CHAPTER 14 The Twin Who Was Raised by Raven
CHAPTER 14
The Twin Who Was Raised by Raven
The words lingered in the air long after Agent Cross spoke them.
Rachel Morgan stared at him in disbelief.
"You think Lucy's twin is alive?"
Cross didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he unlocked a steel briefcase handcuffed to his wrist.
Inside were several classified folders stamped:
TOP SECRET
RAVEN PROGRAM
He removed the oldest file.
The paper had yellowed with age.
Across the top was a handwritten title.
PROJECT GEMINI
Rachel frowned.
"Gemini?"
Cross nodded.
"Latin for twins."
He opened the file.
Inside were two infant footprints.
One labeled:
SUBJECT A
The other:
SUBJECT B
Rachel's heartbeat quickened.
"Lucy..."
Cross pointed to Subject A.
"Lucy Whitmore."
Then his finger moved to the second page.
Subject B.
The name space was blank.
Only one word had been typed beneath it.
RELOCATED
Meanwhile...
Lucy finally convinced Dr. Carter to tell her everything.
"Benjamin..."
"My father..."
"Is he going to survive?"
Dr. Carter smiled gently.
"Yes."
"He's asking to see you."
Lucy closed her eyes.
Relief washed over her.
For twenty-six years...
She had believed she was alone.
Now she had a father.
Yet somehow...
She felt lonelier than ever.
Because the one person she had trusted most...
Her husband...
Had shattered her heart.
Alex stood outside the room.
He overheard every word.
He wanted to go in.
To explain.
To apologize.
To beg.
Instead...
He turned and walked away.
Ethan caught up with him near the stairwell.
"Where are you going?"
Alex didn't stop walking.
"I'm done making everything about me."
Ethan frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means..."
Alex took a deep breath.
"If Raven wants Lucy..."
"They'll have to go through me first."
In another wing of the hospital...
Benjamin slowly opened his eyes.
The pain in his shoulder was unbearable.
But something else hurt more.
Regret.
He had hidden the truth for decades.
And because of it...
Lucy had suffered alone.
The door opened quietly.
Special Agent Daniel Cross entered.
Benjamin sighed.
"I wondered when you'd show up."
Cross closed the door.
"We're out of time."
Benjamin nodded.
"I know."
Cross placed the Gemini file on the bedside table.
"You never told her."
Benjamin looked away.
"I promised Emily."
Cross's voice hardened.
"Emily is dead."
"Lucy isn't."
Silence.
Cross leaned closer.
"If Raven finds Subject B before Lucy does..."
"You know what happens."
Benjamin slowly nodded.
"Yes."
"They'll turn one sister..."
"...against the other."
Across town...
An old warehouse stood abandoned near the Chicago River.
At least...
That's what everyone believed.
Deep underground...
Hidden behind reinforced steel doors...
A woman sat in a dimly lit room.
She looked almost identical to Lucy.
Same emerald eyes.
Same dark hair.
Same gentle facial features.
Only one difference.
There was no warmth in her expression.
She wore black tactical clothing.
A raven tattoo marked the inside of her wrist.
She calmly assembled a sniper rifle with practiced hands.
A man entered the room.
"Mission update."
She didn't look up.
"Speak."
"The hospital operation failed."
She locked the rifle bolt into place.
"Expected."
"The target survived."
Still no emotion.
"The shooter?"
"Missing."
Now she finally looked up.
"And Whitmore?"
"Wounded."
She nodded once.
"Acceptable."
The man hesitated.
"There's one more thing."
"What?"
"He remembered."
For the first time...
Something flickered in her eyes.
"Who?"
"Benjamin Whitmore."
"He knows you're alive."
Silence.
The woman slowly walked toward a metal locker.
Inside hung an old photograph.
Two newborn babies.
She gently touched one of them.
The one labeled Subject A.
Lucy.
Then she looked at the second infant.
Herself.
Without changing expression, she whispered,
"So..."
"My sister survived."
Back at the hospital...
Lucy sat beside Benjamin's bed.
Neither spoke for several minutes.
Finally...
Benjamin reached beneath his pillow.
He removed a sealed envelope.
Its edges were worn.
He handed it to Lucy.
"Your mother wrote this."
Lucy stared at it.
"My mother?"
Benjamin nodded.
"She wrote it the night we ran."
Lucy carefully traced the handwriting.
Her hands trembled.
"I've waited my whole life..."
"...to read something she wrote."
Benjamin smiled sadly.
"She told me never to open it."
"Only you."
Lucy broke the wax seal.
Inside was a single handwritten letter.
And another small key.
Not silver.
Gold.
Lucy unfolded the letter.
The first sentence stole the air from her lungs.
My dearest Lucy...
If you're reading this, it means I failed to keep both of my daughters safe.
Lucy's vision blurred with tears.
Benjamin quietly turned away, giving her privacy.
She continued reading.
Each line revealed another impossible truth.
Then she reached the final paragraph.
Her entire body froze.
"No..."
Benjamin immediately looked at her.
"What is it?"
Lucy slowly lowered the letter.
Her lips trembled.
"My mother..."
"...she knew who would betray me."
Benjamin's face went pale.
"What?"
Lucy looked directly at him.
"The letter says..."
Before she could finish...
Every television in the hospital suddenly switched on by themselves.
The news broadcast disappeared.
A black screen appeared instead.
Then...
A woman's face filled every monitor.
She looked exactly like Lucy.
Only colder.
She smiled directly into the camera.
Then spoke words that echoed through every floor of the hospital.
"Hello, Lucy."
"I've been waiting twenty-six years to meet my sister."
The broadcast cut to black.
No one in the hospital breathed.
Not because the message was threatening.
But because every person who saw the screen realized the same horrifying truth.
Lucy wasn't unique.
Someone out there...
May you like
Wore her face.
End of Chapter 14
