PART 13 — THE MAN WHO STARTED EVERYTHING

The man stood in the doorway.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Even Richard had stopped smiling.
The stranger lowered the gun slightly.
His eyes remained fixed on me.
“Hello, son.”
I stared at him.
“No.”
He smiled.
“You know me.”
“I’ve never seen you before.”
“You have.”
“When?”
“When you were a child.”
My head began pounding.
Images flashed through my mind.
A hallway.
A man carrying a briefcase.
My mother crying.
My grandfather shouting.

A little boy hiding beneath a table.

A hand reaching toward me.

A voice whispering:

“Don’t be afraid.”

I staggered backward.

The man stepped forward.

“Your memories are returning.”

I pointed at him.

“Who are you?”

He smiled.

“My name is Adrian Veyra.”

My grandmother closed her eyes.

Elena whispered:

“Adrian.”

Henry looked at him in disbelief.

“You’re dead.”

Adrian laughed.

“So was your father.”

He looked at my grandfather.

My grandfather was still lying on the floor.

Blood spread across his shirt.

But he was alive.

Barely.

Adrian continued:

“You were always very good at believing what people told you.”

I looked at Richard.

“And you?”

Richard smiled.

“I never lied about who I was.”

I stared.

“You said you were Jonathan.”

Richard’s smile faded.

“That was necessary.”

Adrian interrupted:

“Enough.”

Richard immediately stopped talking.

That frightened me more than anything.

Richard had never been afraid of anyone.

But he was afraid of Adrian.

I looked at my mother.

“You knew.”

She was crying.

“I knew he was alive.”

“You knew my father was alive?”

“Yes.”

“And you never told me?”

“I was trying to protect you.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Everyone says that.”

Adrian stepped closer.

“Your mother made the right choice.”

I looked at him.

“You don’t get to say that.”

He stopped.

“Why?”

“Because you abandoned us.”

His expression changed.

“I didn’t abandon you.”

“You left.”

“I was forced to.”

“By whom?”

He looked at my grandfather.

“Your grandfather.”

My grandfather slowly opened his eyes.

“Don’t listen to him.”

Adrian smiled.

“You still lie even while dying.”

My grandfather coughed.

“You killed me once.”

Adrian’s face became cold.

“And you deserved it.”

I stared at both of them.

“What happened?”

Neither answered.

I shouted:

“WHAT HAPPENED?”

The entire room went silent.

Adrian finally spoke.

“Your grandfather betrayed me.”

My grandfather laughed weakly.

“You betrayed everyone first.”

Adrian looked at him.

“I built the network.”

“You built a prison.”

“I built protection.”

“You built control.”

“I built something that could survive.”

My grandmother stepped forward.

“You built something that could destroy the world.”

Adrian looked at her.

“And you helped me.”

She shook her head.

“Until I discovered what you planned.”

I looked at her.

“What did he plan?”

She hesitated.

Adrian answered.

“To create people who could carry information without computers.”

I looked at Lily.

“And me.”

“Yes.”

“And the other children.”

“Yes.”

I stared at him.

“Why?”

“Because information is power.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

“It is the only answer.”

Adrian walked toward the computer.

“You think governments control the world.”

He shook his head.

“They don’t.”

“You think billionaires control the world.”

“They don’t.”

“You think criminals control the world.”

“They don’t.”

He turned toward me.

“Information controls the world.”

He pointed toward the archive.

“Who knows what?”

“Who can prove it?”

“Who can erase it?”

“Who can hide it?”

“That is power.”

I looked at Lily.

“And you created children to store that power.”

“Yes.”

“You experimented on us.”

“Yes.”

“Why me?”

Adrian stared at me.

“Because you were different.”

“How?”

“You could forget.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“You could remember everything…”

He paused.

“…and then choose what to forget.”

I felt cold.

“Lily couldn’t.”

He nodded.

“She remembers everything.”

“Then why did you need me?”

“Because memory without control is a prison.”

He stepped closer.

“Your mind could separate truth from memory.”

I didn’t understand.

“What does that mean?”

“You don’t simply remember events.”

He touched his temple.

“You understand them.”

My grandmother interrupted.

“Don’t let him manipulate you.”

Adrian looked at her.

“Tell him what happened the night he was born.”

She froze.

I looked at her.

“What happened?”

She didn’t answer.

I turned toward Elena.

“Mom?”

She began crying.

Adrian spoke.

“You were born during the final phase of the experiment.”

My heart stopped.

“The experiment began with Lily.”

He pointed toward her.

“She was Subject 0001.”

“Then me?”

“Subject 0002.”

“And the others?”

“Attempts.”

“How many?”

“Thirty-seven.”

I looked at Lily.

“Why did she survive?”

“Because she had extraordinary memory.”

“And why did I survive?”

“Because you had something she didn’t.”

“What?”

Adrian smiled.

“Choice.”

I stared.

“You were able to reject memories.”

I shook my head.

“I don’t understand.”

“You forgot because you chose to.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

He pointed at the screen.

“Watch.”

A video appeared.

Me.

Eight years old.

Sitting in the same room.

My grandfather sat beside me.

But this time—

Adrian was standing behind him.

I stared at the screen.

The child version of me looked at Adrian.

“Father?”

My entire body froze.

I looked at the real Adrian.

He nodded.

“Yes.”

The video continued.

Adrian knelt beside the child.

“Do you know why you’re here?”

The child shook his head.

“Because they want you to remember.”

“Remember what?”

“Everything.”

The child looked at my grandfather.

Then at Elena.

Then at Lily.

He began crying.

“I don’t want to.”

Adrian placed his hand on his shoulder.

“Then don’t.”

The child looked at him.

“Can I forget?”

“Yes.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.”

“Even you?”

Adrian’s face changed.

“Yes.”

The child began crying harder.

“I’m sorry.”

Adrian whispered:

“It’s okay.”

The screen went black.

I couldn’t speak.

That memory wasn’t painful.

It was worse.

It was love.

My father had been there.

He had let me forget him.

Because I was afraid.

I looked at him.

“You knew I would forget you.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you stop it?”

“Because your grandfather was going to kill you if you refused.”

My grandfather shouted:

“That’s a lie!”

Adrian turned toward him.

“You put a gun to your own grandson’s head.”

The room went silent.

My grandfather looked away.

I stared at him.

“Is that true?”

He didn’t answer.

I felt something break inside me.

“You were going to kill me?”

He whispered:

“I was trying to save the project.”

I laughed.

“Of course.”

Adrian looked at me.

“That is why I took you.”

“You kidnapped me?”

“I rescued you.”

“From my grandfather?”

“Yes.”

“Then why did I grow up believing Henry was my father?”

“Because Henry protected you.”

I looked at Henry.

“You knew?”

He nodded.

“I knew everything.”

“You lied to me.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because your father asked me to.”

I looked at Adrian.

Adrian nodded.

“You needed a normal life.”

I shook my head.

“Nothing about my life was normal.”

“No.”

He looked sad.

“But you were alive.”

Suddenly—

a loud crash came from outside.

Everyone turned.

Richard looked toward the door.

“What was that?”

My grandmother smiled.

“They’re here.”

“Who?”

She looked at Adrian.

“Your enemies.”

Adrian’s expression changed.

“How many?”

“Enough.”

Richard moved toward the entrance.

“Who?”

My grandmother answered:

“The people who have been waiting twenty years.”

The lights flickered.

Then the monitors came alive.

Hundreds of locations appeared.

Cars.

Buildings.

Airports.

Banks.

Police stations.

And then—

the entire screen changed.

A message appeared:

PHASE TWO HAS BEGUN.

I looked at Adrian.

“What is Phase Two?”

He didn’t answer.

My grandfather did.

“The release.”

I frowned.

“Release of what?”

“Everything.”

The archive began uploading.

Again.

But this time—

it wasn’t to the internet.

It was going somewhere else.

I looked at the screen.

A countdown appeared.

29:59

“What happens in thirty minutes?”

Adrian looked at me.

“The world learns everything.”

“That’s what we wanted.”

“No.”

He shook his head.

“You don’t understand.”

“What?”

“The archive doesn’t contain only evidence.”

He looked at the screens.

“It contains access.”

“Access to what?”

“Every system connected to the network.”

Banks.

Security systems.

Communication systems.

Government systems.

Everything.

My stomach dropped.

“You’re saying the archive can control them?”

“Yes.”

“Then stop it.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because your grandfather designed the final sequence.”

I looked at my grandfather.

He smiled weakly.

“You were always going to activate it.”

I felt sick.

“You planned this.”

“Yes.”

“Even my arrival?”

“Yes.”

“Lily?”

“Yes.”

“My mother?”

“Yes.”

“Everything?”

“Yes.”

I stared at him.

“Why?”

He looked at me.

“Because I knew you would eventually choose the truth.”

The countdown continued.

24:18

I looked at Adrian.

“You can stop it.”

“No.”

“You started it.”

“Yes.”

“Then stop it.”

“I don’t have the key.”

I frowned.

“What key?”

He looked at me.

“You.”

I stared.

The realization hit me.

The archive wasn’t responding to my fingerprints.

It was responding to my memory.

My mind was the key.

I walked toward the computer.

A message appeared.

PRIMARY SUBJECT REQUIRED.

Then:

REMEMBER THE FIRST CODE.

I closed my eyes.

Numbers appeared.

Seven.

Eight.

Four.

Two.

But that wasn’t it.

Another sequence.

I saw my grandfather teaching me.

“Not numbers.”

What?

His voice echoed in my memory.

“Names.”

I remembered.

The first code wasn’t a number.

It was a name.

A name I had forgotten.

I whispered it.

The computer responded.

CODE ACCEPTED.

Everyone stared.

A second message appeared.

SECOND CODE REQUIRED.

I closed my eyes again.

Another memory.

My mother.

Holding me.

Singing.

A lullaby.

Inside the lullaby was a hidden word.

I whispered it.

The computer responded.

CODE ACCEPTED.

Then:

FINAL CODE REQUIRED.

I froze.

“What?”

My grandfather smiled.

“You don’t know the final code.”

“Then how do I find it?”

He looked at Lily.

She stepped forward.

“I know.”

Everyone turned toward her.

Lily looked at me.

“It’s not a word.”

“What is it?”

“A memory.”

“Which one?”

She touched my hand.

“The first time you loved someone.”

I froze.

I remembered.

Gwen.

The first time I saw her.

The first time she smiled.

The first time she held my hand.

The first time I realized I wasn’t alone.

I whispered her name.

The computer went silent.

Then—

FINAL CODE ACCEPTED.

The countdown stopped.

00:00

Every screen went black.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then a single message appeared.

ARCHIVE CONTROL TRANSFERRED.

PRIMARY SUBJECT: YOU.

I stared.

The entire system was now under my control.

Adrian looked at me.

“You did it.”

I turned toward him.

“What do I control?”

He answered:

“Everything.”

The room became silent.

I could access every account.

Every document.

Every camera.

Every secret.

Every piece of information the network had collected.

I understood why my grandfather had wanted me.

I understood why Adrian had wanted me.

I understood why Richard was terrified.

Whoever controlled the archive could control the world.

I looked at the keyboard.

Then I did something nobody expected.

I shut it down.

Adrian stared.

“What are you doing?”

“Ending it.”

“You can’t.”

“Watch me.”

I selected:

DELETE CONTROL ACCESS.

A warning appeared.

THIS ACTION CANNOT BE UNDONE.

I pressed YES.

The system began shutting down.

My grandfather screamed:

“No!”

Adrian stepped forward.

“Stop!”

Richard shouted:

“You idiot!”

I didn’t.

Screens went dark.

One by one.

The archive disconnected.

The network collapsed.

The cameras shut off.

The hidden systems went silent.

Then the final message appeared:

CONTROL DESTROYED.

The room became completely dark.

I turned around.

For the first time—

nobody controlled anyone.

My grandfather stared at me.

“You destroyed everything.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

I looked at Lily.

“I destroyed the part that made us prisoners.”

She smiled.

Then—

a gunshot.

My grandfather fell.

Everyone screamed.

I turned.

Richard stood at the doorway.

His gun was smoking.

He looked at my grandfather.

Then at me.

“You should have left the system alive.”

I stepped toward him.

“Why?”

“Because now there is nothing protecting you.”

He raised the gun.

“You’ve destroyed the only thing keeping the real enemy away.”

I froze.

“The real enemy?”

Richard smiled.

“Yes.”

“Who?”

He looked at Adrian.

Then my grandmother.

Then Elena.

Then me.

“You still think this was about your family?”

He laughed.

“It wasn’t.”

“Then what was it about?”

Richard pointed the gun toward the ceiling.

“The archive was built because someone was coming.”

“Who?”

He whispered:

“An organization older than all of us.”

My grandmother’s face went pale.

“No.”

Richard nodded.

“Yes.”

Adrian looked at him.

“They found us.”

Richard smiled.

“Twenty years ago.”

He looked at me.

“And now they know you’re alive.”

Outside—

sirens began screaming.

Not police sirens.

Hundreds of them.

Vehicles surrounded the church.

Helicopters appeared overhead.

Lights flooded through the windows.

My grandmother whispered:

“They’re here.”

I looked at her.

“Who?”

She answered:

“The Veyra Council.”

I had never heard the name.

But everyone else had.

Adrian looked terrified.

Henry loaded his weapon.

Daniel moved beside Gwen.

Elena grabbed Lily.

My grandfather was bleeding on the floor.

Richard smiled.

And then—

the church doors exploded inward.

Dozens of armed people entered.

But they weren’t wearing police uniforms.

They wore black.

On every uniform was the same symbol.

A circle.

With a single vertical line through the center.

The leader walked forward.

An older woman.

She looked at me.

Then at Adrian.

Then at my grandmother.

She smiled.

“Subject 0002.”

I stepped forward.

“Who are you?”

She removed her gloves.

“My name is Mara Veyra.”

My grandmother whispered:

“Mara…”

The woman smiled.

“Hello, mother.”

Everyone froze.

My grandmother stared at her.

“You died.”

Mara laughed.

“No.”

She looked at me.

“I was waiting.”

“For what?”

She smiled.

“For you.”

I felt cold.

“Why?”

She walked closer.

“Because you’re not the final subject.”

I stared.

“Then who is?”

Mara looked at Lily.

Then behind her.

A young man stepped forward.

He looked exactly like me.

Same eyes.

Same face.

Same age.

My heart stopped.

Gwen whispered:

“What the hell…?”

The young man smiled.

He looked at me.

And said:

“Hello, brother.”

I couldn’t move.

Mara smiled.

“Meet Subject 0003.”

The young man stepped forward.

And whispered:

“I’ve been waiting for you to remember me.”

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 14 — THE BROTHER WHO NEVER EXISTED.

Click Here to continuous Read​​​​ Full Ending Story👉PART(14): “I Came Home From Deployment and Found My Wife Bald and Starving”