Chapter 6 - They found the girl in the attic.She was standing barefoot beside a trunk.
She looked about ten years old.
Her hair was dark.
Her face was pale.
And she was holding a photograph of Vanessa.
Elena stopped at the top of the stairs.
"Who are you?"
The girl looked at her.
"Is Adrian here?"
He stepped forward.
"Yes."
The girl recoiled.
"No."
Elena stood between them.
"Nobody is going to hurt you."
The girl studied her.
Then she whispered.
"Mom said you would say that."
"Who is your mom?"
The girl's eyes moved toward the hallway.
"Vanessa."
Adrian went still.
"What is your name?"
The girl answered.
"Claire."
He looked at Elena.
"That isn't possible."
Claire frowned.
"Why?"
Adrian couldn't speak.
Maya found a medical bracelet around the girl's wrist.
The date was twelve years old.
The hospital name matched the records in the basement.
Elena touched the bracelet.
"Where have you been?"
"With Mom."
"Where?"
Claire pointed to a hidden hatch.
"Down there."
Maya opened it.
Beneath the attic floor was another passage.
Elena felt sick.
"This house is a maze."
Claire shook her head.
"Not this house."
"What?"
"All the houses."
She looked at Adrian.
"Grandfather built them."
They descended.
The passage led to a room filled with filing cabinets.
Every cabinet held names.
Every name belonged to a family.
Adrian opened one.
The Vale family.
Inside were decades of records.
Adoption.
Births.
Deaths.
Disappearances.
Elena found her own name.
Then Claire found another file.
Emma Vale.
Claire opened it.
A photograph fell out.
It showed Vanessa in a hospital room.
But she wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was Elena's mother.
Alive.
Elena dropped to her knees.
"My mother."
Claire looked at her.
"She knew Mom."
"When?"
"Before I was born."
Elena's hands shook.
"Where is she now?"
Claire pointed toward another cabinet.
A death certificate.
But the date was blank.
Elena stared.
"No date."
"Because she's not dead."
Everyone looked at Claire.
"How do you know?"
"Because I saw her."
"When?"
"Last year."
Adrian stepped closer.
"Where?"
Claire whispered.
"Underground."
The lights went out.
A gunshot cracked through the corridor.
Everyone dropped.
Maya pulled Claire down.
Adrian fired toward the sound.
Another shot.
Glass shattered.
Then silence.
When the emergency lights came back, Claire was gone.
Elena screamed.
"Claire!"
A door slammed somewhere nearby.
They chased it.
The corridor split into three directions.
Maya looked at the security map.
"There's no corridor here."
Adrian stared.
"Then where are we?"
A speaker crackled.
Daniel's voice.
"You're standing inside the room where it began."
Adrian looked around.
"What began?"
"The exchange."
Elena felt a wave of fear.
"What exchange?"
A hidden door opened.
Inside was a hospital bed.
Straps.
Medical equipment.
And a mirror on the wall.
Someone had written on it in dried red paint.
ONE CHILD FOR ANOTHER.
Adrian staggered backward.
Elena stared at him.
"What did you do?"
"I don't know."
"You don't remember?"
"I swear."
Daniel's voice returned.
"You were twelve."
Adrian stared.
"You were twelve years old when your father made you choose."
"Choose what?"
A recording began.
A young Adrian appeared on a monitor.
Beside him stood Daniel.
And between them were two babies.
Adrian watched his younger self crying.
His father stood behind him.
Then came the words.
"Pick one."
The recording stopped.
Elena's eyes filled with horror.
"Which baby?"
The monitor came alive again.
Young Adrian pointed.
At one child.
The screen cut to black.
A final message appeared.
YOU CHOSE WRONG.
Then the house alarm began screaming.
Maya checked the system.
"Someone just opened the front gate."
Adrian looked toward the corridor.
A man's voice came through the speakers.
May you like
"Hello, little brother."
Daniel was coming home.
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