CHAPTER 8 THE WOMAN IN THE SECURITY FOOTAGE WASN'T A STRANGER—SHE WAS DAMON'S DEAD SISTER
Adrian recovered deleted files from the hospital servers.
Most had been erased beyond repair.
Except one.
A damaged surveillance clip.
Only twelve seconds remained.
The footage showed a woman carrying an infant through a restricted hallway.
Her face was partially hidden beneath a hood.
The image glitched.
Then sharpened.
Damon stopped breathing.
"No..."
His mother covered her mouth.
"It can't be."
The woman looked directly toward the camera.
The same green eyes.
The same birthmark near her jaw.
The same smile Damon remembered from childhood.
His older sister.
Elena.
Declared dead in a boating accident eighteen years earlier.
Adrian replayed the footage three times.
"It's definitely her."
Damon shook his head.
"I buried her."
"No," his mother whispered.
"You buried an empty coffin."
The truth struck like lightning.
First, his mother had never died.
Now, his sister had never died.
How many lies had surrounded the Vexley family?
Before anyone could speak again, Elena appeared live on every television inside the hospital.
She stood in a dimly lit room, holding the missing baby.
The child was unharmed.
Sleeping peacefully in her arms.
She looked directly into the camera.
"Damon..."
"I never wanted this."
Tears rolled down her face.
"But if I give your son back..."
"...they'll kill every one of us."
The broadcast suddenly cut to static.
Then a final message appeared across the screen.
MIDNIGHT. PIER 19. COME WITH NO AUTHORITIES.
Below the message...
A countdown clock began ticking.
02:59:58...
Three hours remained.
Damon slowly closed his eyes.
Everything he believed about his family had been a lie.
His mother was alive.
His sister was alive.
His children were being hunted.
And somewhere behind it all...
Project Genesis was preparing for its final move.
He opened his eyes with a new determination.
"No more running."
He looked at Adrian, Sylvie, and his mother.
"This ends tonight."
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END OF CHAPTER 8...
As the countdown to Pier 19 began, Damon had no idea that the biggest betrayal of all was still waiting for him—someone in his own inner circle had been secretly reporting every move to Project Genesis.
