CHAPTER 10 THE DAUGHTER OF EDEN
The pulse beneath Valeria’s scar grew stronger.
Once.
Twice.
Then again.
A sharp vibration moved through the skin behind her ear and traveled down her neck.
Valeria gasped and pressed one hand against the mark.
The freight elevator continued descending.
Metal cables groaned above them.
Red emergency lights flickered across every face.
Alejandro stepped toward her.
“What is happening?”
“I don’t know.”
Another pulse struck.
Valeria’s knees weakened.
Alejandro caught her before she hit the floor.
Mateo moved closer.
“Valeria?”
She tried to answer, but a high ringing filled her ears.
The elevator vanished.
The people around her disappeared.
For one violent moment, she was somewhere else.
A white room.
No windows.
Red walls beyond a glass partition.
A little girl strapped into a chair.
A man standing behind her.
Rafael Ríos.
You are not afraid, he said.
The little girl cried.
You do not feel pain.
A machine descended toward the back of her head.
Valeria screamed.
The vision broke.
She returned to the elevator in Alejandro’s arms.
Everyone was staring at her.
“What did you see?” Helena asked.
Valeria pushed herself upright.
“Nothing.”
Helena moved closer.
“That was not nothing.”
“I said I’m fine.”
“You lost consciousness.”
“For a second.”
“You remembered the red room.”
Valeria’s face hardened.
“Stay away from me.”
Helena stopped.
The elevator descended deeper.
Alejandro placed himself between them.
“You will tell her what is inside that scar.”
Helena looked toward the sealed doors.
“I do not know.”
“You recognized it.”
“I recognized the response.”
“What response?”
“A proximity activation.”
Camila stared at Valeria.
“You mean the device reacted because Rafael was close.”
Helena nodded.
The pulse struck again.
Valeria gripped the railing.
Mariana moved toward the control panel.
“How far does the signal reach?”
“Possibly several hundred meters.”
Alejandro looked upward.
“Rafael followed us into the tunnel.”
“No,” Helena said.
“He was already here.”
The elevator suddenly stopped.
The impact threw everyone sideways.
The emergency lights went dark.
Luna screamed.
Gabriel tightened his hold on the injured Esteban.
The elevator hung in silence.
Then a mechanical voice came through a hidden speaker.
“Subject Six recognized.”
Valeria froze.
The voice was not Rafael’s.
It was female.
Soft.
Almost comforting.
“Welcome to transit level three.”
A white light illuminated the center of the elevator floor.
A circular symbol appeared beneath Valeria’s feet.
A tree with six roots.
Project Eden.
Helena stared at it.
“This station was decommissioned.”
Santiago laughed quietly from between the guards.
“No station connected to Eden is ever decommissioned.”
One of Helena’s soldiers struck him in the ribs.
He stumbled but remained smiling.
The female voice continued.
“Biometric passenger count exceeds authorized capacity.”
The elevator walls shifted.
Small vents opened near the ceiling.
Alejandro immediately drew his weapon.
“Gas.”
Helena looked at the floor display.
“No. It is scanning us.”
Thin blue beams moved across the elevator.
One passed over Alejandro.
“Subject Zero confirmed.”
Another crossed Mariana.
“Subject One confirmed.”
Camila.
“Subject Two confirmed.”
Gabriel.
“Subject Nine confirmed.”
Luna.
“Subject Seven confirmed.”
Mateo.
“Subject Eight confirmed.”
The light passed over Helena.
“Architect identity confirmed.”
Alejandro turned toward her.
“Architect?”
Helena did not answer.
The beam moved over Valeria last.
It paused behind her left ear.
The device beneath her scar burned.
“Eden access key confirmed.”
Everyone looked at her.
The elevator began moving again.
But not downward.
Sideways.
The floor vibrated beneath them as the entire chamber traveled through a horizontal shaft.
Alejandro stared at Helena.
“You designed this transport system.”
“I designed an early version.”
“You said Rafael controlled the program.”
“He did.”
“But you built Eden.”
“I built a place that was supposed to protect the children.”
Camila laughed bitterly.
“You call laboratories protection?”
“They were not laboratories at first.”
“What were they?”
“Shelters.”
Helena’s voice lowered.
“Rafael wanted to use selected children to control powerful families. I created secure sites to remove those children from him.”
“And then?” Valeria asked.
“Rafael discovered the network.”
“He took it.”
“Yes.”
“You helped build the cage and then blamed him for locking it.”
Helena met her eyes.
“That is fair.”
The admission did nothing to calm Valeria.
The elevator continued through the darkness.
Mateo held Valeria’s hand.
The pulse beneath her scar slowed.
Not stopped.
Waited.
Santiago watched them with quiet satisfaction.
Alejandro noticed.
“What are you expecting?”
Santiago looked at the sealed doors.
“For Rafael to finish what he started.”
Alejandro grabbed him by the throat.
“He called Valeria his daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Is she?”
Santiago smiled.
“You should ask Helena.”
Alejandro turned toward his mother.
Her face was unreadable.
“Answer.”
Helena looked at Valeria.
“I do not know.”
Valeria laughed once.
The sound was sharp and empty.
“You know everything else about me.”
“I know the file created for Subject Six.”
“What does it say?”
“That you were born in a private clinic outside Saltillo.”
“Parents?”
“Classified.”
“By whom?”
“Rafael.”
Valeria pressed harder against the scar.
“And you never tried to discover why?”
“I did.”
“What did you find?”
Helena hesitated.
Alejandro stepped closer.
“No more lies.”
Helena looked toward the symbol glowing on the floor.
“Subject Six was the only child Rafael personally removed from the maternity ward.”
Valeria’s breathing changed.
“Why?”
“He said the mother was dead.”
“And the father?”
“He refused to name him.”
Santiago began laughing again.
Valeria turned toward him.
“You know.”
“I know Rafael never cared for children unless they belonged to his design.”
“That does not answer me.”
“No.”
Santiago leaned closer despite the guard restraining him.
“But your blood opened every system tonight.”
“Mateo opened the crown chamber.”
“Because Rafael designed him to inherit it.”
“Luna opened the second scanner.”
“Because she completed the family pair.”
“And me?”
Santiago’s eyes gleamed.
“You do not open rooms.”
The elevator slowed.
“You open people.”
The doors parted.
A long underground platform appeared beyond them.
It resembled an abandoned train station.
Concrete columns disappeared into darkness.
Old tracks ran through the center.
A black transport carriage waited beside the platform.
No driver.
No visible guards.
Only a single white flower lay on the ground.
Mariana stepped out first, weapon raised.
Helena’s soldiers followed.
Alejandro remained beside Valeria and the children.
Gabriel carried Esteban from the elevator.
Camila stayed close to him.
The female voice filled the station.
“Eden transport awaiting key authorization.”
A scanner rose from the platform.
It was shaped like a human hand.
Valeria stepped back.
“No.”
Helena looked at her.
“We need the train.”
“We don’t know where it goes.”
“To the safe house,” Helena said.
Santiago smiled.
“No.”
Everyone turned toward him.
“The system changed the route.”
Helena studied the console.
“He is right.”
Alejandro looked at the tracks.
“Destination?”
The display activated.
PROJECT EDEN — PRIMARY FACILITY
Valeria felt cold spread through her chest.
The mountain site.
The place Rafael had been waiting.
Alejandro aimed his pistol at Helena.
“Did you do this?”
“No.”
“You brought us into a transport system leading directly to him.”
“I did not know he controlled this station.”
Santiago shook his head.
“You still think Rafael controls Eden.”
Helena’s eyes narrowed.
“Who does?”
Santiago looked at Valeria.
“She does.”
Valeria stepped toward him.
“I have never been here.”
“Not consciously.”
“I don’t control anything.”
“Then tell the system no.”
Valeria turned toward the scanner.
“Cancel transport.”
The female voice responded immediately.
“Voice authority accepted.”
Everyone froze.
The platform display changed.
AWAITING DESTINATION COMMAND
Valeria stared at it.
Santiago smiled.
Alejandro looked at her.
“You control the station.”
“No.”
“You just stopped it.”
“I only spoke.”
Helena approached the console slowly.
“Try another command.”
Valeria shook her head.
“Why?”
“Because we need to understand what Rafael placed inside you.”
Valeria looked toward the children.
Mateo was watching her with complete trust.
That frightened her more than the system.
“Open route map,” she said.
A holographic map appeared above the console.
Dozens of underground lines spread beneath northern Mexico.
Some ended beneath hospitals.
Others beneath government compounds.
Private estates.
Military installations.
Schools.
At the center was Project Eden.
A massive complex beneath the mountains.
Valeria stared at the scale.
“This is larger than the map upstairs.”
Helena nodded.
“The map I showed you contained sites I had confirmed.”
“This network connects all of them.”
“Yes.”
Camila studied the routes.
“Can she open every site?”
Santiago answered.
“She was created to.”
Valeria faced him.
“Created how?”
“Subject Six was not conditioned to become a soldier, heir, or replacement.”
“What was I?”
“A failsafe.”
Helena’s expression changed.
“No.”
Santiago looked pleased.
“Rafael did not trust his partners. He needed one living key capable of opening, closing, or destroying the entire network.”
Valeria stared at the glowing lines.
“So he placed access codes inside my brain.”
“Not codes.”
Santiago tapped his temple.
“Associations.”
“Words?”
“Memories.”
Her stomach turned.
The dreams.
The red room.
The white ceiling.
The little boy crying behind glass.
They were not dreams.
They were a control system disguised as trauma.
Alejandro stepped toward Santiago.
“How does she use it?”
“Rafael divided access into memory sequences. She must remember specific events in the correct order.”
“And if she does?”
“She gains control.”
“Of what?”
“Everything.”
The station lights flashed.
A new message appeared above the map.
PRIMARY FACILITY REQUESTING KEY REUNIFICATION
Valeria’s scar burned again.
This time, the pulse was followed by a voice inside her head.
Not through a speaker.
Inside.
Come home.
She staggered.
Alejandro caught her arm.
“What is it?”
“Someone spoke.”
“Who?”
Valeria looked toward the dark tunnel.
“Rafael.”
Helena moved closer.
“What did he say?”
“Come home.”
The map changed.
A single route illuminated between their platform and Eden.
The black transport carriage opened its doors.
Warm light filled the interior.
Mateo stepped closer to Valeria.
“Don’t go.”
She looked down at him.
“I’m not.”
The female voice responded.
“Refusal recorded.”
Metal shutters slammed down over the tunnel exits.
Helena’s soldiers raised their weapons.
The platform doors sealed.
A warning sounded.
KEY RESISTANCE PROTOCOL INITIATED
Gas vents opened in the ceiling.
Alejandro fired at one.
The bullet sparked against metal.
Helena shouted to her soldiers.
“Find the ventilation controls!”
They spread across the station.
Valeria looked at the console.
“Stop protocol.”
“Command denied.”
“Why?”
“Key authority incomplete.”
Santiago leaned against a column.
“You need the second half.”
Valeria stared at him.
“What second half?”
“The person paired with Subject Six.”
“There was no pair.”
“There is always a pair.”
Mateo and Luna.
Black and white scanners.
Subject Seven and Subject Eight.
Valeria’s access required another person.
“Who?” Alejandro demanded.
Santiago’s gaze moved through the group.
Then stopped on Gabriel.
Camila stepped in front of him.
“No.”
Santiago smiled.
“Subject Nine was not designed only to carry Rafael’s behavior.”
Gabriel looked toward Valeria.
“He carries the command half,” Helena said.
Santiago nodded.
“Subject Six opens the network.”
Gabriel’s implant began flashing.
“Subject Nine decides what survives.”
The gas thickened.
Luna began coughing.
Valeria covered her mouth with her sleeve.
Mateo did the same.
Alejandro grabbed Santiago.
“How do we complete the command?”
“Bring them to the console.”
Camila shook her head.
“You are not using him again.”
“If we do nothing, the children suffocate.”
Helena reached for Gabriel.
He stepped away.
“Do not touch me.”
“Gabriel, listen.”
“My implant is active.”
The voice inside his device returned.
“Command partner identified.”
Gabriel turned toward Valeria.
His posture changed.
His eyes lost focus.
Camila grabbed his face.
“Your name is Gabriel Ortega.”
He pushed her aside.
Not violently.
Effortlessly.
Then he walked toward the console.
Valeria backed away.
“Gabriel.”
He stopped across from her.
Two scanners rose from the platform.
One red.
One black.
The female voice spoke.
“Key and command must synchronize.”
Helena looked at Valeria.
“Place your hand on the red scanner.”
“No.”
Alejandro moved beside her.
“We have less than a minute before the gas overwhelms the children.”
Valeria looked toward Mateo.
His face was pale.
Luna had dropped to one knee.
Camila held her upright.
Esteban was barely conscious.
The soldiers were coughing.
There was no time.
Valeria placed her hand on the red scanner.
Pain shot through the scar behind her ear.
A flood of images exploded through her mind.
Rafael kneeling beside her as a child.
A red room.
A black door.
Six white flowers.
A boy behind glass.
Not Gabriel.
Alejandro.
Young.
Terrified.
Rafael’s voice filled the memory.
He will destroy the empire.
You will decide when.
Valeria screamed.
Gabriel placed his hand on the black scanner.
His eyes rolled upward.
The platform disappeared.
Both of them entered the memory.
They stood inside the red room.
Valeria was a child again.
Gabriel appeared as a boy.
A younger version of him sat against the wall, knees pulled to his chest.
Rafael stood between them.
“You are the key,” he told Valeria.
He turned toward Gabriel.
“You are the judgment.”
The memory shifted.
Hospitals.
Children.
Files.
Names.
Rafael walking through rows of glass chambers.
Then another figure appeared beside him.
A woman.
Helena.
You promised they would be safe, she said.
Rafael smiled.
Safety is obedience.
The memory broke apart.
Valeria returned to the platform.
The gas continued pouring in.
The console asked one question.
SELECT NETWORK COMMAND
Three options appeared.
OPEN EDEN
SEAL ALL SITES
PURGE ALL SUBJECTS
Camila stared at the final option.
“No.”
Helena looked at Gabriel.
“Do not let the implant choose.”
Gabriel’s hand remained on the black scanner.
His face twisted in pain.
A voice came through the station.
Rafael.
“Gabriel.”
The young man froze.
“You were born to judge weakness.”
Camila moved toward him.
Alejandro stopped her.
“Wait.”
Rafael continued.
“Subject Six will hesitate.”
Valeria stared at the options.
Open Eden could release whatever Rafael kept inside the primary facility.
Seal all sites could trap hundreds of living subjects underground.
Purge all subjects would kill them.
Every option was monstrous.
“Gabriel,” Valeria said.
His eyes remained empty.
“Look at me.”
He did not.
“Your name is Gabriel Ortega.”
The implant flashed.
Rafael’s voice grew louder.
“You are Rafael Ríos.”
Camila began crying.
“No.”
Valeria kept her hand on the scanner.
“You were afraid of thunder.”
Gabriel blinked.
“You laughed when your mother sang badly.”
His breathing changed.
Rafael repeated the command.
“Choose purge.”
Gabriel’s fingers moved toward the final option.
Camila screamed his name.
He stopped.
Valeria looked at the map.
There had to be another choice.
Rafael had designed the system around obedience.
But systems built by controlling men always assumed people would accept the choices presented.
“What happens if we refuse all commands?” she asked.
The female voice answered.
“Resistance protocol continues.”
“And if we create a new command?”
“Architect authority required.”
Everyone looked at Helena.
She approached the console.
“I no longer have full authority.”
Valeria looked at the floor symbol.
Six roots.
Six original subjects.
“Not alone.”
She turned toward Mariana.
“Subject One.”
Camila.
“Subject Two.”
Then herself.
“Subject Six.”
Luna and Mateo.
“Seven and Eight.”
Finally Gabriel.
“Nine.”
Helena understood.
“The root protocol.”
Santiago’s smile vanished.
“No.”
Alejandro turned toward him.
“What is it?”
Helena moved to the console.
“A hidden emergency system. I created it before Rafael took control.”
“Why six subjects?”
“Because no single architect was supposed to control Eden.”
Santiago struggled against the guards.
“You cannot activate it without Subject Zero.”
All eyes turned toward Alejandro.
Helena looked at her son.
“You complete the circle.”
Alejandro stepped toward the console.
Seven positions illuminated around the platform.
The gas thickened.
Mateo could barely stand.
Alejandro lifted him and carried him to the black mark.
Luna took the white position.
Mariana and Camila stood on two outer circles.
Gabriel remained at the command scanner.
Valeria stayed at the key.
Helena took the architect position.
Alejandro stood in the center.
The system spoke.
“Root protocol requires unanimous identity rejection.”
Valeria frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Helena understood first.
“We must reject the subject names they gave us.”
Mariana placed her hand on the scanner.
“I am Mariana Ortega. I am not Subject One.”
Camila followed.
“I am Camila Ortega. I am not Subject Two.”
Valeria looked at the red light beneath her palm.
“I am Valeria Gómez. I am not Subject Six.”
Luna’s voice trembled.
“I am Luna Elena Ríos. I am not Subject Seven.”
Mateo pressed his hand down.
“I am Mateo Ríos. I am not Subject Eight.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
Rafael’s voice screamed through the implant.
“You are Rafael!”
Camila stepped closer.
“You are my son.”
Gabriel’s body shook.
Then he spoke.
“I am Gabriel Ortega.”
The implant sparked.
“I am not Subject Nine.”
Everyone looked toward Alejandro.
The center scanner glowed beneath him.
He stared at Helena.
At Mateo.
At the empire burning behind them.
At the life his father had designed.
Then he placed his hand on the final panel.
“I am Alejandro Ríos.”
The system waited.
He looked toward the holographic crown.
“I am not Subject Zero.”
The station went silent.
The gas stopped.
Ventilation fans activated.
Fresh air poured through the chamber.
The three command options vanished.
A new message appeared.
ROOT PROTOCOL ACCEPTED
NETWORK AUTHORITY TRANSFERRED
Valeria’s scar burned one final time.
Then the implant beneath it clicked.
A tiny metal capsule pushed through the skin and fell onto the console.
The access device had released itself.
Valeria stared at it.
She was free.
The platform map changed.
Every active site became visible.
Three hundred and twelve subjects.
Seventeen facilities.
Project Eden at the center.
Then one additional signal appeared.
A moving signal.
Directly beneath them.
Helena’s face changed.
“That cannot be.”
“What?” Alejandro asked.
She enlarged the map.
A massive underground transport was moving toward the station from Eden.
Not a train.
Something larger.
The system identified it.
MOBILE CONTAINMENT UNIT
Life signs appeared inside.
One hundred and forty-eight.
Valeria stared at the number.
“Subjects?”
Helena shook her head.
“Soldiers.”
A live camera activated.
Rows of armed men stood inside the approaching transport.
At the front was Rafael Ríos.
Alive.
Smiling.
Beside him stood a teenage girl with Valeria’s face.
Not similar.
Identical.
Rafael placed one hand on the girl’s shoulder.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
“You rejected the identities I gave you.”
The girl smiled.
Rafael continued.
“So I made replacements.”
The station doors began unlocking.
The mobile unit was less than two minutes away.
Valeria stared at the girl on the screen.
The girl lifted one hand and touched an identical scar behind her left ear.
May you like
Then she spoke in Valeria’s voice.
“Hello, sister.”
