Chapter 13 - Marcus dragged Sarah into the room.Nathan stared.
“You kidnapped my mother.”
Marcus smiled.
“Your real mother.”
Sarah struggled.
“Don't listen to him.”
Marcus pressed the gun against her head.
“Give me the ledger.”
Nathan shook his head.
“I don't have it.”
Marcus laughed.
“You've had it since Emma died.”
Nathan looked confused.
Then he remembered the photograph.
The family picture.
The strip of paper.
Coordinates.
He reached into his wallet.
The paper was gone.
Nathan looked at Victoria.
She had taken it.
Marcus noticed.
“Smart woman.”
Victoria stared at him.
“You won't get it.”
Marcus smiled.
“You've always underestimated me.”
Ethan slowly stood despite his wound.
Marcus pointed the gun.
“Sit down.”
Ethan obeyed.
Nathan looked at Sarah.
“Tell me the truth.”
Sarah's voice trembled.
“The ledger isn't physical.”
Nathan frowned.
“Then what is it?”
“A sequence.”
“Of what?”
“Names.”
Marcus answered:
“Not names.”
He looked at Noah.
“Identities.”
Nathan stared.
Marcus continued.
“Your father built a network that could erase a person's existence and replace it.”
“Why?”
“Power.”
Marcus smiled.
“Money disappears. People disappear. But identities can be reused.”
Nathan felt sick.
“So Noah's records…”
“Contain the final sequence.”
Nathan turned toward his son.
Marcus laughed.
“You've been raising the key.”
Nathan stepped in front of Noah.
“You'll have to kill me.”
Marcus shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed at Lily.
“I'll take her instead.”
Nathan froze.
Marcus ordered his men forward.
Victoria grabbed Lily.
“No!”
Marcus smiled.
“Exactly.”
Nathan realized the truth.
The children were not leverage.
They were the pieces.
Emma had hidden the ledger in the family.
No one had been looking at the right person.
Nathan looked at Noah.
Then at Lily.
Then at Victoria.
“You know where Emma hid the sequence.”
Victoria nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
She looked at Lily.
Nathan understood.
“Inside her memory.”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
Victoria crouched.
“Sweetheart, remember what your mother taught you.”
Lily whispered:
“Three birds.”
Marcus smiled.
“Exactly.”
“What does it mean?” Nathan asked.
Victoria answered:
“Third witness.”
Nathan frowned.
“Who?”
Lily pointed toward Sarah.
“Grandma.”
Everyone froze.
Sarah's face changed.
Nathan stared at her.
“You were there?”
Sarah nodded.
“The night Emma disappeared.”
“What did you see?”
“Your father.”
“What did he do?”
Sarah's voice broke.
“He didn't kill Emma.”
Nathan stared.
“Then who?”
Sarah looked at Marcus.
Marcus fired.
Sarah dropped.
Nathan screamed.
Ethan returned fire.
Chaos erupted.
Men scattered.
Lily screamed.
Noah grabbed Nathan's hand.
“Daddy!”
Nathan pulled the children behind a wall.
Victoria shot one of the attackers.
Nathan stared.
“You know how to use a gun?”
Victoria looked at him.
“I learned a long time ago.”
Marcus escaped.
Nathan ran after him.
They chased each other through the house.
Marcus disappeared into the basement.
Nathan followed.
The hidden wall opened.
Inside was another corridor.
At the end was a steel door.
Marcus entered.
Nathan forced it open.
Inside was a control room.
Screens covered the walls.
Live feeds from homes.
Schools.
Hospitals.
And one screen showed Emma.
Alive.
In another location.
Nathan stared.
The microphone activated.
Emma spoke.
“Nathan, don't follow Marcus.”
Nathan looked around.
“Where are you?”
“Too late.”
A screen changed.
It showed his father.
Standing beside Emma.
Nathan froze.
His father smiled at the camera.
“You finally found us.”
Nathan stepped closer.
“Let her go.”
His father shook his head.
“I didn't take Emma.”
Nathan clenched his fists.
“Then who did?”
His father smiled.
“Your mother.”
Nathan froze.
Sarah.
Then another screen turned on.
Sarah was standing.
Alive.
Behind her was Emma.
And beside them...
Lily's real father.
Nathan stared.
The man looked exactly like him.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same scar.
Nathan's blood ran cold.
His father spoke:
“You were never the first son.”
The screen went black.
May you like
Then one final message appeared.
YOU WERE THE COPY.
