Chapter 14 - The Last Door
The Person Beside Me Wasn't Who I Thought
I twisted free.
The person grabbed my shoulder again.
I turned.
It was Daniel.
“Quiet.”
“Where's Dad?”
“Alive.”
“Where?”
“Elsewhere.”
“What does that mean?”
He looked at the burning terminal.
“Meridian has a physical archive.”
“Where?”
“Below us.”
He pulled open a metal hatch.
A staircase descended into darkness.
I followed.
For once, I didn't tell anyone.
I couldn't.
The walls were lined with old photographs.
Every person had a file.
Every file had a new identity.
I saw judges.
Doctors.
Police officers.
Politicians.
Business owners.
Teachers.
People who had vanished.
People who had supposedly died.
People who had been replaced.
Then I found a wall of photographs.
Mine.
Hundreds of them.
From infancy to seventeen.
My first birthday.
My first day of school.
Ivy's birth.
My father's office.
Our vacations.
Someone had watched us our entire lives.
Daniel said quietly,
“Caleb wasn't working alone.”
“Who?”
He pointed ahead.
A single photograph hung at the end.
The person in it was my mother.
Mara.
Except she was younger.
Standing beside Caleb.
My heart stopped.
“You said she was forced.”
“She was.”
“But she knew.”
“She knew enough to be dangerous.”
I felt betrayed all over again.
We reached the final room.
Dad was there.
He was sitting at a table.
No restraints.
No guards.
He looked up.
“Lyra.”
I stared.
“Daniel said you were kidnapped.”
Dad shook his head.
“I wasn't.”
“You let them take you.”
“I needed you to come here.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn't get inside without you.”
I stepped backward.
“Then this was all planned.”
“Yes.”
“Dad…”
He took a breath.
“I knew your mother would tell you about Elena.”
“I knew Caleb would show you Meridian.”
“I knew Rowan would bring you here.”
“And you knew I would come.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you're the only person everyone underestimates.”
I laughed bitterly.
“So I was your plan.”
“You were my daughter.”
“I don't know who I am anymore.”
Dad reached across the table.
“You're Lyra.”
A soft alarm began ringing.
Daniel looked toward the hallway.
“They found us.”
Dad stood.
“Then we don't have much time.”
He opened a drawer.
Inside was a folder.
He handed it to me.
“Everything is here.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
I opened it.
The first document was a DNA report.
My name appeared at the top.
Below it:
Biological mother: Elena Vale.
Biological father: Samuel Vale.
Then another page.
Biological sibling:
Unknown.
I stared.
“Unknown?”
Dad looked away.
“There was another baby.”
“What?”
“Samuel and Elena had twins.”
My blood went cold.
“Where is the other one?”
Dad didn't answer.
The alarm grew louder.
Daniel looked at him.
“Tell her.”
Dad closed his eyes.
“Ivy isn't your sister.”
I looked toward the door.
Ivy was standing there.
She had heard everything.
Her face was white.
“No.”
Dad rushed toward her.
“Ivy…”
She backed away.
“You lied.”
“No.”
“You said we were sisters.”
“You are.”
“But not by blood.”
Dad looked at me.
“She is your twin.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
“Separated at birth.”
Ivy began crying.
“Why?”
Dad couldn't answer.
Elena appeared in the doorway.
She whispered,
“Because Meridian wanted one twin to become the key.”
I looked at Ivy.
Then at the documents.
Then at the final page.
A birth certificate.
Two names.
Lyra Vale.
Ivy Vale.
Both marked:
DECEASED.
Then beneath them was handwritten:
“ONE SURVIVED.”
A gunshot cracked through the room.
Dad fell.
Blood spread across his shirt.
I screamed.
Elena dragged me behind the table.
Rowan appeared with his weapon raised.
Caleb stood in the doorway.
He looked at me.
May you like
“Now,” he said,
“we finish what Samuel started.”
