Chapter 9: Project Genesis
Chapter 9: Project Genesis
Rain hammered the roof of Warehouse 19.
Police sirens echoed in the distance.
Blue and red lights reflected across broken windows as emergency vehicles surrounded the building.
For everyone else...
The operation was over.
For Marcus Thorne...
It had only begun.
Rachel Kane knelt beside Dr. Ethan Harrison's body.
The flash drive lay in Marcus's hand.
Blood still covered its metal casing.
Rachel carefully sealed it inside an evidence bag.
"No one touches this except Daniel."
Detective Laura Bennett nodded.
"I'll have it logged immediately."
Rachel shook her head.
"No."
Laura frowned.
"This is evidence."
"And if it goes through the normal chain of custody..."
Rachel looked toward the warehouse entrance.
"...someone inside the system will know we have it."
Silence followed.
Laura hated admitting it.
But Rachel was right.
They already knew there was a mole.
Until they identified that person...
No one could be trusted.
Marcus wrapped his coat around Khloe's shoulders.
She shivered despite the warmth.
"It isn't cold," she whispered.
Marcus gently touched her face.
"I know."
She wasn't trembling from the weather.
She was trembling from shock.
Rachel approached.
"We have to move."
Marcus looked toward Ethan's body.
"He died trying to save her."
Rachel nodded.
"And whoever ordered his death knows he talked."
Marcus understood immediately.
"They'll accelerate their plan."
Inside an armored Sentinel vehicle...
Khloe rested against Marcus.
The city lights blurred beyond the rain-covered windows.
For several minutes...
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, Khloe broke the silence.
"Marcus..."
He looked at her.
"When Isabella came to my room..."
She hesitated.
"...she wasn't interested in you."
Marcus frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"She kept asking one question."
"What question?"
Khloe closed her eyes, remembering.
"'Has Marcus told you about Genesis?'"
Marcus felt a chill.
"I never have."
Khloe slowly nodded.
"I told her I didn't know what she meant."
Marcus stared through the window.
Neither did he.
Meanwhile...
Sterling Memorial Hospital.
Daniel Brooks locked himself inside the Cyber Security Lab.
Only Arthur Sterling remained with him.
Daniel inserted the flash drive into an isolated computer.
"No internet."
"No network."
"No external access."
Arthur watched silently.
The drive unlocked automatically.
No password.
Only one folder appeared.
GENESIS
Daniel opened it.
Thousands of encrypted files.
Financial records.
Corporate communications.
Medical research.
Satellite images.
Arthur frowned.
"This isn't biotechnology."
Daniel clicked another file.
His expression changed instantly.
"Sir..."
Arthur stepped closer.
"What?"
Daniel turned the monitor.
The first document carried an official government classification stamp.
TOP SECRET
Arthur's heartbeat quickened.
"How did Ethan get this?"
Daniel opened another file.
It contained photographs.
Laboratories.
Military personnel.
Scientists.
Then...
One image filled the screen.
Marcus.
Khloe.
Standing outside Thorne Biotech headquarters six months earlier.
Neither of them appeared aware they were being photographed.
Arthur whispered,
"They've been watching you."
Daniel opened the next file.
A project overview appeared.
PROJECT GENESIS
Objective: Cellular Regeneration Platform
Lead Research Partner: Thorne Biotech
Marcus wasn't there to read it.
Arthur was.
His face slowly lost color.
"This can't be..."
Daniel looked confused.
"You've heard of it?"
Arthur remained silent for several seconds.
Finally...
He nodded.
"Only once."
"When?"
"Three years ago."
Daniel waited.
Arthur spoke carefully.
"Marcus's father invited me to a private meeting."
"He said his company had discovered something that could change medicine forever."
"What?"
"He never explained."
Arthur looked back at the screen.
"He only called it..."
"...Genesis."
Across Manhattan...
Inside the penthouse overlooking Central Park...
A woman watched live news coverage of the warehouse raid.
She wasn't worried.
She wasn't surprised.
She simply poured herself another glass of wine.
A man entered the room.
"They escaped."
She smiled.
"I expected they would."
"The doctor is dead."
"I expected that too."
The man hesitated.
"And Isabella?"
The woman finally looked up.
"What about her?"
"She survived."
For the first time...
The woman's smile disappeared.
"That's unfortunate."
She placed the wineglass down.
"Send someone."
The man nodded.
"Alive?"
The woman thought for a moment.
"No."
"Dead."
Elsewhere...
Isabella Rossi sat alone inside an abandoned motel outside Queens.
She stared at the television.
BREAKING NEWS
Billionaire's Pregnant Wife Rescued After Violent Kidnapping.
Her hands shook.
Not because she regretted anything.
Because she had finally understood.
She had never been a partner.
She had been disposable.
Her burner phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
She answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A calm male voice replied.
"If you want to live..."
Isabella's eyes widened.
"...stop running."
The line disconnected.
She immediately packed her bag.
Someone knocked on the motel door.
Three slow knocks.
She froze.
No one knew she was here.
The knocking came again.
Louder this time.
"Ms. Rossi."
A man's voice.
"We're here to help."
Isabella slowly stepped backward.
She reached into her purse.
Pulled out a small handgun.
The doorknob turned.
Locked.
Then...
The first bullet tore through the door.
Wood exploded across the room.
Isabella screamed and dove behind the bed.
A second shot shattered the window.
Whoever was outside...
Hadn't come to rescue her.
They had come to erase her.
Back at Sterling Memorial...
Daniel continued examining the Genesis files.
A hidden folder appeared.
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL
He clicked it.
Only five names.
Marcus Thorne.
His late father, William Thorne.
Arthur Sterling.
Dr. Ethan Harrison.
And one final name.
Daniel whispered,
"No..."
Arthur looked at the screen.
His face turned pale.
"Impossible."
Daniel slowly turned the monitor toward him.
The fifth authorized individual was listed as:
Richard Vale
Arthur staggered backward.
"He wasn't stealing Genesis..."
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Arthur slowly lowered himself into a chair.
"He helped create it."
Silence filled the lab.
Then another encrypted file automatically opened.
A pre-recorded video began playing.
The image flickered.
An older man appeared on the screen.
William Thorne.
Marcus's father.
The recording date showed...
Four years before his death.
William looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this..."
"...then Genesis has been compromised."
Arthur stared in disbelief.
William continued.
"There is one thing Marcus does not know."
"He was never supposed to inherit Genesis."
Daniel looked at Arthur.
Neither man spoke.
Then William uttered the sentence that changed everything.
"The true key to Project Genesis..."
He paused.
"...is not stored in any laboratory."
"It's carried..."
"...in the bloodline of the first child born to Marcus and Khloe."
The video abruptly ended.
Daniel slowly looked toward Arthur.
Neither of them needed to say it.
The conspiracy had never been about Thorne Biotech.
It had never been about corporate control.
It had never even been about Marcus.
From the very beginning...
Someone had been hunting a child who hadn't even been born yet.
And now...
May you like
That child had become the most valuable target in America.
End of Chapter 9
