Chapter 7: The Man Locked Beneath the Hospital
William, Emily, Sarah, and two detectives raced to Sterling Memorial Hospital before sunrise.
The police had already surrounded the abandoned underground wing.
A rusted steel door marked VAULT 17 stood wide open.
The air smelled of dust, rust... and something far worse.
A detective whispered,
"We found him alive."
Emily's legs nearly gave out.
She slowly walked down the narrow concrete staircase.
Inside the hidden chamber sat a man chained to an old hospital bed.
His beard reached his chest.
His clothes had almost fallen apart.
His wrists were covered with scars from years of trying to break free.
When the officers unlocked the chains, he didn't run.
He simply stared at Emily.
His hazel eyes...
They were identical to hers.
Neither of them spoke.
It felt as though they had known each other forever.
Finally, the man whispered in a weak voice,
"...Emily?"
She froze.
"How... do you know my name?"
He smiled through tears.
"I've whispered it every birthday for twenty-three years."
Emily collapsed into his arms.
For the first time in their lives...
Brother and sister met.
William fell to his knees, unable to stop crying.
"I searched the world for my children..."
"And they were only a few miles away."
Doctors rushed the man upstairs.
His medical records shocked everyone.
He had never been registered as a patient.
There was no birth certificate.
No fingerprints.
No legal identity.
To the government...
He had never existed.
As doctors examined him, they noticed something unusual.
Burned into the back of his shoulder was an old branded symbol.
A silver crown...
Wrapped around the number 3.
One elderly doctor turned pale.
"I've seen that mark before."
Everyone looked at him.
He whispered,
"Not in this hospital..."
"But in a secret organization that disappeared twenty years ago."
Before anyone could ask another question...
The hospital suddenly lost power.
The lights went out.
May you like
And somewhere in the darkness...
A gunshot echoed.
