Chapter 7 - The Mastermind Revealed
The black van sped through the rain-slicked streets of Chicago.
I looked at the tiny cuts on my hands from the ventilation grate.
They had already stopped bleeding, and the skin was rapidly closing together.
I always knew I healed much faster than the other kids at school, but I thought I was just lucky.
"Your parents designed you, Harper," Evelyn explained, keeping her eyes on the dark road.
"They used illegal gene-editing techniques to create a child with rapid cellular regeneration."
"When Ethan Grant found out what his business partner was doing, he tried to shut the project down."
"He took the newborn twins tonight to save them from being locked in a laboratory for the rest of their lives."
I felt physically sick to my stomach.
My own father viewed me as nothing more than a biological product to be sold.
"Where are we going?" I asked, rocking the crying babies.
"We have to get out of the city," Evelyn replied.
"I have a safehouse in the suburbs with enough medical supplies to keep the twins stable."
We drove in tense silence until we merged onto the main highway.
A massive digital billboard was illuminated above the empty road.
It was broadcasting a breaking news alert on a continuous loop.
"Billionaire philanthropist Ethan Grant was found dead in an apparent robbery tonight," the news ticker read.
"The board of Apex Genetics has unanimously appointed a new CEO to take control of the empire."
The billboard flashed a picture of a handsome, sharply dressed man with cold, calculating eyes.
"Arthur Miller pledges to lead the company into a bright new future," the headline declared.
I stared at the massive face of the father I had never met.
He had murdered Ethan, stolen a corporate empire, and was actively hunting his own children.
"He controls everything now," I whispered in despair.
"Not everything," Evelyn corrected me firmly.
"Ethan hid all of his personal wealth and the true ownership documents of the company."
"If we can find them, we can legally destroy Arthur before he solidifies his power."
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I reached into my pocket and felt the cold, hard metal of the silver key Ethan had given me.
"I think I know exactly where Ethan hid them," I said.
