.
Before anyone could move...
More than fifty laser sights appeared across the walls.
Red dots covered Nathan's chest.
Michael.
Harper.
Lily.
Noah.
Richard slowly raised his hand.
"Kill everyone..."
"...except the children."
The soldiers aimed their weapons.
Nathan pulled Lily and Noah behind him.
He closed his eyes...
Waiting for the gunfire.
But instead...
BANG!
One shot echoed through the hospital.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
Richard's men began falling one after another.
A black military helicopter hovered outside the shattered windows.
Masked commandos stormed the building.
Their commander lowered his rifle and looked directly at Lily.
Then he saluted.
"Miss Reed..."
"We've been searching for you for seven years."
Nathan stared in disbelief.
"Who are you?"
The commander removed his mask.
"We don't work for the government."
"We work for your grandfather."
Nathan whispered,
"My father died fifteen years ago..."
The commander smiled.
"That's what he wanted the world to believe."
At that exact moment...
A giant screen inside the abandoned hospital suddenly lit up.
An elderly man appeared on the screen.
He smiled warmly at Lily and Noah.
"Hello, my grandchildren."
"If you're seeing this..."
May you like
"It means I'm finally ready to come home."
TO BE CONTINUED...
