Chapter 8 - The Woman Without a ReflectionWhen the lights returned, Elena was gone.
The double was dead.
Or so Alexander thought.
His body had vanished.
Only blood remained.
Mia stood in the corridor, trembling.
Alexander grabbed Elena’s pistol from the floor.
“Where did she go?”
Mia pointed toward the wall.
A hidden door stood open.
Alexander approached.
Inside was a small room.
One chair.
One mirror.
One camera.
And a single file.
ELENA VOSS
Alexander opened it.
The first page was a photograph.
The woman in the photo looked exactly like his wife.
But the name beneath it was different.
Eva Voss.
His heart pounded.
He flipped through the pages.
Eva Voss.
Age thirty-two.
Identity created in 2011.
Memory implantation subject.
Primary assignment:
ALEXANDER VALE
Alexander stared.
“No.”
Mia whispered:
“She was sent to marry you.”
He turned.
“How do you know?”
“Because my father told me.”
Alexander sat down.
“What did he know?”
“He said your family didn't trust blood.”
“What does that mean?”
“They wanted someone who would love you.”
Alexander looked at the file.
“Did she?”
Mia hesitated.
“Yes.”
Alexander closed his eyes.
That answer hurt more than the lies.
He had spent eleven years loving Elena.
If she had been created to marry him, what part of their life had been real?
He found another document.
EMOTIONAL DEPENDENCY SUCCESSFUL. SUBJECT WILL PROTECT TARGET.
Below it:
CONTINGENCY: TERMINATE TARGET IF MEMORY RECOVERY OCCURS.
Alexander’s blood went cold.
His wife had been programmed to kill him if he remembered.
A voice came from behind him.
“I never activated the contingency.”
Alexander turned.
Elena stood in the doorway.
She looked exhausted.
She had blood on her hands.
“Where were you?”
“Trying to stop them.”
“Are you Eva?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Were you ever Elena?”
She looked at him.
“I don't know anymore.”
Alexander's eyes filled with anger.
“You lied to me for eleven years.”
“I know.”
“You married me because they ordered you to.”
“Yes.”
“You were supposed to watch me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why save me?”
Eva began crying.
“Because somewhere along the way, I became your wife.”
Alexander said nothing.
“And that was never part of the plan.”
A violent crash shook the building.
Mia screamed.
The mirror on the wall cracked.
Behind it was another room.
A dozen monitors flickered on.
Every screen showed Alexander.
Sleeping.
Eating.
Marrying Eva.
Arguing.
Laughing.
Living his life.
But one screen showed something else.
A child standing in a red room.
The child was Alexander.
And beside him was Richard Vale.
His father spoke directly to the camera.
“If you are watching this, then Echo has failed.”
The child looked up.
Richard continued.
“You must not trust your memories.”
Alexander stared.
The recording continued.
“I created a second Alexander because the first one died.”
Alexander’s knees weakened.
Richard leaned toward the camera.
“The man watching this message is not my son.”
Alexander whispered:
“Then who am I?”
Richard’s voice answered.
“You are the replacement.”
The screen went black.
Then another image appeared.
A surgical table.
A body covered by a sheet.
The face was hidden.
A timestamp appeared.
2011.
Eva whispered:
“That's when I met you.”
May you like
Alexander looked at her.
“And that's when you died.”
