Chapter 13 - Jonathan couldn't move.His mother stood in the doorway.
Alive.
Older.
Completely calm.
His entire body went cold.
“No.”
She smiled.
“Hello, Jonathan.”
Mara stepped backward.
“This isn't possible.”
Jonathan's mother looked at her.
“You're Mara.”
Mara stared.
“You know me?”
“Of course.”
Jonathan's voice was shaking.
“You died.”
His mother walked forward.
“I disappeared.”
“You had a funeral.”
“Yes.”
“We buried you.”
“A body.”
Jonathan's face hardened.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
She looked toward Emma.
“Not when a child is involved.”
Jonathan's mother looked at Sofia.
Then smiled.
“So.”
Her voice softened.
“You finally found her.”
Jonathan stepped between them.
“You're not taking either girl.”
His mother raised an eyebrow.
“Both are mine.”
“No.”
“She belongs to our family.”
“Emma belongs with me.”
His mother smiled.
“You still think love is enough.”
Jonathan didn't answer.
She turned toward Lydia.
“Did you tell him?”
“Everything.”
His mother's expression darkened.
“Then there's no reason to delay.”
She looked at Richard.
“Bring me the key.”
Richard hesitated.
“My payment.”
She smiled.
“Later.”
Richard stepped forward.
Jonathan blocked him.
“You've used him.”
His mother laughed.
“Of course.”
Richard looked betrayed.
“You promised me the trust.”
“I promised you a share.”
“You said half.”
“I changed my mind.”
Richard's face hardened.
Jonathan realized something.
They were turning on each other.
He whispered to Lydia,
“What is the vault?”
Lydia answered,
“Evidence.”
“How do we open it?”
“Your mother knows.”
Jonathan turned.
“What did you hide?”
His mother smiled.
“A record.”
“Of what?”
“Your father's final decision.”
Jonathan felt cold.
“My father.”
“Yes.”
“What did he choose?”
She stared at him.
“To protect you.”
Jonathan frowned.
“From what?”
“From becoming like him.”
The room fell silent.
His mother continued.
“He wanted to destroy Operation Lantern.”
Richard laughed.
“That isn't what happened.”
“No.”
She looked toward the ceiling.
“He failed.”
Jonathan stared.
“Then why hide it?”
“To give you a chance.”
“A chance to do what?”
“Finish what he started.”
Jonathan looked at Emma and Sofia.
“What does that have to do with them?”
His mother pointed to the girls.
“They are the last witnesses.”
Jonathan's jaw tightened.
“You're going to kill them.”
“No.”
She looked toward Richard.
“He is.”
Richard's expression changed.
“You never said…”
His mother turned.
“You know what happens to people who know too much.”
Richard slowly lowered his weapon.
“No.”
She smiled.
“Too late.”
Chaos erupted.
Richard fired first.
The bullet shattered a light.
People screamed.
Jonathan grabbed Emma.
Mara grabbed Sofia.
Celeste pulled Lydia behind a pillar.
Men rushed into the room.
Glass shattered.
Someone fired again.
Jonathan dragged both girls toward the hallway.
They ran.
Behind them, voices screamed.
“Stop them!”
“Don't let them reach the vault!”
Jonathan slammed the door.
They raced downstairs.
The hidden staircase seemed endless.
Emma was crying.
Sofia was silent.
Mara held both their hands.
At the bottom, Jonathan saw a steel wall.
There was no door.
Only a small circular scanner.
Lydia appeared behind them.
“DNA.”
Jonathan held Emma's hand.
“Which one?”
Lydia pointed.
“Both.”
They placed their hands on the scanner.
Nothing happened.
Jonathan frowned.
“Why?”
Lydia looked at him.
“Because the system doesn't recognize them as separate.”
Mara asked,
“Then what?”
Lydia answered,
“They were registered as one person.”
Jonathan stared.
“The twins shared an identity.”
“Yes.”
“So one must be designated primary.”
Lydia nodded.
Jonathan remembered Richard's words.
A choice.
He looked at Emma.
Then Sofia.
The system flashed.
SELECT PRIMARY HEIR.
Jonathan's heart broke.
“No.”
Mara whispered,
“You don't have to.”
The system waited.
Behind them, footsteps echoed.
The families were coming.
Jonathan had seconds.
Emma looked at him.
“Daddy.”
Sofia looked away.
Jonathan remembered six years of love.
Then he remembered the baby he had lost.
The baby he had unknowingly abandoned.
He entered a name.
SOFIA HALE.
The wall opened.
Everyone stared.
Inside was a single room.
One table.
One box.
Jonathan opened it.
Inside lay a videotape.
And a letter from his father.
Jonathan unfolded it.
Only one sentence was written.
SON, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, YOUR MOTHER HAS LIED TO YOU ABOUT EVERYTHING.
Jonathan looked up.
His mother stood at the doorway.
Her expression had changed.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
Jonathan turned the videotape over.
On the label was a date.
The night Emma was born.
He pressed play.
The screen flickered.
His father's face appeared.
He looked directly at the camera.
“Jonathan.”
Jonathan stopped breathing.
May you like
Then his father said:
“Your mother is going to kill one of the twins.”
