Chapter 14: The Brother Who Wanted Forgiveness
Ryan read Emily’s message again.
Then again.
He is trying to get close enough to destroy him.
For years, Ryan had searched for the villain in his story.
First, he thought it was Adrian.
Then Lucas.
Then his father.
Now Noah.
But every time he found an answer, another layer appeared beneath it.
The truth was not a straight road.
It was a maze.
And every person inside it had blood on their hands.
Including him.
The hidden room beneath the station became a battlefield of theories.
Derek stood beside the table.
“We need to know Noah’s real plan.”
Ryan looked at him.
“How?”
Adrian placed a file down.
“By understanding his past.”
The file contained everything about Noah Carter.
More than Ryan had ever seen.
Noah was born three years before Ryan.
When Thomas began Project Mirror, Noah was his first successful subject.
Unlike Ryan, Noah did not resist.
He adapted.
He learned.
He became exactly what Thomas wanted.
A person who could control emotions.
A person who could manipulate decisions.
A person who could predict others.
Ryan looked at the report.
“Noah was his perfect creation.”
Adrian nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then why would he want forgiveness?”
Nobody answered.
Because that was the mystery.
They found Noah’s hidden location through a forgotten Project Mirror access code.
An old underground facility.
The same place where Ryan’s memories were erased.
Ryan entered first.
The hallway looked familiar.
Too familiar.
Every step felt like walking through a nightmare he had forgotten.
Then he saw it.
The machine.
The memory procedure chamber.
The place where he chose to lose himself.
Ryan stood there silently.
A voice came from behind.
“I hated this room.”
Ryan turned.
Noah stood there.
Alone.
No weapon.
No guards.
Ryan immediately became cautious.
“You’re working with Thomas.”
Noah smiled sadly.
“That’s what everyone thinks.”
“Are you?”
Noah looked at the machine.
“I worked with him.”
Ryan stared.
“That’s not an answer.”
Noah looked at him.
“It’s the truth.”
Ryan said nothing.
Noah continued:
“When we were children, Thomas taught me one thing.”
“What?”
“That emotions were weaknesses.”
A pause.
“So I removed them.”
Ryan looked at him.
“And now?”
Noah laughed quietly.
“Now I realize he was wrong.”
Ryan was surprised.
Noah looked down.
“Because removing emotions didn’t make me stronger.”
A pause.
“It made me empty.”
Ryan watched him carefully.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Noah looked confused.
“About what?”
“About being my brother.”
Silence.
Then Noah answered:
“Because I was ashamed.”
The answer surprised Ryan.
Noah continued.
“You looked at people differently.”
Ryan frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“You cared about strangers.”
A pause.
“You helped Emily when you had nothing to gain.”
Noah looked at him.
“And I spent my whole life calculating what I could take.”
Ryan did not know what to say.
For the first time, Noah did not seem like a monster.
He seemed like someone who had spent years trapped inside the person his father created.
Noah walked toward the old machine.
“Do you know why Thomas never erased my memories?”
Ryan shook his head.
“Because he didn’t need to.”
Noah touched the machine.
“He wanted me to remember everything.”
“Why?”
“So I would never forget what he made me.”
Ryan looked at him.
Noah continued:
“Thomas believed pain created strength.”
A pause.
“He was wrong.”
Ryan asked:
“What did pain create?”
Noah looked at him.
“People who are desperate to end it.”
Suddenly, alarms began ringing.
Noah’s expression changed.
“He knows we’re here.”
Ryan looked around.
“Thomas?”
Noah nodded.
“He always knows.”
The lights turned red.
A voice came through the speakers.
Thomas.
“Ryan.”
Ryan froze.
“You always were my favorite failure.”
Noah looked angry.
Thomas continued.
“And Noah…”
A pause.
“My greatest success.”
Noah looked toward the speaker.
“You’re wrong.”
Thomas laughed.
“Am I?”
The screen turned on.
Thomas appeared.
But he was not alone.
Lucas Reed stood beside him.
Ryan’s expression changed.
“Lucas.”
Thomas smiled.
“You were looking for the person who betrayed Emily.”
A pause.
“You found him.”
Ryan stared.
Lucas looked calm.
“I did what I had to do.”
Emily’s voice suddenly came through another speaker.
“Lucas…”
Everyone froze.
Thomas smiled.
“Yes.”
Ryan looked confused.
“Emily?”
Thomas turned the camera.
Emily was there.
But beside her was Lucas.
Ryan felt his stomach tighten.
Lucas looked at Emily.
“I’m sorry.”
Emily looked devastated.
“Why?”
Lucas answered:
“Because your father was right.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“What?”
Lucas looked at the camera.
“People always choose themselves in the end.”
Noah shook his head.
“You still believe that?”
Lucas smiled.
“Yes.”
Then he revealed something.
A small device in his hand.
A control device.
Ryan recognized it.
Project Mirror technology.
Lucas pressed a button.
Emily immediately collapsed.
Ryan shouted:
“Emily!”
Thomas watched calmly.
“Now you understand.”
Ryan looked furious.
“What did you do?”
Thomas smiled.
“Nothing.”
A pause.
“Lucas did.”
Ryan looked at Lucas.
But Lucas’s expression had changed.
For the first time…
he looked afraid.
Because the device was not affecting Emily.
It was affecting him.
Lucas dropped it.
His hands began shaking.
“What did you do?”
Thomas smiled.
“You wanted to prove emotions were weaknesses.”
A pause.
“So I removed yours.”
Lucas fell to his knees.
Ryan stared.
Thomas had betrayed Lucas too.
Everyone was just another experiment.
Noah looked at Ryan.
“Now you see.”
Ryan watched Lucas collapse.
Thomas had never cared about loyalty.
Only control.
Noah whispered:
“He doesn’t want followers.”
A pause.
“He wants mirrors.”
Ryan looked at his father’s face on the screen.
And finally understood.
Thomas Carter did not want to rule the world.
He wanted to prove one terrifying idea.
That everyone could become him.
The screen went black.
Then one final message appeared.
From Thomas.
“Tomorrow night, Ryan.”
“The final experiment begins.”
A pause.
“You.”
“Me.”
“And the person you were always trying to save.”
Ryan looked at Emily.
The war was no longer about discovering the truth.
May you like
The truth had arrived.
Now they had to survive it.
