CHAPTER 13: THE MAN WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO EXIST
Nobody pulled the trigger.
Nobody even breathed.
The stranger standing beneath the hidden chamber looked exactly like Richard Sterling.
Not similar.
Not close.
Exactly.
Same eyes.
Same scar above his eyebrow.
Same voice.
Even the way he stood...
The same.
Richard slowly lowered his weapon.
"This isn't possible."
The stranger smiled.
"That's what I said when I first woke up."
Detective Hayes tightened his grip.
"Who are you?"
The man looked at him.
Then at Richard.
"My name is Adrian."
A pause.
"But that name was given to me after they took everything else."
Richard stared.
"Who are you?"
Adrian stepped closer.
"I think you already know."
The room became colder.
Marina shook her head.
"No..."
She looked at Richard.
Then the stranger.
"There's only one Richard."
Adrian gave a sad smile.
"That's the problem."
He reached into his coat.
Everyone raised their weapons.
Slowly, he pulled out a small device.
Not a weapon.
A memory card.
"I brought proof."
Hayes didn't lower his gun.
"Put it down."
Adrian placed it on the table.
"Play it."
Richard didn't move.
"Why should I trust you?"
Adrian looked at him.
"Because your father recorded this message before he died."
Richard froze.
"My father?"
"Yes."
"He knew I would come here."
The old machine on the desk suddenly activated.
The memory card inserted itself.
A video appeared.
Edward Sterling.
Older.
Tired.
Broken.
But alive.
The room fell silent.
"Richard..."
Edward's voice filled the chamber.
"If you are watching this, then Adrian has found you."
Richard's eyes widened.
The recording continued.
"I know what you are thinking."
"You think there is only one son."
Edward looked directly into the camera.
"You are wrong."
Marina covered her mouth.
"No..."
Edward continued.
"Twenty years ago, I discovered a project hidden inside my own company."
"A project designed to study memory, identity, and human behavior."
"They believed a person's experiences could be copied."
"Controlled."
"Rebuilt."
Richard stared at the screen.
"What are you saying?"
The video continued.
"Adrian was created from the same genetic material as Richard."
Silence.
Even the sound of breathing disappeared.
"He was never meant to replace my son."
Edward looked down.
"He was meant to protect him."
Adrian watched the screen without expression.
But his eyes were filled with pain.
Richard turned toward him.
"You..."
"You were created?"
Adrian nodded.
"They wanted a backup."
"A person who could continue the Sterling bloodline if something happened to you."
Richard felt sick.
"A copy."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
His voice became sharper.
"That is what they called me."
"But I had memories."
"I had feelings."
"I had a life."
He looked at Richard.
"Then they decided one of us had to disappear."
A terrible realization struck Richard.
"The accident..."
Adrian nodded.
"The bridge."
"The rain."
"The little girl."
Richard's face went pale.
Luna suddenly stepped forward.
"The red coat..."
Everyone looked at her.
She whispered:
"I remember."
Richard turned.
"What?"
Luna looked at Adrian.
"You were there."
Adrian closed his eyes.
"Yes."
"That night..."
"I tried to save you both."
Richard felt his memories breaking apart.
The bridge.
The scream.
The falling rain.
But now another image appeared.
A second child.
A second version of himself.
Standing nearby.
Watching.
Edward's recording continued.
"The people behind the project wanted Richard to forget."
"They wanted Adrian to disappear."
"But they made one mistake."
"They underestimated both of my sons."
The video glitched.
Then Edward's final words appeared:
"The Collector is not hunting you."
"He is trying to stop Adrian from revealing the truth."
Richard looked at Adrian.
"Then why did he take Luna?"
Adrian's expression changed.
Because for the first time...
He looked afraid.
"He didn't take her."
Richard frowned.
"What?"
Adrian whispered:
"Luna found him."
Everyone froze.
"Why?"
Adrian looked toward the hidden photographs.
"Because Luna isn't just a witness."
"She's the reason this entire war started."
Luna stepped backward.
"No..."
Adrian looked at her sadly.
"You don't remember."
Richard felt his heart tighten.
"Remember what?"
The lights suddenly flickered.
A message appeared on the wall.
Not from the Collector.
Not from Edward.
From someone else.
A woman's handwriting.
Three words.
I AM SORRY.
Then another sentence appeared beneath it.
RICHARD, YOUR DAUGHTER IS ALIVE.
Richard stopped breathing.
The final line appeared.
SHE IS STANDING BESIDE YOU.
Slowly...
May you like
Everyone turned.
Toward Luna.
