Chapter 12: The Weapon Called Ryan
The message on the floor remained there for several minutes.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone understood what it meant.
Ryan had spent the entire journey searching for the truth.
About Emily.
About his father.
About Project Mirror.
About the memories that had been taken from him.
But now he faced the one possibility he feared the most.
What if the missing memories were not hiding a victim?
What if they were hiding a crime?
Ryan looked at the photograph still lying on the floor.
His own hand.
Holding a gun.
Standing beside Emily.
Standing against his father.
His fingers began shaking.
“No.”
Derek picked up the photograph carefully.
“Ryan…”
“No.”
Ryan stepped back.
“I wouldn’t do that.”
Nobody answered.
And that silence hurt more than any accusation.
Because everyone knew the same thing.
They did not know.
They returned to the safe room beneath the station.
Ryan sat alone.
The photograph was placed in front of him.
For hours, he stared at it.
Trying to force his mind to remember.
The rain.
The bridge.
Emily.
The gun.
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Finally, Adrian entered.
“You should rest.”
Ryan laughed quietly.
“Rest?”
He looked up.
“My entire life is a lie.”
Adrian said nothing.
Ryan pointed at the photograph.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
“Did Emily know?”
Adrian hesitated.
That was enough.
Ryan looked away.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
The answer was quiet.
Ryan closed his eyes.
“Everyone knew except me.”
Adrian sat across from him.
“Because Emily made a choice.”
Ryan looked angry.
“She doesn’t get to choose my life.”
“No.”
Adrian nodded.
“But she chose to save it.”
Ryan stared.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
Ryan shook his head.
“She erased me.”
“She erased your pain.”
“She erased my memories.”
Adrian became silent.
Because that was the argument nobody could win.
A few hours later, Emily finally contacted him.
Ryan answered immediately.
But he did not speak.
Neither did she.
For a long moment, there was only silence.
Then Emily whispered:
“You found the photo.”
Ryan’s voice was cold.
“Yes.”
“Ryan…”
“Did I try to kill him?”
Emily became silent.
That silence was the answer.
Ryan felt his chest tighten.
“You knew.”
“I knew what happened.”
“Tell me.”
Emily took a breath.
“The night at the bridge was not an accident.”
Ryan waited.
“Your father was meeting someone.”
“Who?”
“Noah.”
Ryan froze.
“Your brother.”
“Yes.”
Emily’s voice became softer.
“They were fighting.”
“About Project Mirror.”
Ryan looked down.
“And me.”
“Yes.”
Emily continued.
“Noah wanted to expose Thomas.”
Ryan frowned.
“But you said Noah supported him.”
“At first.”
She paused.
“Then he discovered what Thomas was doing to people.”
Ryan listened.
“And he wanted to destroy everything.”
“Destroy?”
Emily whispered:
“He planned to release all Project Mirror files.”
Ryan understood.
“That sounds like a good thing.”
“It was.”
“Then why did I have a gun?”
Emily became quiet.
“Because Thomas knew.”
Ryan felt cold.
“He knew Noah would betray him.”
“Yes.”
“And he used me.”
Emily’s voice broke.
“He used your anger.”
Ryan frowned.
“My anger?”
“Yes.”
She continued.
“Your father knew you hated what he did.”
A pause.
“He knew you wanted to stop him.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
Fragments appeared.
A voice.
A fight.
Someone shouting.
Then his own voice.
“Enough.”
Emily continued.
“Thomas manipulated the situation.”
“How?”
“He convinced you that Noah was going to hurt people.”
Ryan opened his eyes.
“No.”
“He made you believe Noah was the threat.”
Ryan felt sick.
Because that sounded exactly like Thomas.
Control through fear.
Emily continued.
“When you arrived at the bridge, you weren’t trying to kill your father.”
Ryan waited.
“Then what?”
“You were trying to stop Noah.”
Ryan looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because Thomas made you believe Noah was dangerous.”
A pause.
“But then you realized the truth.”
Ryan’s breathing changed.
“What happened?”
Emily’s voice became quiet.
“You lowered the gun.”
Ryan froze.
“You didn’t shoot anyone.”
A small relief appeared.
But it disappeared immediately.
“Then why do I remember nothing?”
Emily answered:
“Because Thomas activated the memory procedure afterward.”
Ryan clenched his fist.
“But you approved it.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Emily’s voice broke.
“Because when Thomas tried to erase your memories…”
A pause.
“You almost died.”
Ryan looked away.
“I could have lost you.”
The words surprised him.
Emily continued:
“I had to choose.”
Ryan whispered:
“You chose for me.”
“Yes.”
The honesty hurt.
“But I was wrong.”
Silence.
Ryan looked at the phone.
“Where are you?”
Emily did not answer.
“Emily.”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is listening.”
Ryan became alert.
“What?”
A sound appeared through the phone.
A door opening.
Then Emily whispered:
“He found me.”
Ryan stood immediately.
“Who?”
A few seconds of silence.
Then a voice answered.
Not Emily.
Thomas.
“Hello, Ryan.”
The call changed.
Thomas was there.
Ryan’s blood ran cold.
“You have caused enough damage.”
Ryan tightened his grip on the phone.
“Where is she?”
Thomas laughed softly.
“You still think this is about saving Emily.”
A pause.
“It never was.”
Ryan said nothing.
Thomas continued:
“This was always about you.”
Ryan looked confused.
“What do you mean?”
Thomas replied:
“Because Project Mirror was never my greatest achievement.”
Silence.
“My greatest achievement…”
A pause.
“Was creating someone who could finally replace me.”
Ryan felt a chill.
“No.”
Thomas whispered:
“And that person was never Noah.”
The call ended.
At the same moment, every screen in the safe room turned on.
A live video appeared.
Emily was sitting in a chair.
Alive.
But beside her…
was Ryan.
Not the current Ryan.
A recording.
A younger Ryan.
Three years ago.
Holding the gun.
Looking directly at the camera.
And saying:
“I understand the mission.”
Ryan stopped breathing.
Because the voice on the screen was his own.
And then the younger version of himself said:
“When Emily wakes up…”
May you like
A pause.
“Erase me.”
