Chapter 7 - JULIAN’S VERSION
Claire refused to believe Julian.
Daniel wanted to.
That frightened him.
Because the facts no longer formed a clean line.
Julian had appeared on the research-wing footage.
Claire had warned Noah not to trust him.
Samuel’s letter implicated him in the cover-up.
But Julian claimed he delayed the funeral.
And someone had indeed changed the burial schedule.
Originally Claire’s service had been planned for Monday.
The funeral home moved it to Saturday after receiving authorization supposedly signed by Daniel.
Daniel had never signed it.
Someone wanted Claire buried early.
Unless Julian had changed the date for the opposite reason.
Daniel and Noah rented a motel room under false names.
They opened the memory card from Claire’s envelope on an old disconnected laptop bought with cash.
It contained one video.
Claire appeared on-screen.
The timestamp was six days old.
“If Noah is watching this, I may not be able to explain everything myself.”
She looked exhausted.
“Daniel will want simple answers.”
“There aren’t any.”
Daniel almost smiled despite the circumstances.
That sounded exactly like her.
Claire continued.
“Julian helped Marcus conceal Project Orpheus three years ago.”
“He also saved my life twice.”
Daniel leaned closer.
Noah whispered.
“What?”
Claire explained.
When she confronted Julian one month earlier, he initially denied everything.
Then he showed her documents proving Northstar’s current leadership had restarted the project without the Mercer family’s knowledge.
Someone was using the original compounds.
Marcus Vale was involved.
Julian claimed he remained close to Marcus to identify the person funding him.
Claire did not fully trust Julian.
But she believed one part.
Marcus was no longer in control.
Someone else was.
Claire held up a photograph.
The image showed an older woman entering a private medical facility.
The face was partially hidden.
But Daniel recognized the shape of her jaw.
His mother.
Margaret Mercer.
Alive.
The video ended with Claire saying, “If they put me in a coffin, do not assume it means the plan failed.”
Daniel replayed that sentence.
Then again.
Noah stared at him.
“She expected it.”
Daniel nodded.
“But why let it happen?”
His phone buzzed.
A message from Julian.
MIDNIGHT.
OLD MERCER HOUSE.
COME ALONE.
BRING THE CASE.
Daniel looked at Noah.
“No.”
“You’re not going alone.”
“He asked me to.”
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t.”
Daniel agreed.
At 11:48 p.m., they parked two blocks from the abandoned Mercer family home.
No one had lived there since Samuel’s supposed death.
Daniel entered through the front.
Noah went around back.
Dust covered the foyer.
Furniture remained beneath white sheets.
The grandfather clock had stopped at 3:17.
Julian stood in the library.
He looked older than Daniel remembered from six months earlier.
Unshaven.
Thin.
Exhausted.
Daniel did not see Samuel.
“Where’s Dad?”
Julian looked at the case.
“Where’s Noah?”
Daniel said nothing.
Julian smiled faintly.
“Claire picked him because he doesn’t follow instructions either.”
“Dad.”
“Alive.”
“Where?”
“Safe for the moment.”
Daniel moved closer.
“You were in the research wing Wednesday.”
“Yes.”
“You moved Claire’s body.”
“Yes.”
“You helped declare her dead.”
“No.”
“Then explain it.”
Julian sat.
“Marcus drugged her.”
Daniel stopped.
“I arrived afterward.”
“Why?”
“Claire called me six minutes before she collapsed.”
“What did she say?”
“Three words.”
Julian looked at him.
“He found me.”
“Marcus?”
“Yes.”
Julian had reached the hospital after Claire was brought in.
Her vital signs were almost undetectable.
Marcus signed the death certificate.
Julian realized Claire had been given an Orpheus compound.
He also knew the drug could remain active for forty-eight to ninety-six hours.
If he challenged Marcus openly, Marcus could administer another dose.
So Julian moved Claire to the old wing.
He confirmed she was metabolically stable.
Then he changed the burial date.
Daniel stared.
“You moved it earlier.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Claire told me Noah would stop it.”
Daniel’s anger faltered.
Julian looked toward the dark window.
“If Marcus believed she was safely buried, he would stop watching the hospital.”
“So you risked putting her in a coffin?”
“I kept her from being embalmed.”
“That was her instruction.”
“I reinforced it.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“You could have told me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Marcus was listening to you.”
Daniel frowned.
“How?”
Julian pointed toward Daniel’s wrist.
His smartwatch.
Daniel removed it.
Julian dropped it into a metal drawer.
“Northstar prototype.”
Daniel stared.
The watch had been a birthday gift.
From Claire.
“No.”
“Claire didn’t know.”
“Who gave it to her?”
“Marcus.”
Daniel felt sick.
Julian reached beneath the desk.
He removed a folder.
Inside were photographs.
Surveillance images.
Daniel at work.
Daniel outside restaurants.
Daniel visiting Claire.
Noah at the grocery store.
Claire at home.
Their entire family had been watched.
Daniel whispered.
“Who’s paying for this?”
Julian looked at him.
“Evelyn Shaw.”
Daniel frowned.
“She’s dead.”
“No.”
Claire’s closest friend had supposedly died in a car accident.
Julian slid another photograph across the desk.
Evelyn stood beside Marcus outside Northstar’s Harbor Road warehouse.
The photograph was dated two weeks ago.
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
“Because Evelyn wasn’t Participant Nine.”
“What?”
“She was the project manager.”
A floorboard creaked behind Daniel.
Julian looked toward the doorway.
His face changed.
“Get down.”
The first shot shattered the library window.
Daniel hit the floor.
Julian pulled a handgun from beneath the desk.
More shots came.
Glass exploded.
Noah entered through the side door.
“Back hall!”
They ran.
Julian fired twice toward the window.
They reached the kitchen.
Daniel grabbed him.
“Where’s Dad?”
Julian shoved a key into Daniel’s hand.
“Harbor Road.”
Daniel stared at it.
“The warehouse?”
“Sublevel C.”
Another shot struck the wall.
Julian pushed Daniel toward Noah.
“Go.”
“You’re coming.”
“No.”
“Julian.”
His younger brother looked at him.
For the first time in years, Daniel saw the frightened six-year-old who had once crawled into his bed during thunderstorms.
“Find Dad.”
“What about you?”
Julian raised the gun.
“I’m going to make them think you died here.”
Daniel froze.
Before he could respond, Julian fired into a gas pipe.
The kitchen filled with a sharp hiss.
Noah dragged Daniel through the rear door.
May you like
They ran into the woods.
Thirty seconds later, the Mercer house exploded.
