CHAPTER 5: THE DOCTOR’S LIE

Dr. Hale did not run.

He stood perfectly still while Mason pointed a gun at his chest.

“You’re making a terrible mistake,” Hale said.

Adrian looked at the smoking mark on the floor.

“What was in the syringe?”

“A cleaning chemical contaminated the vial.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“I have saved your life more times than you remember.”

Adrian’s voice became cold.

“You also signed Elena’s death certificate.”

Silence filled the room.

Hale looked toward Eli.

The boy was trembling.

“You should ask where that child really came from,” the doctor said.

“I am asking you.”

Hale slowly removed his glasses.

“Some doors should remain closed, Adrian.”

“Take him downstairs,” Adrian ordered.

Mason seized the doctor’s arm.

Hale resisted only long enough to look directly at Eli.

“You know what happens when you use it too much.”

Eli’s face turned white.

Mason dragged Hale from the room.

Adrian waited until the door closed.

“What did he mean?”

Eli touched his nose. The bleeding had stopped, but dark circles had appeared under his eyes.

“At the facility, they made us wake animals.”

“Us?”

Eli realized his mistake.

“There were other children?”

He said nothing.

Adrian moved closer.

“Eli, look at me.”

The boy raised his eyes.

“How many?”

“Seven.”

“What happened to them?”

“I don’t know. My mother only got me out.”

Adrian felt a chill run through him.

“Was your mother a patient?”

“She worked there.”

“Doing what?”

“She took care of us.”

A guard entered carrying a small object found in Dr. Hale’s coat.

It was a black electronic transmitter.

A red light blinked across its surface.

Mason’s voice came through the radio.

“He activated a signal before we caught him.”

Adrian looked toward the windows.

Outside the mansion gates, the security lights switched off one by one.

Someone had cut the power.

Eli stared into the darkness.

“They’re not coming for the photograph anymore.”

“What are they coming for?”

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The boy turned toward Adrian.

“They’re coming to finish what they put inside your back.”