Chapter 18 - Marcus Hale’s Confession
Noah killed the ventilation.
Fresh air flooded the boardroom.
The upload resumed.
Forty percent.
Adrian ran for the door.
Hale blocked him.
For a seventy-year-old doctor, Marcus Hale took a surprisingly good punch.
He fell against the table.
Adrian reached the hall.
Vanessa tackled him from behind.
Claire grabbed the emergency lock.
The doors sealed.
Seventy-three percent.
Adrian stopped fighting.
He looked at Hale.
“Tell them.”
Hale wiped blood from his mouth.
“No.”
“Tell Daniel who approved Candidate One.”
I stared at Hale.
He closed his eyes.
“It was your father.”
Claire shook her head.
“We know Adrian forged his access.”
“No.”
Hale looked at me.
“Before Adrian corrupted the program, Richard approved one human trial.”
My chest tightened.
“Me.”
“Yes.”
Claire whispered, “Marcus, you told me Dad shut it down.”
“He did. After Daniel.”
I felt something inside me crack.
My father had not been an innocent victim.
He had used me first.
“Why?”
Hale’s voice was almost inaudible.
“Because you were having panic attacks after your mother died. Richard believed memory-conditioning could remove trauma.”
“You erased my mother?”
“No. We tried to soften the triggers.”
Adrian laughed.
“And discovered Daniel could be directed.”
Claire looked at Hale with disgust.
“You created the doorway.”
“Yes.”
“And Adrian walked through it.”
“Yes.”
Ninety-one percent.
Sirens sounded below.
Federal agents.
Adrian stared at the upload bar.
Then smiled.
“You still think this is about money.”
Claire went still.
“What is it about?”
“Succession.”
The upload hit one hundred percent.
Adrian did not care.
That scared me.
Agents entered the floor.
Adrian raised his hands.
Before they took him, he leaned toward me.
“Ask Claire why your father needed a replacement for you.”
I looked at my sister.
She would not meet my eyes.
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