Chapter 16 – The Fifth Subject Awakens
The explosion above the estate shook the entire underground facility.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
The emergency lights flickered between red and black.
For the first time since entering the vault...
Michael Blackwood looked afraid.
Not angry.
Not confident.
Afraid.
Grace noticed immediately.
"What did you mean?"
Michael didn't answer.
"Michael."
His eyes moved toward the ceiling.
"The fifth subject."
Daniel stepped forward.
"You said there were five of us."
Michael looked at him.
"There were."
"Then who is the fifth?"
Michael remained silent.
Nathan raised his weapon.
"Answer the question."
Michael looked at him coldly.
"You still think this is a normal investigation."
He pointed toward the destroyed screens.
"This stopped being a crime scene a long time ago."
Grace stared at him.
"Who is the fifth subject?"
Michael finally looked at her.
"The one who was created before us."
Thomas's face turned pale.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
Grace immediately noticed.
"You know."
Thomas looked broken.
"I thought he was gone."
"Who?"
Thomas whispered:
"Your grandfather."
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Daniel frowned.
"Your grandfather?"
Thomas looked toward the old files scattered across the floor.
"Not my father."
"Not Elena's father."
"The original founder."
Arthur's eyes widened.
"The first Blackwood."
Michael nodded.
"The man who started everything."
Grace felt a cold wave move through her body.
"You're saying..."
"The fifth subject is my grandfather?"
Michael shook his head.
"No."
"He's the reason the subjects existed."
Grace looked confused.
"Then who is he?"
Michael walked toward the old screen.
He touched a damaged control panel.
A hidden file appeared.
PROJECT ORION – SUBJECT ZERO
Grace stared.
"Subject Zero?"
Michael nodded.
"The original."
The file opened.
A photograph appeared.
An elderly man in a hospital room.
Behind him were dozens of medical machines.
Below the image was a name.
EDWARD BLACKWOOD
Thomas whispered:
"My father."
Everyone froze.
Grace looked at him.
"Your father?"
Thomas nodded slowly.
"He wasn't supposed to survive."
Michael looked at the photograph.
"He didn't."
"Not naturally."
Daniel stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
Michael answered:
"He discovered a way to preserve memory."
"He believed the human mind could be transferred."
Grace frowned.
"Transferred?"
Michael nodded.
"Not copied."
"Moved."
Nathan looked disturbed.
"You're talking about consciousness transfer?"
Michael looked at him.
"Exactly."
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone understood what that meant.
If Edward Blackwood had succeeded...
Death was no longer permanent.
Grace looked at Thomas.
"Your father was trying to become immortal."
Thomas lowered his head.
"Yes."
"And Project Orion..."
"Was the beginning of that research."
Daniel looked at the five names.
"So the children weren't experiments for money."
Michael shook his head.
"No."
"They were experiments to create a perfect vessel."
Grace's face went pale.
"A vessel?"
Michael looked at her.
"A body capable of holding another person's memories."
Silence.
Then Grace whispered:
"That's impossible."
Michael looked at Daniel.
"Is it?"
Everyone followed his gaze.
Daniel froze.
"What are you saying?"
Michael's voice became quiet.
"Daniel wasn't created to inherit the Blackwood fortune."
"He was created because Edward needed a second chance."
Daniel stepped backward.
"No."
Michael continued.
"Your memories were changed because they weren't originally yours."
Grace felt her heart stop.
"What?"
Daniel's face turned completely white.
Michael looked at him.
"You weren't given a new identity."
"You were given someone else's."
Daniel shook his head.
"Stop."
"You were Edward Blackwood's first successful experiment."
"No."
"You are not Daniel Ashcroft."
Daniel raised his gun.
"Stop talking."
Michael didn't move.
"You are the reason Project Orion existed."
A shot echoed.
Everyone flinched.
But Daniel hadn't fired.
The gun slipped from his hand.
He collapsed against the wall.
His breathing became uneven.
"No..."
"I remember..."
Grace rushed toward him.
"What do you remember?"
Daniel grabbed his head.
Images flashed through his mind.
A laboratory.
A child.
A man standing over him.
A voice saying:
"Again."
"Erase."
"Rewrite."
Daniel screamed.
"Make it stop!"
Grace held his shoulders.
"Daniel!"
His eyes opened.
But something was different.
For a moment...
He looked like a stranger.
Then he whispered:
"Edward."
Everyone froze.
Thomas took a step back.
"No..."
Daniel looked around the room.
His expression was confused.
Afraid.
Ancient.
Then he said:
"I remember dying."
Grace felt a chill.
"What?"
Daniel looked at her.
"I remember my death."
Nobody moved.
The vault became completely silent.
Michael looked at him with sadness.
"Welcome back."
Daniel stared at his own hands.
"How long?"
Michael answered:
"Twenty-eight years."
Grace's eyes filled with tears.
"No..."
She backed away.
"Daniel..."
He looked at her.
And for a second...
She didn't know who she was looking at.
Her husband.
Or someone else.
Nathan quietly spoke into his radio.
"We need medical support."
No response.
Only static.
Then a voice answered.
A familiar voice.
Calm.
Cold.
"Medical support is unnecessary."
Everyone turned toward the speaker.
The voice continued:
"The subject has awakened."
Grace whispered:
"Who is that?"
Michael's face changed.
He recognized it.
And for the first time...
Fear appeared in his eyes.
"No..."
The voice continued:
"Project Orion is complete."
The lights turned white.
Every screen in the facility activated.
A live video appeared.
A man sitting in a dark room.
An old man.
With silver hair.
And eyes that looked exactly like Daniel's.
Grace stared.
Michael whispered:
"Edward Blackwood."
The man on the screen smiled.
Then he spoke.
"Hello, grandchildren."
A pause.
His eyes moved toward Grace.
"Especially you, Grace."
Grace froze.
"Why me?"
Edward smiled.
"Because you were never the final heir."
The screen changed.
A new document appeared.
PROJECT ORION: FINAL TRANSFER CANDIDATE
Below it:
GRACE BLACKWOOD
Everyone went silent.
Edward continued:
"Your mother spent twenty-eight years hiding you."
"But she never understood..."
"She was only protecting the person I needed most."
Grace felt her blood run cold.
"Me?"
Edward smiled.
May you like
"Yes."
"You are the final vessel."
