Chapter 5 - The Second ArielThe lock clicked.
Once.
Twice.
Then the deadbolt began turning.
Glen grabbed it and held it shut.
“Who is out there?”
No answer.
The little girl at the end of the hallway watched him.
She looked exactly like Ariel.
Same curls.
Same round cheeks.
Same small scar above the eyebrow from when Ariel had fallen off her scooter.
Even the scar was identical.
I felt dizzy.
“That isn't possible.”
Mara took my arm.
“Don't go near her.”
The girl smiled.
“Mara.”
Mara froze.
“You know me?”
The girl nodded.
“Daddy told me about you.”
“Which daddy?”
She pointed at Glen.
My husband went white.
“I've never seen her.”
The girl giggled.
“Yes, you have.”
Glen shook his head.
“No.”
“She was at the hospital.”
Mara moved toward the child.
“How old are you?”
“Three.”
“When is your birthday?”
The girl looked at me.
“Today.”
My blood went cold.
Ariel's birthday.
The same birthday.
I looked between them.
The girls were identical.
Then the second Ariel lifted her shirt.
A thin black rectangle was attached beneath her ribs.
The exact same device Clara had been hiding.
Mara cursed.
“She was tagged.”
“Tagged?”
“A tracking implant.”
My stomach twisted.
“Who put that in my child?”
Mara shook her head.
“Your child?”
She looked between the girls.
“That depends.”
Glen stepped forward.
“Stop speaking in riddles.”
The second girl suddenly pointed at him.
“Daddy hurt the first mommy.”
Everyone froze.
I turned toward Glen.
“What?”
He stared at the child.
“I don't know her.”
The girl frowned.
“You forgot.”
Then she looked at Clara.
“Like she told you to.”
Clara's face drained of color.
“What did you say?”
The little girl smiled.
“Mommy Clara said not to tell.”
Clara stumbled backward.
My father grabbed her.
“What is she talking about?”
Clara whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
He stared at her.
“What have you done?”
Clara looked at me.
“I didn't know which child they would take.”
I felt my throat close.
“What?”
“I thought I could save both.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
Her voice broke.
“I saved one.”
I looked at Ariel.
Then at the other girl.
“Which one?”
Clara couldn't answer.
Mara stepped forward.
“We need DNA testing.”
A loud bang shook the front door.
Someone was trying to break in.
Glen shouted, “Back room!”
We moved.
I carried Ariel.
Mara grabbed the other girl.
Clara followed.
My father stayed behind.
“Dad!”
“Go!”
Another bang.
The doorframe cracked.
We reached the kitchen.
Mara opened a hidden cabinet behind the refrigerator.
A narrow passage appeared.
I stared.
“There was a tunnel under our house?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your family built it.”
“What family?”
Mara looked at my father.
“Not your father.”
The door exploded.
We heard footsteps.
Then my father's voice.
“RUN!”
A gunshot echoed.
I screamed.
Mara pushed me through the tunnel.
“Keep moving!”
I turned.
My father stood in the kitchen.
Blood covered his shirt.
But he was smiling.
“Don't trust Glen,” he whispered.
Then the door behind him slammed shut.
And the last thing I heard was Glen shouting my name.
Except…
Glen was standing beside me in the tunnel.
I stopped dead.
There were two voices.
Both calling me.
One behind the door.
One beside me.
I slowly turned toward my husband.
He looked terrified.
“Please,” he whispered.
“Don't.”
I stepped backward.
“Tell me who you are.”
He swallowed.
“I am your husband.”
From behind the door came another voice.
“No, you're not.”
Then someone began pounding from the other side.
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A voice identical to Glen's screamed:
“Don't let him touch Ariel!”
