CHAPTER 12 The Twin They Never Stopped Hunting
CHAPTER 12
The Twin They Never Stopped Hunting
Alex couldn't move.
His eyes remained fixed on the faded photograph.
Two infants.
Two identical pink blankets.
Two tiny hospital bracelets.
The date was unmistakable.
March 14, 1998.
Lucy had never mentioned a sister.
Because she had never known one existed.
Alex slowly looked up.
"You've been searching for Lucy for twenty-six years..."
Benjamin nodded.
"Yes."
"But..."
Alex held up the photograph.
"Why didn't you tell her the truth after you found her?"
Benjamin closed his eyes.
"Because finding her..."
"...meant they could find her too."
The room fell silent.
Only the steady rhythm of Benjamin's heart monitor filled the air.
Alex lowered his voice.
"Who are 'they'?"
Benjamin answered without hesitation.
"Raven."
"They never stopped looking."
Alex frowned.
"For Lucy?"
Benjamin shook his head.
"No."
"For both girls."
Across the hallway...
Lucy stared through the ICU window.
She had finally convinced the nurses to let her sit upright.
Every movement sent sharp pain through her body.
But physical pain barely registered anymore.
Her mind replayed Benjamin's face.
His eyes.
His voice.
The way he looked at her.
Not with guilt.
With love.
The kind of love that couldn't be faked.
A knock interrupted her thoughts.
Dr. Amelia Carter stepped inside.
"How are you feeling?"
Lucy smiled weakly.
"I've felt better."
Dr. Carter pulled a chair beside the bed.
"I need to ask you something."
Lucy nodded.
"When you were a little girl..."
"Did you ever have dreams?"
Lucy frowned.
"What kind of dreams?"
"About another child."
Lucy froze.
A strange sensation spread through her chest.
Images flashed through her mind.
A swing in a park.
Two little girls laughing.
A lullaby.
Someone holding both of their hands.
Then...
Fire.
Screaming.
Everything vanished.
Lucy pressed her fingers against her temples.
"I..."
"I don't know."
Dr. Carter leaned forward.
"Try."
Lucy squeezed her eyes shut.
Another memory surfaced.
A little girl with the same dark hair.
The same green eyes.
Standing on the other side of a chain-link fence.
Crying.
Reaching toward her.
Then a man's voice shouted,
"Take Number Two!"
Lucy gasped and opened her eyes.
"What did I just remember?"
Dr. Carter's expression turned pale.
She hadn't expected the memories to return so quickly.
Meanwhile...
Inside the FBI's temporary command center, Special Agent Daniel Cross pinned several photographs to a whiteboard.
Lucy.
Benjamin.
Valerie.
The Raven symbol.
The hospital attack.
Detective Rachel Morgan folded her arms.
"You already knew about Raven."
Cross nodded.
"We've known for years."
"Then why wasn't it shut down?"
Cross gave a bitter laugh.
"Because officially..."
"It doesn't exist."
Rachel frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means every document was destroyed."
"Every witness disappeared."
"Every investigator who got close..."
He paused.
"...either resigned."
"Or died."
Rachel stared at the board.
"So we're chasing ghosts."
Cross looked directly at her.
"No."
"We're chasing people who know how to become ghosts."
A young FBI analyst rushed into the room carrying a tablet.
"Sir."
"We identified the tattoo."
Cross turned.
"The raven?"
The analyst nodded.
"It's not just a tattoo."
"It's a ranking mark."
He enlarged a confidential file.
A photograph of the hospital shooter appeared.
Below it...
CODE NAME: RAVEN-3
Rachel leaned closer.
"What does the number mean?"
The analyst swallowed.
"We're still decoding it."
"But according to recovered files..."
"There were only seven Ravens."
Cross's face darkened.
"Seven?"
The analyst nodded.
"Elite operatives."
"Hand-picked."
"Trained from childhood."
Rachel whispered,
"So if this man is Raven-3..."
Cross finished her sentence.
"...then six more are still out there."
At that exact moment...
An alarm sounded on the analyst's computer.
He looked down.
His expression changed instantly.
"What is it?"
Cross asked.
The analyst turned the screen around.
Someone had remotely accessed the hospital's medical records.
Specifically...
Lucy's.
The access originated from inside the hospital itself.
Cross immediately stood.
"They're still here."
Upstairs...
Alex returned to Lucy's ICU room for the first time since she had woken up.
He didn't enter.
He simply stood outside the glass.
Lucy noticed him immediately.
Their eyes met.
Neither smiled.
Neither looked away.
Alex slowly raised his hand.
Not asking for forgiveness.
Just hoping she would acknowledge him.
Lucy stared at him for several long seconds.
Then...
Very gently...
She turned her face toward the window.
She couldn't bear to look at him.
Alex lowered his hand.
The rejection hurt.
But he knew he deserved it.
As he turned to leave...
A voice behind him said,
"She still loves you."
Alex spun around.
It was Ethan Brooks.
Alex shook his head.
"No."
Ethan stepped closer.
"You don't stop loving someone overnight."
"You stop trusting them."
Alex looked through the glass again.
"How do I fix that?"
Ethan answered honestly.
"I don't know."
"But if I were you..."
"I'd stop trying to convince her."
"And start protecting her."
Alex frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Before Ethan could answer...
Every monitor inside Lucy's room suddenly went black.
The lights flickered once.
Then a hospital-wide announcement echoed through every speaker.
"Code Black."
"Security breach."
"All exits are now locked."
At the exact same moment...
A nurse standing beside Lucy quietly pulled a syringe from her pocket.
She smiled.
It wasn't the warm smile of a caregiver.
It was cold.
Calculated.
She leaned toward Lucy and whispered,
"They've finally found you."
May you like
Then she removed the cap from the needle.
End of Chapter 12
