Chapter 13 - The mountain mansion looked like a fortress.Stone walls.
Black windows.
Iron gates.
No visible guards.
That made David nervous.
People like Margaret didn't need visible guards.
They had systems.
Cameras.
Sensors.
People watching from places you could not see.
David, Emily, Rebecca, Mark and Thomas entered through the main gate.
The doors opened automatically.
Inside was a museum.
Photographs.
Documents.
Artifacts.
Every wall showed the history of Project Echo.
David stopped.
One photograph showed him and Rebecca.
Another showed James.
Another showed Thomas.
Then he saw himself as a child.
He froze.
The picture was dated thirty-two years earlier.
It showed him standing beside a woman.
His mother.
But David had no memory of her.
He touched the photograph.
Rebecca whispered:
"Your mother was one of the first subjects."
David looked at her.
"What?"
"She disappeared when you were young."
"She wasn't dead?"
Rebecca shook her head.
"She became the first successful identity transfer."
David stared.
"She was replaced."
"Yes."
"By who?"
A woman's voice answered:
"By me."
Margaret appeared at the top of the staircase.
She was older than David expected.
Elegant.
Calm.
Almost grandmotherly.
She smiled.
"Hello, Elias."
David raised his weapon.
Margaret laughed.
"You've spent twelve years thinking you were David."
She walked down the stairs.
"You still don't understand how impressive that is."
David said nothing.
Margaret looked at Emily.
"And this is the girl."
Emily stepped closer to her father.
Margaret smiled.
"You have your father's eyes."
David's voice hardened.
"Stay away from her."
Margaret ignored him.
"You think she is special because she remembers."
Margaret shook her head.
"She is special because she can change."
"What does that mean?"
"Memory isn't fixed."
Margaret gestured toward the museum.
"We can rewrite it."
David's jaw tightened.
"You've done this to thousands."
"Millions."
David stared.
"You ruined lives."
"I gave people new lives."
"You erased them."
"I saved the world."
David laughed.
"The world doesn't need saving from its own memories."
Margaret's smile disappeared.
"You killed Daniel because he refused to understand that."
David froze.
Margaret looked at him.
"You were there."
David's memories suddenly returned.
Daniel stood in front of him.
A gun.
Margaret behind him.
Daniel whispered:
"Don't let her do this."
David fired.
But the bullet hadn't hit Daniel.
It hit the machine.
Margaret had rewritten the memory.
The real shooter was someone else.
David looked at Rebecca.
"Who pulled the trigger?"
She began crying.
"I did."
David stared.
"You?"
"I had no choice."
Margaret smiled.
"She did exactly what I asked."
Rebecca stepped forward.
"You're lying."
Margaret laughed.
"You still think love can erase what you've done."
She looked at Emily.
"Come here."
Emily didn't move.
Margaret sighed.
"Then I'll show you."
The mansion lights turned red.
Doors locked.
A screen appeared.
Emily's memory.
A six-year-old girl.
Room 17.
But this time the footage showed something different.
A second child sat beside her.
A boy.
Emily looked at him.
David stared.
"Who is that?"
Margaret smiled.
"You don't remember him?"
David watched the screen.
The boy looked directly into the camera.
Then said:
"Elias told me he'd come back for me."
David's body went cold.
Emily whispered:
"I know him."
"Who?"
She looked terrified.
"My brother."
Rebecca collapsed into a chair.
David stared at her.
"You told me we had one child."
Rebecca whispered:
"I couldn't save him."
Margaret smiled.
"Of course you couldn't."
David turned toward her.
"What happened?"
Margaret answered:
"You chose Emily."
David stared.
"You made me choose?"
"You were forced."
"Between my children?"
Margaret nodded.
"Only one memory could survive."
David looked at Emily.
Then the screen.
The boy.
His son.
A final message appeared:
SUBJECT TWO: STATUS UNKNOWN.
David whispered:
"Where is he?"
Margaret smiled.
"Find him."
The entire room went dark.
When the lights returned, Margaret was gone.
So was Emily.
David spun around.
"EMILY!"
The front doors opened.
A black vehicle disappeared down the mountain.
David ran outside.
Thomas followed.
Mark shouted:
"They took her!"
David stood in the driveway, staring at the disappearing car.
Then his phone rang.
Margaret.
David answered.
Her voice was calm.
"You have twenty-four hours."
"Or what?"
"You lose your daughter."
David clenched his fist.
"And my son?"
Margaret laughed.
"You already lost him once."
The call ended.
David looked toward the mountain road.
May you like
Then he said something that terrified even Rebecca.
"I'm going to burn Echo to the ground."
