Chapter 11 - A Web of Lies
"Mom...?"
The word barely escaped Ethan's throat.
Claire grabbed his arm, her eyes wide with desperation.
"She's not the mother you think she is, Ethan! She's the one behind Project Janus. She had your father imprisoned when she discovered he was planning to withdraw all his investments from Vanguard!"
Ethan felt as though the ground had vanished beneath his feet.
The gentle, frail woman he had been sending money to every month was actually the mastermind behind his father's staged death.
And Lily's creation.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the parking garage.
"Ethan, listen to your mother," the voice continued through the loudspeaker, growing closer.
"That baby isn't a person. She's a biological product carrying an encryption key. Give her to me, and you can have everything back."
A brief pause.
"Power. Money. Security. Everything you've ever wanted."
The amplified voice startled Lily awake.
She whimpered and buried her face against Ethan's neck, her tiny fingers clutching the gold pendant.
Ethan looked down at the trembling child.
Then he looked at Claire.
Something changed in his expression.
His eyes turned cold with determination.
"Never," he whispered.
May you like
He grabbed Claire's hand and ran toward a secondary emergency exit.
Beyond it, an old ventilation passage led straight to the river.
