Chapter 14 – The Fifth Child
The screen continued glowing.
Five names.
Five lives.
Five secrets buried for nearly three decades.
Grace stared at the list.
Her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.
BLACKWOOD CHILDREN: SUBJECTS 1–5
The first four names were familiar.
Grace Blackwood.
Emily Blackwood.
Isabella Blackwood.
Daniel Ashcroft.
Then the fifth name appeared.
A name hidden beneath a black security bar.
SUBJECT FIVE: CLASSIFIED
Grace felt a chill.
"There were five of us."
Nobody answered.
Daniel stared at the screen.
His face had gone pale.
"No."
Grace looked at him.
"You know."
Daniel shook his head.
"I don't."
"You always say that."
"Because it's true."
Nathan stepped closer to the screen.
"Can we access the file?"
Arthur immediately reacted.
"No."
Everyone turned.
The old lawyer looked terrified.
"Absolutely not."
Nathan frowned.
"Why?"
Arthur whispered:
"Because those files were never meant to be opened."
Grace stared at him.
"Why?"
Arthur looked at the names.
"Because they weren't created to document children."
"They were created to track experiments."
The room went silent.
Emily's expression changed.
"Experiments?"
Arthur nodded.
"The Blackwood research division discovered something decades ago."
"What?"
"That certain genetic markers could influence memory, intelligence, and neurological development."
Grace felt sick.
"You mean..."
Arthur looked at her.
"The children were studied."
Daniel stepped back.
"No."
Thomas looked broken.
"I thought we destroyed everything."
Elena turned toward him.
"You knew."
Thomas lowered his head.
"I knew enough."
Grace looked at her father.
"You knew my childhood was part of an experiment?"
Thomas's eyes filled with regret.
"I tried to stop it."
"But you failed."
The words hurt him.
Because they were true.
Suddenly, the vault door opened.
Everyone raised their weapons.
But it wasn't an attacker.
It was Eleanor.
She stood there alone.
No guards.
No weapon.
Just exhaustion.
Daniel immediately aimed his gun.
"Don't move."
Eleanor looked at him.
"You really are your father's son."
Daniel's eyes narrowed.
"Don't talk about my father."
She smiled sadly.
"That's exactly what he wanted."
Grace stepped forward.
"You disappeared."
"I needed to find something."
"What?"
Eleanor looked at the screen.
"The truth."
Emily laughed coldly.
"Now you want the truth?"
Eleanor ignored her.
She looked at Grace.
"You need to understand."
"I never wanted any of this."
Grace's voice hardened.
"Then why did you take me?"
Eleanor closed her eyes.
"Because I was trying to save you from your mother."
The room froze.
Elena stepped forward.
"Don't."
Eleanor looked at her.
"It's time."
Grace looked between them.
"What is she talking about?"
Eleanor took a slow breath.
"Your mother wasn't the victim everyone believes she was."
Grace stared.
"No."
Elena's face changed.
"Don't listen to her."
Eleanor continued.
"Your mother created Project Orion."
Daniel looked confused.
"Project Orion?"
Eleanor nodded.
"The program that studied the five children."
Grace felt her stomach tighten.
"Five children..."
Eleanor looked at Daniel.
"Your husband was one of them."
Daniel's face changed.
"No."
"Yes."
Eleanor stepped closer.
"Daniel wasn't born an Ashcroft."
"He was created as part of the Blackwood project."
Grace looked at Daniel.
"No."
Daniel whispered:
"I don't remember."
Eleanor nodded.
"Of course you don't."
"Your memories were altered too."
The room went completely silent.
Daniel looked like the ground had disappeared beneath him.
"My entire life..."
"A manufactured identity."
Nathan looked at Eleanor.
"You're saying the Ashcroft family adopted him?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"The Ashcrofts stole him."
Grace's heart pounded.
"Why?"
Eleanor looked at the screen.
"Because Daniel was the one child who could unlock everything."
Arthur whispered:
"The perfect combination."
Everyone looked at him.
Arthur continued:
"The Blackwood bloodline..."
"...and the Ashcroft bloodline."
Daniel stared.
"So I was never their son."
Eleanor answered softly.
"No."
"You were their weapon."
A long silence followed.
Then Daniel suddenly turned toward Thomas.
"You knew?"
Thomas looked away.
Daniel's voice broke.
"You knew all along?"
Thomas couldn't answer.
That was enough.
Daniel stepped backward.
"No..."
"I trusted you."
Thomas whispered:
"I'm sorry."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Everyone is sorry."
"After they destroy your life."
A sudden alarm interrupted them.
The screen flashed again.
SUBJECT FIVE FILE ACCESSING
Everyone turned.
The black bar covering the fifth name disappeared.
The screen refreshed.
Grace stopped breathing.
Because the fifth name wasn't a person.
It was a message.
SUBJECT FIVE: THE ORIGINAL
Nathan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Arthur looked horrified.
"No..."
Grace turned toward him.
"What?"
Arthur whispered:
"The children weren't the experiment."
"What was?"
He pointed at the screen.
"The original subject."
A new image appeared.
An old photograph.
A hospital room.
A woman holding a newborn baby.
Grace recognized the woman.
Her mother.
But the baby...
Was not Grace.
Not Emily.
Not Isabella.
Not Daniel.
It was a baby boy.
The document beneath the photograph displayed one sentence.
SUBJECT FIVE WAS BORN BEFORE THE BLACKWOOD TRIPLETS.
Thomas stepped back.
"No."
Elena covered her mouth.
Grace looked at them.
"You knew."
Nobody answered.
The vault speaker suddenly activated.
The masked man's voice returned.
"Congratulations, Grace."
"You finally found the child everyone forgot."
Grace looked upward.
"Who is he?"
A pause.
Then the voice answered:
"Your older brother."
The room froze.
"His name is..."
Static interrupted.
Then the voice returned.
"...Michael Blackwood."
Daniel looked at Grace.
"That's impossible."
The speaker continued.
"And he is the reason your mother died."
The lights went out.
Complete darkness.
Then a final message appeared on the screen.
May you like
MICHAEL BLACKWOOD IS ALIVE.
AND HE HAS BEEN WATCHING YOU SINCE BIRTH.
