Chapter 10 - No one spoke.Daniel's ears rang.
Michael's face had gone completely pale.
“You said I never killed anyone,” Daniel whispered.
Richard smiled.
“You were five.”
Michael shook his head.
“He couldn't.”
“You'd be surprised what a child can do when trained.”
Daniel looked at his mother.
“She trained me?”
“No.”
Emily's voice came through a speaker.
Daniel turned.
She was on a monitor.
Tied to a chair.
Victor stood behind her.
Blood staining his shirt.
Richard laughed.
“You still trust her?”
Emily looked directly at Daniel.
“Don't listen to him.”
Victor leaned closer to the camera.
“She's lying again.”
Daniel's voice cracked.
“Why?”
Victor answered:
“Because your memories are incomplete.”
He placed a small device against Emily's head.
“She remembers everything.”
Daniel raised his gun.
“Take it off her.”
Victor smiled.
“Come to the old hospital.”
“What hospital?”
“The one where you disappeared.”
Daniel looked at Michael.
Michael nodded.
Victor continued.
“Bring the key.”
“What key?”
Victor's gaze dropped toward Daniel's chest.
Daniel looked down.
The key from Room 217.
He had forgotten it was still there.
“The first key,” Victor said.
“The beginning of everything.”
The screen went black.
Daniel looked at Sophia.
“We're going.”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
“What?”
“It's exactly what they want.”
Daniel stared at him.
“And what choice do we have?”
Michael looked at him.
“For once?”
“We choose each other.”
Sophia stepped forward.
“You're brothers.”
Michael looked away.
“No.”
Daniel stared.
“You said the DNA report was fake.”
“It was.”
“Then we're brothers.”
Michael didn't answer.
Daniel grabbed his shoulder.
“Look at me.”
Michael did.
Daniel said:
“I don't care what they did to us.”
A long silence.
“We're family.”
Michael's eyes filled.
For a second, the entire nightmare seemed to stop.
Then a car horn sounded outside.
Sophia looked through the window.
“Someone's here.”
They stepped onto the street.
A black sedan sat across the road.
The back door opened.
Dr. Evelyn Ward stepped out.
Daniel recognized her instantly.
His therapist.
His doctor.
The woman who had listened to every nightmare he had ever described.
She looked at him.
“Hello, Alexander.”
Daniel's heart stopped.
She smiled.
“You finally remember me.”
Daniel raised his gun.
“Where's Emma?”
“Safe.”
“Where's my mother?”
“Alive.”
“Where's Victor?”
“Behind you.”
Daniel turned.
Victor stood at the entrance.
Michael stepped toward him.
“Enough.”
Victor raised his gun.
Dr. Ward lifted her own.
The street became a standoff.
Then Dr. Ward said:
“The war between your families never mattered.”
Victor frowned.
“What are you doing?”
She smiled.
“Ending it.”
She pressed a button.
Every streetlight went out.
Phones died.
Cars stopped.
Daniel's vision blurred.
A voice whispered inside his head.
Remember.
He saw the hospital.
He saw Michael.
He saw himself.
Then he saw the truth.
The two boys weren't fighting.
They were hiding.
From someone.
A third child.
A little girl.
Daniel's heart stopped.
Emma.
He opened his eyes.
“Emma was there.”
Dr. Ward smiled.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she's the only one who remembers what happened that night.”
Michael looked at her.
“What happened?”
Dr. Ward answered:
“She saw who murdered your real father.”
Victor's expression changed.
Daniel whispered:
“Who?”
Dr. Ward looked directly at Richard.
Richard stopped smiling.
Dr. Ward said:
“Your father was killed by your other father.”
Everyone turned toward Richard.
May you like
And Richard whispered:
“No.”
Related Stories
