Chapter 9: The Family Secret Buried in Blood
Jack Morrison had spent his entire life believing he was alone.
An only child.
A man without siblings.
A man who lost his parents too early and carried the weight of their absence quietly.
But now he was learning that loneliness had been manufactured.
Every empty space in his life had been filled with someone else’s decision.
A hidden brother.
A hidden father.
A hidden daughter.
A hidden war.
And at the center of all of it…
his own family.
Victor Morrison.
The name echoed through the bus.
Nobody spoke.
Not even Marcus.
Because everyone knew the name carried a history.
Jack looked at Robert.
His father.
The man he had mourned.
The man he had buried.
The man who had watched from a distance while Jack grew up believing he was gone.
“You knew.””
Robert didn’t deny it.
“Yes.””
Jack shook his head.
“You knew Victor was alive.””
“Yes.””
“You knew he was behind this.””
Robert looked down.
“Yes.””
The answer was almost unbearable.
Jack stepped closer.
“Then why?””
Robert looked up.
“Because Victor wasn’t always the enemy.””
The words confused him.
Jack laughed.
“What?””
Robert sighed.
“When you were young, Victor was the person who protected us.””
Nobody expected that.
Not Jack.
Not Rachel.
Not Emily.
Robert continued.
“He was my older brother.””
Jack stared.
“Your brother.””
“Yes.””
“Another brother.””
Robert nodded.
“Victor was the first child.””
Jack felt numb.
His family tree was becoming something impossible.
“You told me you had no brothers.””
“I told you what I thought would keep you safe.””
Jack’s eyes hardened.
“Everyone keeps using that sentence.””
Robert looked away.
“I know.””
“No.””
Jack’s voice sharpened.
“You don’t know.””
A pause.
“You all decided my life was something you could manage.””
Robert accepted the accusation.
“You’re right.””
That answer stopped him.
Jack expected excuses.
He expected explanations.
Not agreement.
Robert continued.
“I was wrong.””
The old man’s voice cracked.
“I thought if you knew the truth, you would become a target.””
Jack stared.
“I became a target anyway.””
Robert lowered his head.
“Yes.””
The honesty hurt more than a lie.
Rachel watched Jack carefully.
She understood that pain.
The pain of learning the people who loved you had also hurt you.
Jack looked at Marcus.
“Victor created Meridian?””
Marcus nodded.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Marcus hesitated.
Then:
“Because he believed families like yours were the next step in human development.””
Jack frowned.
“That sounds insane.””
“It was.””
Marcus looked at him.
“But he was convincing.””
“How?””
Marcus looked around.
“Because he didn’t see himself as a villain.””
Nobody spoke.
Marcus continued.
“He believed he was saving humanity.””
Jack laughed.
“Everyone says that.””
“Yes.””
Marcus nodded.
“That’s why people followed him.””
Sarah stepped forward.
“But Victor changed.””
Jack looked at her.
“What do you mean?””
Sarah looked at Robert.
Then back at Jack.
“Your grandmother died.””
Jack frowned.
“My grandmother?””
“Yes.””
“What does she have to do with this?””
Sarah’s voice became quiet.
“She was the first person Victor lost because of Meridian.””
Jack waited.
Sarah continued.
“She was part of the research before it became what it was.””
Jack looked confused.
“My grandmother was involved?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because she believed she could control it.””
Sarah shook her head.
“She was wrong.””
Robert looked away.
“Victor couldn’t accept that.””
Jack understood.
“He blamed everyone.””
“Yes.””
“And then?””
Robert looked at him.
“Then he decided the family itself was the problem.””
The bus was silent.
“He believed emotions made people weak.””
Robert looked at Rachel.
“So he started removing them.””
Jack felt sick.
“Removing?””
Marcus answered.
“Breaking connections.””
The words were cold.
“Separating people.””
Jack looked at him.
“Like Daniel.””
Marcus nodded.
“Like you.””
Jack remembered everything.
His parents.
The distance.
The missing pieces.
The strange feeling that parts of his childhood were always just out of reach.
“You’re saying Victor manipulated my whole life.””
Robert nodded.
“Yes.””
Jack looked at the old man.
“And you let him.””
Robert closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
The answer landed heavily.
Jack stepped back.
For a moment, he looked like he didn’t know what emotion to choose.
Anger.
Pain.
Betrayal.
All of them had lived together for too long.
Finally, he asked:
“Where is Victor now?””
Nobody answered.
Jack looked at Marcus.
“Where is he?””
Marcus looked outside.
“He’s close.””
That answer immediately changed the atmosphere.
Emily noticed.
Everyone reacted differently.
Thomas checked the windows.
Sarah moved closer to Rachel.
Robert became tense.
Jack saw it.
“You’re afraid.””
Robert looked at him.
“Yes.””
“Of him?””
Robert nodded.
“Yes.””
Jack looked confused.
“You survived him for decades.””
Robert shook his head.
“No.””
A pause.
“I escaped him.””
The distinction mattered.
Jack understood.
Escaping and surviving were not the same.
Suddenly, a loud sound came from outside.
A vehicle door.
Then footsteps.
Everyone froze.
Thomas looked toward the front.
“We need to move.””
Jack looked at him.
“Where?””
“Anywhere but here.””
The bus driver’s seat was empty.
Carlos was gone.
Jack noticed.
“Where’s Carlos?””
Nobody answered.
Then the radio crackled.
A voice came through.
Carlos.
“Jack.””
Everyone looked toward the speakers.
Jack stepped closer.
“Where are you?””
Carlos’s voice sounded tired.
“I’m sorry.””
Jack’s face hardened.
“You have a lot to apologize for.””
“Yes.””
A pause.
“I know.””
Jack looked around.
“You were working for Victor.””
Carlos didn’t answer.
That was enough.
Jack closed his eyes.
“Why?””
Carlos’s voice shook.
“Because he had my daughter.””
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Emily whispered:
“What?””
Carlos continued.
“I thought if I helped him, he would let her go.””
Jack stared.
“Where is she?””
No answer.
“Carlos.””
The radio crackled.
Then:
“I don’t know.””
Jack felt anger rise.
“You don’t know?””
“I haven’t seen her in six years.””
The words changed everything.
Carlos wasn’t calm.
He was broken.
“He lied to me.””
Jack looked at Marcus.
Marcus nodded slightly.
Everyone had been used.
Some knowingly.
Some not.
Carlos continued.
“Victor never cared about anyone.””
A pause.
“He only cared about the result.””
The radio went silent.
Then another voice came through.
Not Carlos.
Victor.
“Good evening, Jack.””
Everyone froze.
Jack stared at the radio.
“You.””
Victor laughed softly.
“I see you’ve learned a lot.””
Jack stepped closer.
“Where are you?””
Victor ignored the question.
“Do you know what I find interesting?””
Nobody answered.
“You spent eleven years looking for Lily.””
Jack’s jaw tightened.
“And you spent eleven years hiding her.””
“Yes.””
A pause.
“But not because I hated you.””
Jack laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
Victor’s voice remained calm.
“I expect you to understand.””
Jack looked at Rachel.
“I understand one thing.””
His voice became cold.
“You hurt my daughter.””
Victor was silent.
Then:
“Your daughter was the only reason you survived.””
Jack froze.
“What?””
Victor continued.
“If Lily had never disappeared, you would have discovered the truth too early.””
Jack frowned.
“What truth?””
The radio crackled.
Victor spoke slowly.
“The truth about what your mother did before you were born.””
Robert looked away.
Jack noticed.
“Dad.””
Robert said nothing.
Jack turned.
“What did she do?””
Nobody answered.
Victor laughed.
“Still protecting him.””
Jack stared at Robert.
“Tell me.””
Robert looked broken.
“Your mother made a deal.””
Jack waited.
“With who?””
Robert’s voice was barely audible.
“Victor.””
Silence.
Jack felt the ground disappear.
“My mother worked with him?””
“No.””
Robert shook his head.
“She tried to stop him.””
“Then what deal?””
Robert looked at him.
“She agreed to give him something.””
“What?””
Robert looked toward Rachel.
Then at Jack.
“Information.””
Jack frowned.
“What information?””
Robert swallowed.
“The location of the original research files.””
Jack stared.
“And?””
“And the identity of the person who inherited the strongest traits.””
Nobody moved.
Jack already knew.
But he didn’t want to say it.
Victor did.
“You.””
The word came through the radio.
Jack stared.
“No.””
“Yes.””
Victor’s voice became softer.
“You were the child we were looking for.””
Jack shook his head.
“I was a child.””
“Yes.””
“A normal child.””
“No.””
The answer was immediate.
Victor continued.
“Your mother hid the results from us.””
Jack looked at Robert.
“Results?””
Robert closed his eyes.
“She ran tests.””
Jack felt sick.
“On me?””
“When you were young.””
Jack stepped back.
All those memories.
Doctors.
Questions.
His mother’s strange protectiveness.
His father’s silence.
It all rearranged.
Victor continued.
“Your mother discovered something.””
“What?””
Victor answered:
“You were different.””
Jack laughed.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“You’re insane.””
Victor didn’t react.
“You think I’m chasing power.””
A pause.
“I’m not.””
“Then what?””
Victor’s voice became quiet.
“I’m trying to finish what your mother started.””
Nobody spoke.
Jack stared at the radio.
“You killed people.””
“Yes.””
The answer shocked everyone.
Victor continued.
“I made choices.””
Jack shook his head.
“No.””
Victor sighed.
“You still see the world in simple terms.””
Jack’s expression hardened.
“And you see murder as research.””
A pause.
Victor replied:
“I see sacrifice as necessary.””
The words chilled everyone.
Jack looked toward the bus doors.
“Where are you?””
Victor didn’t answer.
Instead, the bus lights flickered.
The screen at the front of the bus turned on.
A video appeared.
Victor standing in an empty room.
Behind him were hundreds of files.
Photos.
Names.
Family histories.
Jack saw one folder.
His name.
Another.
Daniel.
Another.
Lily.
Another.
Rachel.
Victor looked into the camera.
“You wanted the truth.””
He opened a file.
“So here it is.””
The screen showed a document.
A birth record.
Jack’s eyes narrowed.
Because the name at the top was not his.
Not Jack Morrison.
Something else.
Victor spoke.
“Your parents didn’t name you Jack.””
Jack stopped.
The bus went silent.
“They named you…”
The video glitched.
The image distorted.
Then Victor smiled.
“Find me, and I’ll tell you the rest.””
The screen went black.
Everyone stared.
Jack looked at Robert.
His father looked terrified.
“What was my real name?””
Robert didn’t answer.
Jack’s voice became a whisper.
“What was my real name?””
Finally, Robert spoke.
And the answer changed everything.
“Alexander.””
Jack frowned.
“Alexander?””
Robert nodded.
“Alexander Morrison.””
A pause.
Then his father whispered:
May you like
“The name Victor gave you…”
“Heir.””
