CHAPTER 6 — THE DAUGHTER OF THE IMPOSSIBLE
The words stayed in the air.
Like a weapon.
Like a warning.
She died because she discovered what you really are.
For years, I had carried one simple pain.
My mother was gone.
That was the tragedy.
That was the wound.
But now Victoria Cross had opened it again and poured something much worse inside.
Doubt.
I looked at Alexander.
My father.
The man who had raised me.
"Is she telling the truth?"
He didn't answer.
That was the only answer I needed.
My chest tightened.
"Alexander."
His eyes met mine.
And for the first time...
I saw fear.
Not fear for himself.
Fear of losing me.
"Elizabeth, listen to me."
"No."
My voice was quiet.
Almost calm.
"Not anymore."
Victoria watched us with a strange expression.
Almost sadness.
"You still don't understand, do you?"
I turned toward her.
"Then explain."
She smiled slightly.
"Your entire life, everyone has been fighting over you."
"Your husband wanted your family's wealth."
"The Meridian Circle wanted your inheritance."
"Alexander wanted to protect you."
She paused.
"And Adrian..."
Her expression changed.
"Adrian wanted you to become something greater than all of them."
I shook my head.
"I am not a weapon."
Victoria looked at me.
"No."
A pause.
"You are worse."
The room became silent.
"You are a choice."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Victoria walked slowly through the vault.
Her guards followed.
But she didn't look like someone who needed protection.
She looked like someone who owned the room.
"When Adrian and Alexander created Cross-Vale, they believed information controlled the world."
She touched one of the old photographs.
"They were wrong."
She looked at me.
"The world is controlled by people who decide what information survives."
I said nothing.
Because somehow...
I understood.
"Your father discovered something hidden for centuries."
"What?"
Victoria looked directly at me.
"An archive."
Marcus immediately reacted.
"Impossible."
Victoria smiled.
"You know about it too."
Marcus went silent.
I looked between them.
"What archive?"
Victoria answered.
"The Genesis Archive."
The name sounded ancient.
Dangerous.
"What is inside it?"
She walked closer.
"Every secret powerful people have spent generations hiding."
"Political crimes."
"Financial manipulation."
"Black operations."
"Family histories."
"Everything."
I looked at Alexander.
"And my father found it?"
Victoria nodded.
"He did."
"Then why didn't he release it?"
Her smile disappeared.
"Because he discovered the final file."
I felt a chill.
"What file?"
Victoria looked at me.
"Yours."
Nobody spoke.
Even the armed soldiers seemed frozen.
I looked at Alexander.
"Explain."
He remained silent.
"Explain!"
My voice echoed through the vault.
Finally...
He spoke.
"When Adrian found the Genesis Archive, he discovered that certain families had been searching for a specific person."
"Who?"
He looked at me.
"You."
My heart sank.
"Why?"
"Because of your mother."
I stared.
"My mother?"
Alexander nodded.
"She was not who you thought she was."
A bitter laugh escaped me.
"Apparently nobody is."
Victoria stepped forward.
"Your mother was a researcher."
I frowned.
"She was a teacher."
"That was the story Alexander created."
My father looked angry.
"Enough."
Victoria ignored him.
"Your mother spent years studying human intelligence, memory, and decision-making."
I felt confused.
"What does that have to do with me?"
Victoria's eyes softened.
"Everything."
She looked at the necklace in my hand.
"The bird."
I looked down.
"This belonged to her."
"Yes."
"What is it?"
Victoria smiled.
"Your mother's final creation."
My fingers tightened around it.
"It is just a necklace."
"No."
Her voice lowered.
"It is a key."
Again.
The word.
A key.
I looked at Alexander.
"You knew."
He didn't deny it.
"You knew this was important."
"Yes."
"And you let me wear it for years?"
"I thought it was safer with you than hidden somewhere."
I stared at him.
"You thought?"
His face showed regret.
"I made mistakes."
"Yes."
My answer was immediate.
"You did."
Suddenly, Marcus moved.
Fast.
Too fast.
He grabbed a weapon from one of Victoria's guards.
Everyone reacted.
Gunshots exploded.
The vault became chaos.
My father pulled me behind a stone wall.
Marcus fought through the attackers.
Victoria didn't move.
She simply watched.
Like she expected everything.
When the shooting stopped...
One soldier was unconscious.
Two others were down.
Marcus stood breathing heavily.
But he wasn't looking at Victoria.
He was looking at Alexander.
"Why didn't you tell her?"
The question was unexpected.
My father looked at him.
"Marcus..."
"No."
Marcus's voice broke.
"You promised Adrian."
The room froze.
I looked at Marcus.
"What promise?"
He didn't answer.
Alexander did.
"Marcus."
But it was too late.
I stepped forward.
"What promise?"
Marcus looked at me.
His eyes were filled with guilt.
"I promised your father I would protect you."
"I have."
"But I also promised him something else."
"What?"
Marcus swallowed.
"That if the truth ever came out..."
A pause.
"I would tell you what happened the night your mother died."
My heart stopped.
Everyone became silent.
"Tell me."
Marcus looked at Alexander.
My father closed his eyes.
Then Marcus said:
"Your mother wasn't killed by the Meridian Circle."
My breathing slowed.
"Then who?"
Marcus looked at me.
"The person who killed your mother..."
Was the last person I expected.
"My father."
The words were impossible.
I stared.
"Your father?"
Marcus nodded.
"Adrian Cross."
The room went completely silent.
I couldn't move.
"No."
Marcus looked devastated.
"I was there."
My hands began shaking.
"No."
"I saw it happen."
My voice became a whisper.
"My father killed my mother?"
Marcus looked away.
"He believed he had no choice."
Victoria smiled faintly.
"Now you understand."
I turned toward her.
"What?"
She looked at me.
"Your family isn't fighting because of money."
"Not because of power."
"Not because of some secret organization."
A pause.
"They are fighting because everyone knows one thing..."
She stepped closer.
"The truth about your birth will destroy every person who knows it."
The lights suddenly flickered.
A message appeared on every screen in the vault.
Not from Victoria.
Not from Alexander.
Not from Marcus.
A new message.
One sentence.
ELIZABETH CROSS — YOUR FATHER IS STILL ALIVE.
My blood froze.
Victoria looked surprised.
For the first time.
Alexander looked terrified.
Because whoever sent that message...
Was someone even they feared.
May you like
Then another line appeared.
AND HE IS COMING FOR YOU.
