Chapter 11 - Richard ran.Daniel chased him into the alley.
“You said Victor killed him!”
Richard kept running.
“He did!”
“You just said my father was someone else.”
Richard stopped.
Daniel raised his gun.
“Enough.”
Richard turned slowly.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
Richard laughed bitterly.
“Your biological father wasn't Victor.”
Daniel froze.
“Then who?”
Richard pointed toward Michael.
“Him.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
Richard whispered:
“The man who raised you wasn't your father.”
“The man you know as Victor isn't your father.”
“Then who is?”
Richard smiled.
“Your grandfather.”
Daniel's blood went cold.
Michael looked equally stunned.
Richard continued.
“Project Dove wasn't created for children.”
“It was created for inheritance.”
Daniel frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“When wealthy families wanted to preserve power, they needed obedient heirs.”
Richard pointed at Daniel.
“You were engineered to remember exactly what they wanted.”
He pointed at Michael.
“And he was engineered to forget.”
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
Richard smiled.
“Ask him about the numbers.”
Michael's face changed.
“What numbers?”
Richard walked away.
Daniel followed.
Then stopped.
Because he heard a voice behind him.
Sophia.
“Daniel.”
She was standing beside Dr. Ward.
Tears ran down her face.
She held a little girl's hand.
Emma.
The child looked at Daniel.
And said:
“You're the man from my dreams.”
Daniel crouched.
“What dreams?”
Emma pointed behind him.
“At the hospital.”
Daniel felt his blood run cold.
“There was a fire.”
Emma nodded.
“You carried Michael.”
Daniel stared.
“I did?”
“You were crying.”
“Why?”
Emma answered simply:
“Because you couldn't wake him.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Emma, what happened?”
She looked at him.
“You told me not to tell.”
Michael froze.
“When?”
Emma smiled sadly.
“The night you died.”
Everyone went silent.
Daniel stood slowly.
“Michael died?”
Emma nodded.
“Then who is he?”
She pointed at Michael.
“My brother.”
Michael's face went blank.
Emma continued:
“The real Michael is still at the hospital.”
Daniel's heart thundered.
He looked at the man standing beside him.
Michael.
His brother.
Then at Emma.
“How many Michaels are there?”
Dr. Ward answered:
“Two.”
Daniel felt sick.
“Two?”
Dr. Ward nodded.
“The child your father experimented on.”
She pointed at Michael.
“And the child who survived the fire.”
She pointed toward the old hospital in the distance.
Daniel's mind shattered.
He looked at Michael.
“You aren't my brother.”
Michael whispered:
“I know.”
“You knew?”
“No.”
Dr. Ward spoke.
“He only started remembering recently.”
Daniel's phone suddenly rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice whispered:
“Daniel.”
“Who is this?”
The voice said:
“I'm your brother.”
Daniel looked at Michael.
The voice continued:
“The man standing beside you is the killer.”
Then the call ended.
Michael raised both hands.
“I didn't do anything.”
Daniel stared at him.
Something terrible was happening.
Someone was telling the truth.
Someone was lying.
And one of them was standing only inches away.
Dr. Ward stepped back.
“We need to leave.”
“Why?”
She looked toward the hospital.
“Because the real Michael knows what happened.”
Daniel asked:
“And what happened?”
Dr. Ward's eyes filled with fear.
“He remembers who set the fire.”
A distant explosion lit the night sky.
The old hospital erupted in flames.
Daniel stared.
Then someone screamed over the phone.
“GET AWAY FROM MICHAEL!”
Daniel turned.
Michael was holding a knife.
May you like
Blood dripped from the blade.
Not his.
