Chapter 13

The Shadow's Warning

Victor Wren's voice was shaky, his eyes darting around the dim warehouse as if expecting someone to jump out of the shadows. He was disheveled, but there was something about his presence—something desperate—that sent a chill down Samantha's spine. This wasn't just a frightened man trying to hide from his past. This was someone who knew something dangerous. And whatever it was, he was terrified.

"Victor," Samantha said, stepping forward carefully. "We're not here to hurt you. We just want answers. You've been missing for months. The Broker, Blackwood—everything is connected. We need to know what happened."

Victor's eyes flicked to Daniel, who stood behind her, silent but alert. His chest was rising and falling with the tension in the air, but he made no move to approach. Samantha knew better than to push too hard, but her patience was wearing thin.

Victor took a shaky breath, then collapsed into a heap on a nearby crate. His hand trembled as he rubbed his forehead. "They... they're coming. They'll kill you all," he muttered, almost to himself.

Samantha crouched in front of him. "Who, Victor? Who's coming?"

Victor didn't answer immediately. Instead, he stared at the floor, lost in his own thoughts. Samantha could see the weight of whatever was eating at him, the way his hands clenched into fists as if trying to hold back a flood of information he couldn't—or wouldn't—share.

"They made me disappear," Victor whispered finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "Blackwood... he thought I betrayed him. And maybe I did... but it wasn't like they said. He's worse than anyone realizes. He's not just running a criminal empire—he's planning something bigger, something terrible. I was trying to stop him."

Samantha leaned in, her instincts telling her they were close. She could feel the thread of the investigation pulling tighter, and this man was the key to unraveling it.

"What is he planning, Victor?" Daniel asked, his voice low but firm. "What's Blackwood going to do?"

Victor's eyes locked onto Samantha's, and for a moment, she saw the sheer terror there—genuine fear that made him almost unrecognizable. "You need to stop him. All of you. If he's allowed to finish what he's started, it'll be too late."

Samantha stood, frustration mounting. "What exactly is he planning? You have to give us something more, Victor. We don't have time to play games."

Victor let out a heavy sigh and finally seemed to surrender, as if he realized that his life, and the lives of those around him, depended on what he revealed next.

"They're calling it Project Lazarus," Victor said, his voice cracking. "It's a weapon. A biological weapon, designed to control people's minds. They've been developing it for years. Blackwood's father was one of the first to fund the project. And now—now Blackwood's finished it. He's planning to unleash it on the city. The Broker's helping him, and you... you've been looking in the wrong places."

Samantha felt a surge of nausea. A biological weapon? It was worse than she had imagined. All the murders, the disappearances, the false leads—they were all part of Blackwood's twisted plan to create chaos, and Samantha had been too close to the truth for too long.

"Where is it, Victor?" Daniel demanded, stepping closer. "Where's Project Lazarus? We need to destroy it before Blackwood gets his hands on it."

Victor's face was ashen. "I don't know where it is," he admitted. "I was part of the research team at one point, but I left. I couldn't stand what they were doing. But I do know this—Blackwood is hiding it in a place called the Forsaken Facility. It's an old military compound, hidden under the city."

Samantha felt her stomach churn. A hidden facility beneath the city? The stakes had just gone from bad to worse.

"The Forsaken Facility," Samantha repeated, her mind racing. "Where is it exactly?"

Victor hesitated for a moment, then pulled a small, folded piece of paper from his pocket. He handed it to Samantha, his eyes scanning the room nervously.

"Take this," he said. "It's the blueprint of the facility. It's the only way you'll get in. But be careful. The place is guarded, and Blackwood won't let anyone interfere with his plans."

Samantha took the blueprint, feeling the weight of it in her hands. It was a map, with a series of corridors and rooms marked with strange symbols. The Forsaken Facility was bigger than she had anticipated. And whatever was inside, it wasn't just a biological weapon—it was a time bomb waiting to go off.

"We'll stop him, Victor," Samantha said, her voice steady, despite the fear gnawing at the pit of her stomach. "But you need to come with us. We can protect you."

Victor shook his head violently, his eyes wide. "No. I can't. Blackwood's men are everywhere. I'm already dead in their eyes. But you... you can stop this. You have to."

Samantha's mind was already working, calculating the risks. They couldn't afford to leave him here, but at the same time, they couldn't afford to have him complicate their mission. "We'll make sure you're safe," she said softly. "But right now, we need to focus on stopping Blackwood. Can you give us any more information about the Forsaken Facility? Security? Access points?"

Victor swallowed hard, his eyes darting around the room. "There's one way in—through the old subway tunnels. They're the only way to access the facility undetected. But once you're inside... I don't know how long you'll have before they realize you're there."

---

The plan was set. They would enter through the subway tunnels, locate the Forsaken Facility, and do whatever it took to destroy Project Lazarus. But Samantha couldn't shake the feeling that they were walking into the lion's den. And the closer they got, the more dangerous the game became.

As they left the warehouse, Samantha felt the weight of everything pressing down on her. There was no turning back now. They were in too deep, and Blackwood's reach was too wide. But they couldn't stop. Not now. Not when so many lives depended on it.

-end of chapter 13