Chapter 10: The Daughter Who Died
“Daddy, I'm the one who died.”
I stared at the girl.
The basement seemed to disappear around me.
Gunshots.
Shouting.
Michael yelling.
Men pounding against the walls.
None of it mattered.
There was only that little girl.
Standing beneath the flickering light.
Looking at me with eyes that somehow felt older than mine.
“You died?”
She nodded.
“When?”
“Before Lily.”
My arms tightened around the child I was holding.
The real Lily.
Or what I believed was Lily.
I looked at Claire.
“What does she mean?”
Claire couldn't look at me.
“Tell me.”
“She was born first.”
“Then why does she look exactly like Lily?”
“Because they were twins.”
I froze.
“Twins?”
Claire nodded.
“Identical.”
I looked between the girls.
Two faces.
Two identical voices.
Two children who claimed to be mine.
“Then what happened?”
Claire closed her eyes.
“The first baby died.”
The girl smiled.
“I didn't.”
I stared at her.
Claire's voice trembled.
“Her heart stopped.”
“When?”
“Three minutes after birth.”
“And then?”
“They took her.”
“Who?”
“Your mother's doctors.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
“To study what happened.”
I looked at the girl.
“She survived?”
“No.”
Claire whispered:
“She was dead.”
The girl interrupted.
“Not for long.”
Everyone became silent.
I looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
She stepped closer.
“They brought me back.”
Michael shook his head.
“That's impossible.”
She smiled.
“You've seen impossible things all night.”
Michael raised his gun slightly.
“Who brought you back?”
She pointed toward my mother.
“Her.”
My mother smiled.
“I gave her another chance.”
Claire screamed:
“You turned her into a monster!”
The girl's expression changed.
“Mommy…”
Claire stepped backward.
“You were never supposed to remember.”
“Neither were you.”
The girl looked at me.
“Daddy, do you remember my name?”
I swallowed.
“What is it?”
She smiled.
“Emma.”
Something inside me snapped.
Emma.
The name struck something buried deep in my mind.
A nursery.
Yellow walls.
A tiny crib.
A woman singing.
Claire.
And a baby laughing.
Emma.
I staggered backward.
Michael caught me.
“Daniel?”
“I remember.”
Claire covered her mouth.
“What?”
“Emma.”
The girl's eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
I stared at her.
“My first daughter.”
She nodded.
“You used to call me Em.”
I couldn't breathe.
A memory appeared.
A tiny hand wrapped around my finger.
A baby sleeping against my chest.
My voice whispering:
“Daddy loves you, Em.”
Then another memory.
A hospital room.
Claire screaming.
Doctors rushing.
A monitor flatlining.
My mother standing outside the glass.
And my father saying:
“Take her.”
I opened my eyes.
“You took her.”
My mother didn't deny it.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she was valuable.”
“She was a baby!”
“She was the first successful transfer.”
“Transfer of what?”
My mother looked at me.
“Memory.”
I stared at her.
“What memory?”
“Yours.”
I felt dizzy.
“Emma carried your memories.”
“No.”
“She was the first.”
I looked at the girl.
“Then what is she?”
My mother smiled.
“Your daughter.”
Claire shook her head.
“No. She's not.”
The girl looked at Claire.
“Why did you abandon me?”
“I didn't.”
“You left me.”
“They told me you were dead.”
“They lied.”
Claire began sobbing.
“I searched for you.”
“You never found me.”
“I couldn't.”
“You didn't try hard enough.”
Claire collapsed.
I looked at my mother.
“You made Claire believe her daughter was dead.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed her to have another child.”
My stomach turned.
“Lily.”
My mother nodded.
“Lily was the replacement.”
I looked at the little girl beside me.
Her face was pale.
“What about her?”
My mother smiled.
“She was supposed to be easier to control.”
Lily suddenly screamed:
“I'm not a replacement!”
My mother looked at her.
“You're exactly what I made you to be.”
Lily shook her head.
“No!”
She buried her face against me.
“Daddy, don't let her take me.”
I held her tighter.
“No one is taking you.”
My mother smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“Neither girl belongs to you.”
My blood ran cold.
“Then whose children are they?”
My mother looked at Claire.
“Ask her.”
I turned.
Claire was shaking.
“Daniel…”
“What did she mean?”
Claire stared at the floor.
“Lily…”
“Yes?”
“She isn't your biological daughter.”
I felt as though someone had punched me.
“What?”
“I wanted to tell you.”
“You lied to me?”
“I was afraid.”
“Whose daughter is she?”
Claire looked at the two girls.
“Neither of them is yours.”
Silence.
I couldn't speak.
Then Lily looked up at me.
“But you're my Daddy.”
I knelt.
“Of course I am.”
“No matter what she says?”
I pulled her into my arms.
“No matter what.”
My mother laughed.
“That is exactly why you were chosen.”
I looked at her.
“Chosen for what?”
She pressed the remote again.
Another screen appeared.
A document.
My name.
Claire's name.
Lily's name.
Tommy's name.
And one final name.
PROJECT ECHO.
My mother spoke.
“Your family was never a family.”
I stared at the screen.
“It was a trial.”
“What trial?”
“To determine whether memories could survive death.”
I felt sick.
“Emma was the first.”
“Yes.”
“Lily was the second.”
“Yes.”
“And Tommy?”
“The seventh.”
I looked at Tommy.
He was sitting quietly in Claire's arms.
“Then what happens when the experiment succeeds?”
My mother smiled.
“The person comes back.”
“Who?”
She looked directly at me.
“Your father.”
I froze.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“He's dead.”
“His body is.”
I stared at her.
“Then where is he?”
She smiled.
“Closer than you think.”
A door opened behind us.
Everyone turned.
A man stepped into the basement.
Old.
Gray hair.
A scar across his cheek.
I didn't recognize him.
Until he looked at me.
His eyes were exactly the same as mine.
He smiled.
“Hello, son.”
My knees weakened.
Michael whispered:
“No…”
Claire screamed.
“Daniel, don't go near him!”
The man laughed.
“I've waited twenty years for this.”
I stared at him.
“You're…”
He nodded.
“Your father.”
I couldn't breathe.
“But you died.”
“No.”
He looked at my mother.
“She told you I died.”
My mother smiled.
“Because you were never supposed to know.”
My father stepped forward.
“Now you do.”
I looked at Tommy.
He was staring at the man.
Then he smiled.
“Grandpa.”
My father looked at him.
His face softened.
“Hello, Alex.”
I froze.
“What did you call him?”
My father smiled.
“Alex.”
I looked at Tommy.
Then at my father.
“Why?”
My father answered calmly:
“Because that's not your son.”
My heart stopped.
He pointed toward the little boy.
“That is me.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“My memories.”
He smiled.
“My consciousness.”
“Inside a baby?”
“Yes.”
My mother stepped beside him.
“Project Echo succeeded.”
I couldn't speak.
My father looked at me.
“And now, Daniel…”
He raised a small device.
“…it's time to transfer mine into you.”
The device beeped.
Michael fired.
The basement exploded into chaos.
My father fell backward.
My mother screamed.
Claire grabbed Lily.
I grabbed Tommy.
But before we could escape, the little girl called Emma stepped in front of me.
“Daddy.”
I looked at her.
She was crying.
“Don't let them take me again.”
I reached for her.
Then she whispered:
“Because I remember where they buried the others.”
I stopped.
“The others?”
She nodded.
“Every child they created.”
“How many?”
She looked toward my father.
Then whispered:
“Thirty-two.”
My blood ran cold.
“And Daddy…”
“What?”
“There is one more.”
“Who?”
She pointed at me.
“You.”
Then the basement lights went black.
May you like
And somewhere in the darkness, my father's voice whispered:
“Begin the final transfer.”
