Chapter 11 - Smoke filled the hallway.Daniel smelled gasoline.
The duplicate released Lily and stepped backward.
“You have six minutes.”
“Until what?”
“The mansion collapses.”
Daniel grabbed Lily.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because I already lived through it.”
He disappeared into the smoke.
Daniel ran toward Victor.
Blood covered his shirt.
“Victor!”
Victor opened his eyes.
“Don’t save me.”
Daniel ignored him.
“Where is Emma?”
Victor pointed weakly.
“Basement.”
“Why?”
“She knows how to stop the fire.”
Daniel lifted him.
Victor laughed.
“You really never learned when to leave people behind.”
They moved through the burning hallway.
The flames were spreading unnaturally fast.
Lily covered her mouth.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“I know this room.”
They stopped.
It was Daniel’s childhood bedroom.
Lily pointed at the floor.
“There.”
Daniel tore up the carpet.
A hidden hatch.
He opened it.
Inside was a small chamber.
Emma was chained to the wall.
Daniel rushed in.
“Emma!”
She looked up.
“You came.”
Daniel unlocked her.
“What happened?”
She coughed.
“She wanted me to remember.”
“Who?”
“Evelyn.”
Emma grabbed Lily’s arm.
Her eyes widened.
“Oh God.”
“What?”
“She’s awake.”
Daniel looked at Lily.
“Who is?”
Emma whispered:
“The original.”
A deep vibration passed through the floor.
Victor stared at the ceiling.
“She found us.”
“Who?”
“The first subject.”
Daniel’s eyes narrowed.
“My mother?”
Victor shook his head.
“No.”
A loud mechanical groan echoed from beneath them.
Emma pulled Daniel closer.
“Your mother was Subject Zero.”
Daniel froze.
“She was never your mother.”
“What?”
“She was a host.”
“For who?”
Emma looked at Lily.
“For the original consciousness.”
Daniel stared.
“What consciousness?”
Emma whispered:
“The woman who founded the program.”
“Who?”
“Your grandmother.”
Daniel’s face went blank.
“My grandmother died before I was born.”
“Yes.”
Emma looked at the walls.
“She died.”
“But something else survived.”
The fire roared overhead.
Daniel looked at the hatch.
“We need to leave.”
Emma shook her head.
“If we leave, everyone dies.”
“Who cares about everyone? Lily is six!”
Emma grabbed his arm.
“Exactly.”
“What?”
“Lily is the only person who can stop it.”
Daniel looked at his daughter.
She was staring at the wall.
Lily whispered:
“I know where she is.”
“Where?”
“Behind the wall.”
Daniel felt a chill.
“What wall?”
“The first wall.”
Emma’s face changed.
“The nursery.”
Daniel suddenly remembered.
The oldest part of the mansion had a sealed nursery beneath the west wing.
His father had forbidden him from entering it.
They ran.
The fire followed.
At the end of the corridor stood a stone wall.
Lily touched it.
The crescent mark on her wrist glowed.
A section opened.
Beyond it was a room untouched by time.
A crib.
A rocking chair.
A portrait.
And an old woman sitting in the chair.
Her back faced them.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Grandmother?”
The woman slowly turned.
Her face was ancient.
But her eyes were sharp.
She smiled.
“Daniel.”
He stopped.
“You know me.”
“I know every version of you.”
Lily stepped closer.
The old woman smiled.
“There you are.”
Daniel moved between them.
“Stay away from my daughter.”
The woman laughed.
“Your daughter?”
She pointed toward Lily.
“She is not your daughter.”
Daniel raised his gun.
May you like
The woman whispered:
“She is mine.”
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