Chapter 14 - I turned toward my mother.
“What did he mean?”
She didn't answer.
“Mom.”
She remained silent.
Thomas's voice came through the speaker.
“Ask her about the night you were born.”
My mother closed her eyes.
“Daniel…”
“Tell me.”
“I can't.”
“You've lied to me my whole life.”
“I lied because I loved you.”
“That isn't enough anymore.”
Silence.
Then she whispered:
“I wasn't the one who raised you.”
I stared.
“What?”
“The woman you remember as your mother wasn't me.”
My heart stopped.
“What are you saying?”
“The real Margaret died twelve years ago.”
I looked at her.
She was crying.
“I am Margaret's sister.”
Everything went silent.
“What?”
“My name is Eleanor.”
“Then who are you?”
“Your aunt.”
“You said Margaret survived.”
“I took her identity.”
I staggered backward.
“The woman I saw in the photograph?”
“My sister.”
“The woman Emma saw?”
“Me.”
“The woman in the gray coat?”
“Not me.”
I couldn't breathe.
“Then who?”
Eleanor looked toward the door.
“Thomas's final double.”
I stared.
Another Margaret.
Another woman.
How many layers could there be?
“Why did you pretend?”
“Because after Margaret died, Thomas wanted the research.”
“And you?”
“I wanted to save her children.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Thomas had surveillance everywhere.”
She pointed toward the ceiling.
“He watched you.”
I looked up.
Cameras.
Everywhere.
Hidden.
My whole childhood had been monitored.
I felt sick.
Then Michael spoke from the bed.
“She isn't lying.”
Everyone turned.
He opened his eyes.
“I remember.”
“What do you remember?”
“The night Thomas came.”
He struggled to sit.
“He took me.”
“Why?”
“Because I was the only one who inherited the full sequence naturally.”
Adrian stared.
“No.”
Michael nodded.
“I remember the laboratory.”
Then he looked at Emma.
“He wants her because her DNA can stabilize me.”
I asked:
“And what happens if he gets it?”
Michael looked away.
“I die.”
Silence.
“He needs her cells.”
“How many?”
“All of them.”
My blood ran cold.
“We're not giving her to him.”
Michael nodded.
“That's why you need the final archive.”
“Where is it?”
He held up the third key.
“It isn't in a building.”
“Then where?”
He looked at me.
“Under the grave.”
I frowned.
“My father's grave?”
“No.”
He smiled faintly.
“Your mother's.”
We returned to the cemetery.
The old grave had been marked for twelve years.
MARGARET REED.
I stood in front of it.
“I buried an empty coffin here.”
Eleanor nodded.
“Thomas wanted you to believe she was inside.”
We dug.
Beneath the stone was a steel chamber.
The third key opened it.
Inside was a single box.
I opened it.
Documents.
A hard drive.
A photograph.
Three newborn babies.
And one letter.
I unfolded it.
Daniel,
If you found this, then you know the truth.
Your mother loved you.
Your father feared you.
And your brother was never meant to live.
But there is one more truth.
Thomas didn't start the project.
He inherited it.
The first person to discover the sequence was your grandfather.
I stopped reading.
My grandfather?
He had died before I was born.
The letter continued.
He believed the sequence could preserve life.
Thomas believed it could control life.
There was another page.
And the final line said:
Your grandfather's research is still active. Someone else has continued it.
The handwriting changed.
A second person had written underneath.
And that person is standing beside you.
I slowly turned.
Eleanor was gone.
Marcus was gone.
Adrian was gone.
Only Emma remained.
And behind her stood Thomas.
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
She didn't scream.
She simply looked at me.
“Dad…”
Thomas smiled.
“You finally found the archive.”
Then he whispered:
“But you opened it too late.”
I looked at the document in my hand.
The final name on the page was not Thomas.
Not Eleanor.
Not Adrian.
Not Marcus.
It was mine.
DANIEL REED, DIRECTOR.
I couldn't understand.
Then Thomas laughed.
“You were never the victim.”
May you like
He stepped closer.
“You were the heir.”
