CHAPTER 14: THE TRUTH INSIDE LUNA
Nobody moved.
The message on the wall remained frozen.
SHE IS STANDING BESIDE YOU.
Every person in the chamber slowly turned toward Luna.
The little girl stood completely still.
Her small hands were clenched tightly.
Her eyes were fixed on the floor.
Richard stared at her.
"No..."
The word escaped before he could stop it.
Because some part of him already knew.
The memories.
The bridge.
The red coat.
The missing years.
The impossible photograph.
Everything was pointing toward the same answer.
Luna wasn't a stranger.
She was the missing piece of a story that had been stolen from him.
Richard lowered himself until they were eye level.
"Luna..."
The girl looked up.
"Tell me."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know how."
"Try."
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she reached into the pocket of her torn yellow dress.
She pulled out a small object.
An old silver pendant.
Richard froze.
He recognized it.
Not because he had seen it recently.
Because he had seen it in his childhood.
His mother used to wear one exactly like it.
His father had kept a picture of it.
A memory buried beneath years of silence.
Luna opened the pendant.
Inside was a tiny photograph.
A family.
A younger Richard.
A woman.
And a baby.
His hands began shaking.
"Where did you get this?"
Luna whispered:
"My mother gave it to me."
"She said I had to keep it until I found you."
Richard stared at the picture.
"Who is the woman?"
Luna looked at him.
"Your mother."
Silence.
The answer felt impossible.
But the evidence was standing right in front of him.
Hayes stepped closer.
"Richard..."
He looked confused.
"How old is Luna?"
"Seven."
Hayes did the calculation.
Then his expression changed.
"That doesn't make sense."
Adrian looked away.
"It does."
Everyone turned.
Adrian's face was full of regret.
"The project didn't just copy memories."
"It changed timelines."
Richard frowned.
"Explain."
Adrian walked toward the old desk.
"The organization discovered a way to slow biological aging during early development."
"They experimented on children."
"Some survived."
"Some didn't."
Richard looked at Luna.
"You're saying..."
Adrian nodded.
"Luna was born from the experiment."
"No."
Richard shook his head.
"That's impossible."
Adrian looked at him.
"Your father thought the same thing."
"Until he discovered the truth."
He pointed toward the wall of names.
"Those children weren't only victims."
"They were evidence."
Hayes looked horrified.
"And Luna?"
Adrian answered quietly.
"She was the only success."
Richard felt anger rising.
"She is not an experiment."
"No."
Adrian looked at Luna.
"She's the person they were most afraid of."
Luna looked confused.
"Why?"
Adrian's voice softened.
"Because you remember."
"What?"
"You remember things they erased from everyone else."
The chamber went silent.
Richard thought about Luna's warnings.
The yacht.
The men beneath the boat.
The hidden rooms.
The names.
She hadn't guessed.
She had remembered.
Suddenly...
A slow clap echoed from the corridor.
Everyone turned.
The Collector stood at the entrance.
But this time...
He wasn't smiling.
He looked tired.
Almost defeated.
"You finally understand."
Richard raised his weapon.
"You."
The old man nodded.
"Yes."
"Are you the one behind everything?"
The Collector looked at Luna.
"No."
A pause.
"I am the one trying to end it."
Nobody expected that answer.
Hayes frowned.
"Then why did you attack the yacht?"
The old man's expression darkened.
"I didn't."
Richard stared.
"But the bomb."
"The warehouse explosion."
"The threats."
The Collector shook his head.
"Those were the people hunting me."
"They wanted you to believe I was the enemy."
He looked at Adrian.
"And they succeeded."
Adrian stepped forward.
"You're lying."
The Collector sighed.
"Maybe."
"Or maybe you should ask yourself why you remember being created..."
"...but not who ordered it."
Adrian froze.
The old man reached into his coat.
He pulled out a photograph.
Then threw it onto the floor.
Richard picked it up.
His heart stopped.
The picture showed a laboratory.
A young Adrian.
A young Richard.
And standing behind them...
Was Edward Sterling.
But beside Edward...
Was someone else.
Someone Richard had trusted his entire life.
Someone who had protected him.
Someone who had raised him.
Mr. Collins.
The old butler.
Holding a document.
A document with one signature.
Richard looked up slowly.
"Collins..."
The old servant closed his eyes.
"I was trying to protect you."
Richard's voice trembled.
"By helping them?"
Collins whispered:
"No."
"By making sure you survived long enough..."
"...to discover the truth."
Suddenly, every screen in the chamber activated.
A countdown appeared.
05:00
Hayes looked alarmed.
"What is that?"
The Collector's face changed.
For the first time...
Real fear appeared.
"No..."
Richard stared at him.
"What?"
The old man looked toward the ceiling.
"They found us."
"Who?"
The countdown continued.
04:32
The Collector whispered:
"The real Collector."
The lights went out.
And from the darkness...
A familiar voice spoke.
A voice Richard had heard before.
A voice from his own memories.
"Hello, Richard."
"Did you miss me?"
Richard froze.
May you like
Because the voice belonged to...
Himself.
