Chapter 22 - Veritas Foundation ||

There was a long pause before Holloway finally spoke.

Emma stiffened. Her eyes widened.

Cain's age.

Walter immediately noticed her reaction. "What's wrong?"

Emma's voice was strained. "The date doesn't add up. When Alex and I searched for Cain's records at the juvenile center, there was no birth certificate, however the legal document stated he was sixteen. We didn't question it because, well… he looks sixteen."

Kath frowned. "She's right. Sixteen, maybe even seventeen, just like my younger brother."

Holloway murmured something under his breath.

It was quiet, almost as if he was speaking to himself. But the moment the words left his mouth, both Emma and Kath froze.

Kath swallowed. "W-what did you just say, Mr. Holloway?"

Holloway exhaled. "I said… if this date is correct, then maybe someone made sure Cain's birth was hidden."

A heavy silence fell over them.

That didn't need further explanation. It meant two obvious things:

One, someone was pulling the strings. Someone with enough power and influence to erase civilian records, changing his real age from thirteen to sixteen.

Two, someone with all that power went out of their way just to hide Cain's identity.

Holloway's expression darkened. "The deeper we go, the more we uncover… but let's not get overwhelmed. We're here for a reason. Something tells me this is only the surface. The real truth? It might not even be here."

Emma's grip tightened around the files.

If this was only the surface-

What the hell were they about to find beneath it?

The weight of what they had just seen so far, hung in the air like a curse.

The fox-masked man.

The execution.

The names.

James Emanuel and Cain.

Emma's fingers tightened around the desk. "James Emanuel was eliminated. That's the word they used."

Kath's hands hovered over the keyboard. "Reclaimed. Expired. Successful transfer. What the hell do these mean?"

Walter exhaled sharply, gaze fixed on the screen. "This wasn't just experimentation. This was systematic. Organized."

Emma's eyes darted back to the last name.

Cain █████

Status: UNKNOWN.

A chill crawled up her spine. He was the only one without a fate or a last name. Not eliminated. Not transferred. Just… unknown.

Kath backed out of the files, scanning the system. "There's a door at the back of the library. Restricted access. If we want to get in, we need clearance."

Emma looked down at the bloodstained ID. The last one had worked.

Would this?

They moved toward the hidden doorway, barely visible behind a shelf. A scanner beside it pulsed red.

Kath held up the card. "Let's hope Tony Smith had access to this door as well."

She swiped it.

A pause.

Then, click.

The door hissed open.

The deeper they went, the colder the air became.

It wasn't just the temperature, it was the sterility. The kind of chill that came from a place meant to be sealed. Preserved.

Emma's boots made no sound against the smooth concrete floor. The hallway stretched before them, dimly lit by flickering overhead lights.

This part wasn't abandoned.

It was maintained.

She exchanged a glance with Walter, then Kath, before stepping forward.

And then-

The first room.

Emma swept her flashlight inside.

Rows of hospital beds, restraints still attached. Medical equipment, untouched, as if waiting for their next use. Scattered papers covered the floor, some stained, some torn, but the glass tanks at the back made her breath hitch.

Some were cracked. Others… smashed open.

Kath hesitated. "Were they… keeping something here?"

Walter's jaw tightened. "Or someone."

Emma knelt beside one of the shattered tanks, wiping the dust from a metal plate attached to its base.

SUBJECT 047 – STATUS: TERMINATED.

Her stomach twisted.

She turned to the next tank, but its label was ripped away.

Her pulse quickened. "Kath. Check the computer."

Kath rushed to the nearby console, her fingers flying over the keys. The screen flickered to life, casting a sickly glow over her face.

A single log appeared on the screen.

ACCESS LOGS – LAST OPENED: 2037.

Kath exhaled sharply. "This place was active last year."

Silence.

Emma and Walter exchanged a look.

Someone had been here.

And if the dust-free equipment was any clue-

Someone was still here.

Kath scanned the interface. "Wait… there's a restricted section. It's connected to this lab, but it requires clearance."

Emma's gaze flickered to the security panel on the wall. No keycard slot, just a biometric scanner.

Kath exhaled. "Give me a second."

She pulled out a small device, linking it to the console. Her fingers worked fast, cracking the system layer by layer. Emma watched as red text turned green.

A soft beep.

A pause.

A click.

The wall slid open, revealing the next level.

A vast, underground facility.

And this time-

It wasn't empty.

Desks with running computers. Screens displaying live data. Files neatly stacked, categorized.

Walter tensed. "This… isn't abandoned."

Emma's breath hitched. "It's operational."

Then she saw them.

Rows of metal doors. Small, numbered.

Some were open.

Inside, bunks. Blankets. Personal belongings.

Not just an experiment hall.

A prison.

Her grip tightened on her flashlight as her gaze drifted further-

And her stomach dropped.

There, at the far end of the room, through a glass partition-

People.

Children.

The missing kids.

They had found them.

But the sight wasn't a relief.

It was a nightmare.

Emma rushed forward, scanning the faces. Malnourished. Pale. Some unconscious. Some barely moving.

Emma spotted her immediately.

Jia, huddled near the front of the glass cell, eyes wide, alive.

For a moment, it was like time froze.

Then-

"Emma?!" Jia's voice cracked, filled with disbelief. She stumbled forward, hands pressing against the reinforced glass, as if afraid that if she blinked, Emma would disappear.

Emma was already moving. She slammed her palm against the glass. "Jia! It's us! We're getting you out!"

Jia's breath shuddered. "Y-you- You're real?"

Emma nodded frantically.

Jia let out a breathless, almost hysterical laugh. "Oh my god, Oh my god, you don't know what they- what they said, I thought-" Her voice cracked. "I thought no one was coming."

"Of course we came!" Emma pressed harder against the glass, as if that would bring her closer. "We're getting everyone out."

Jia nodded quickly, stepping back so Kath could finish hacking the lock.

But then she turned-

And her expression changed.

Emma followed her gaze-

And realized.

The other children weren't moving.

They were standing in place, backs pressed against the walls, eyes empty. Some weren't even looking at them, just staring at the ground, or at the flickering light above.

No reaction. No relief.

Just silence.

A thin girl near the back finally spoke. Her voice was a whisper. "If we leave, we disappear."

Another boy, no older than her, shook his head violently, muttering to himself. "Not real. Not real. Not real."

Emma's stomach dropped.

It wasn't hesitation.

It was fear.

Deep, conditioned fear.

Jia whipped back to Emma, voice urgent. "They think it's another test."

Emma's hands curled into fists. "Damn it-"

Walter suddenly moved past her. His steps were shaky, unsteady.

Emma turned, just as she saw what he was looking at.

A young woman stood in the farthest corner. Holding a small child in her arms.

Walter froze. His breath hitched.

No. No, no, no-

It was her.

His daughter.

She was alive.

She looked at him, arms tightening around the boy, and something in Walter shattered.

His throat was dry. His voice barely made it out. "Sweetheart-"

She flinched.

Walter felt his heart stop.

Emma grabbed his arm, steadying him, whispering. "She's scared, Walter. It hasn't even been a day, but they've already done something to her. You need to bring her back."

Walter swallowed, trying to steady his voice. "Sweetheart, it's me. It's Dad. I'm here, I'm real. We're leaving. I promise-" His voice cracked. "Come here, please."

His daughter's grip on the child tightened.

But she took a step.

Then another.

And suddenly, she collapsed into Walter's arms, sobbing.

Walter crushed her against his chest. He felt the boy's tiny arms around his neck, clutching onto him, shaking.

For a moment, it was just them.

A father, a daughter, and a grandson, ripped apart and finally, finally reunited.

Then-

Click.

Kath's voice. "The locks are down."

The glass doors slid open.

Jia rushed forward immediately.

But the others?

Still didn't move.

Emma stepped inside. "Listen to me." Her voice was firm, but urgent. "This is not a test. No cameras. No guards watching. If you stay, you die. If you follow us, you live."

Silence.

Then-

Jia turned, reaching for the thin girl. She grabbed her wrist. Firm. Real.

The girl gasped.

Her breath hitched.

Then, she moved.

A second boy followed. Then a third.

One by one, they stepped forward.

Hesitant. Terrified.

But they moved.

Walter pulled his daughter closer. Kath scanned the group. Emma exhaled sharply, relief flooding her.

Then.

A sound.

A loud, metallic beep.

Emma's stomach dropped. "What's happening??"

She turned-.

There. At the corner of the hallway.

A boy stood by the alarm panel, his small hand still pressed against the button. His face was pale, too pale. Expressionless. Hollow.

He didn't look human.

Not anymore.

"You can't escape an angel," he murmured.

His voice was empty. Programmed.

Kath's voice was tight. "No. No, no, no, no."

ALARMS.

Blaring.

The children flinched. Some screamed.

The entire facility was awake.

Emma's heart slammed against her ribs.

They'd been found.

And now-

They had to run.