CHAPTER 22: EVERY HIDDEN WOUND

Sebastian collapsed.

Old fractures, damaged nerves and surgical scars seemed to ignite at once.

He screamed until his voice broke.

The remote fell from his hand.

Daniel’s body unlocked.

Adrian’s pain vanished.

Mason opened fire on the overhead lights.

Darkness swallowed the laboratory.

Victoria pulled Alistair’s breathing machine behind a steel column.

Emma pushed Eli’s wheelchair toward the elevator.

Daniel moved through the guards with terrifying speed.

He touched the first man’s arm.

The guard’s hand went numb, and his weapon fell.

A second guard lost control of both legs.

Daniel did not kill them.

He simply switched off the nerves they needed to fight.

Adrian forced himself upright.

For the first time, he and his son fought on the same side.

Mason reached the control panel.

“The elevator is locked!”

Alistair lifted one shaking finger toward the far wall.

“There,” he whispered.

Adrian pressed a hidden switch.

A narrow escape tunnel opened.

They moved Alistair, Eli and the others inside.

Daniel remained behind.

“Come with us!” Adrian shouted.

Daniel looked toward Sebastian, who was crawling toward the remote.

“If I leave, he activates the city network.”

Victoria stopped.

“The medical implants.”

Daniel nodded.

“He can kill thousands.”

Adrian stepped back into the laboratory.

“Then we stop him together.”

Daniel looked at him.

“You don’t know how.”

“Teach me.”

Sebastian reached the remote.

Before he could press it, a bullet struck his hand.

Julian Vale stood near the elevator holding a gun.

He had followed them.

Sebastian stared at him in disbelief.

Julian smiled weakly.

“You forgot one son.”

The building shook as demolition explosives activated above them.

Dust fell from the ceiling.

A countdown appeared across every screen.

FIVE MINUTES TO STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE.

Daniel ran toward the central computer.

“Someone started demolition early.”

Victoria checked the system.

“The signal came from outside.”

“Who sent it?” Adrian asked.

A face appeared on the monitor.

Elena Marlow looked into the camera.

“I did.”

Adrian stared at the woman he had searched for across half his life.

May you like

MY SISTER THREW A HOT SKILLET AT MY 4-YEAR-OLD—THEN MY MOTHER’S TEXT EXP...

The next part began before I had time to understand the last one.Hospital social worker Denise reads Helen's message and immediate...

MY MOTHER THREW MY SIX-WEEK-OLD BABY TOWARD THE FIRE—THEN MY QUIET FATHE...

At my backyard baby shower, my mother lifted my six-week-old daughter and said, "You gave birth before your sister... you betrayed...

I FOUND MY EX SLEEPING AT THE AIRPORT WITH TWINS WHO HAD MY EYES—THEN A...

I Found My Ex, Who Vanished 6 Years Ago, Sleeping at JFK With 2 Kids Who Had My Eyes. Then I Heard My Mother Say, “Their Mother Sh...

Elena’s voice was calm.

“No one leaves this place alive.”