Chapter 11 - The Man Who Looked Like MeThe recording broke me.
Not because of what it proved.
Because it sounded like me.
The same voice.
The same breathing.
The same pause before every sentence.
I asked Daniel to analyze it.
He did.
The recording hadn't been altered.
The speaker's voice matched mine.
But there was one problem.
I didn't remember the conversation.
Daniel said there could be an explanation.
I didn't want one.
Then I remembered something from the accident.
A gap.
Three hours.
The day before Lily died, I'd gone to a company meeting.
After that, nothing.
Until waking in my own bed.
I had always blamed stress.
Maybe it wasn't stress.
Maybe someone had drugged me.
Maybe someone had used me.
The hidden room contained one final device.
A camera.
It had recorded months of activity.
We found the oldest file.
It showed me entering the hidden room.
Alone.
I sat at the desk.
Opened the Black Ledger.
And spoke to someone outside the camera's view.
“It's almost over.”
I paused.
Then said:
“She doesn't suspect me.”
Daniel froze.
The recording continued.
I stood.
Someone entered.
I couldn't see their face.
But I heard their voice.
Vanessa.
She said:
“Will she be killed?”
My recorded self answered:
“She has to be.”
I stopped the video.
“No.”
Daniel stared.
“That isn't you.”
“It looks like me.”
“Then someone wants you to believe it.”
“How?”
“Deepfake?”
“This predates current technology.”
Daniel pointed at the timestamp.
“Two years ago.”
My father had warned me.
Gabriel could manipulate people.
The Black Ledger could contain the answer.
Then a message arrived on my phone.
YOU HAVE THIRTY MINUTES.
Attached was a photograph of Noah.
He was sitting beside a locked wooden door.
Behind him was an old clock.
I recognized the room.
My father's office.
The original office.
Not the one in our current house.
The office had been sealed since his death.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Did you know this room existed?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel used it.”
We drove there.
The building had been abandoned for years.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, the old office looked untouched.
A chair.
A desk.
A fireplace.
And the clock.
Noah was gone.
But the clock was ticking.
11:17.
I touched it.
A panel opened.
Inside was a recording.
My father's voice.
“I knew Gabriel would try to use Ethan.”
He paused.
“So I built a second identity.”
My stomach tightened.
“Ethan has a twin.”
I stared at the speaker.
A photograph slid from the hidden compartment.
Two babies.
Same face.
Same birthday.
Two names.
ETHAN COLE.
EVAN COLE.
Daniel whispered:
“You had a twin.”
I shook my head.
“I don't remember.”
The recording continued.
“Evan was taken away when he was four.”
“Why?”
“Because he was dangerous.”
“Where is he now?”
Static.
Then my father's final words:
“He looks exactly like Ethan.”
The office door slammed behind us.
A man stood in the doorway.
My face.
My eyes.
My height.
My voice.
He smiled.
“Hello, brother.”
Vanessa screamed.
May you like
He raised a gun.
“Now we can finally finish what Lily started.”
