finally br

er but not the tension that still gripped Blackstone Manor. The house was unne

e DNA results replaying in he

rect Sibli

d into her thoughts,

who she tho

erased from existence, buried beneath l

under that roof want

-soaked wood and paper hanging in the air. He looked different, his composure fr

lk, he said,

ok she wasn't really reading. I

st night. She's hiding more than she admits. I fo

nfolded it. The page was torn from a medical ledger, marked wi

amuel

s the geneticist who sen

e the foundation bought out his lab. Then he disapp

. Disappeared? Or was

dn't

knew about me, he might have left

checked the foundation archives. H

ne sent me his file. Som

Or someone who

n behind a false bookcase. Damian keyed in the passcode, the air chilling as the door slid

ived here, Damian said. If Lang left anything be

anning the monitors, Can

eyboard. But if someone tampered w

t an

ed. You're

amily could afford, she said quie

ged at his lips, but i

genetic sequences, family records, project files. Elena lean

ottom of the archive, label

t, she

t's restricted to Lev

him. Whose l

. And now m

ift on the keys. A line of code flashed across the screen. For

t her, startled

ash, she said. Your father's code was stor

lief, part reluctant admirati

lder o

screen, each timestamped over

father, Victor Devereux, standing besid

e embryo split into

rial, sir. But one shows an

Then term

he's sti

hen she's

ding abruptly. Elena's stomach t

hoarse. You weren

ang saved me. He mus

at her. And no

ights flickered. The air condit

rd the control panel. Some

shed on-screen an eye, filmed through static, and

dn't have

Every light in the

into darkness. Da

said quickl

m brush hers. The silence betwe

click sounded the unmistakable so

an muttered. Manual overri

owed. Can w

e reinforced. Whoever did

and shot to his side, pulling a small flashlight from his pocket. The beam

d data

wiped, Damian said. Lang's research o

scanning the blinking l

e you?

erminal, her fingers flying across the keys.

whispered, sweat bea

n between awe and d

The screen flickered. D

reen. Then everyth

e, the corridor was empty. The manor's lights were back

ingle message flashed acro

e her. But you shou

address in Cambridge. The coor

e's alive. Or someone

es. Either way

there, whoever silenced him once

l get to

saw not just the frightened woman from the sea cliffs, but the

I'll arrange a car

r room and sat on the edge of the bed, the manor

ee encrypted files labeled Heirloom A, B, and C. Each bor

peared, likely Lang's last

blood. But the blo

an down h

ter echoing beside them: The truth is hi

ood, the experiments. Her mother hadn't just been a victim of Vi

ing da

ough the mist. Elena sat beside him, clutching the flash drive that now held Lang'

alive, he'll tell us everything. About

ed road, her reflection ghostly

killed him fo

k countryside, the storm clouds

vienne watched from the upper ba

Cambridge addres

m the other end, low

why Project Heirloom was n

pression unreadable. You promise

ce said. You can't stop wha

ienne lowered the phone

ore, illuminating the portraits lining the g

time, one se

he girl in the portrait Elena had come to r