CHAPTER 13 THE MAN WITH MY FACE
The gun was pointed directly at Amelia.
I pulled my daughter against my chest.
“No.”
The man standing inside the elevator didn't blink.
He had my eyes.
My jaw.
My scar.
Even the same small crease between his eyebrows when he was angry.
But there was something different.
His eyes were empty.
Not cold.
Empty.
Like someone had removed the person who was supposed to be behind them.
Luka stepped in front of me.
“Put the gun down.”
The man smiled.
“You always say that.”
Luka froze.
“You know me?”
The man tilted his head.
“Of course.”
His eyes moved toward me.
“I know all of you.”
Daniel stepped out of the elevator.
His face was pale.
“Emma, don't let him touch the baby.”
I stared at him.
“You know him too.”
Daniel swallowed.
“Yes.”
“Who is he?”
Daniel didn't answer.
The man did.
“My name is Adrian Moretti.”
The screen above us flickered.
The same name appeared.
ADRIAN MORETTI
I looked at the man.
Then at the screen.
Then at the voice coming from the speakers.
“You're Adrian?”
He smiled.
“There are two versions of me.”
My mother whispered,
“No.”
Adrian looked at her.
“You've always hated that part.”
“What part?”
“The part where your husband wasn't the only monster.”
Gabriel suddenly stood.
“You're not Adrian.”
The man laughed.
“Neither are you.”
Gabriel stared at him.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
He lowered the gun slightly.
“Your daughter did.”
I looked down at Amelia.
She was staring at him.
Not frightened.
Recognizing him.
“Uncle?”
The man smiled.
“Yes.”
I felt a chill.
“How does she know you?”
“Because she's connected to me.”
I shook my head.
“She doesn't know you.”
“She remembers me.”
“No.”
He stepped out of the elevator.
“She remembers every version of me.”
My mother grabbed my arm.
“Emma, we have to leave.”
Adrian raised the gun again.
“No one leaves.”
Luka moved.
Three gunshots exploded.
The first struck the wall.
The second shattered a light.
The third hit Luka in the shoulder.
He stumbled.
“Luka!”
He dropped to one knee.
Daniel rushed toward him.
“Stay down!”
I looked at Adrian.
“You shot him.”
“He'll survive.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
Adrian smiled.
“Because I remember shooting him the first time.”
My blood went cold.
“The first time?”
He nodded.
“You've all been here before.”
I stared at him.
“What are you talking about?”
“This isn't the first version of tonight.”
My mother stepped backward.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Adrian looked at me.
“We've repeated this night eleven times.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
“Every time you make the wrong choice, the system resets.”
Daniel looked terrified.
“That's impossible.”
Adrian turned toward him.
“You should know.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I don't remember.”
“Exactly.”
Adrian pointed at him.
“That's why you're useful.”
My mother whispered,
“The memory wipes.”
Adrian smiled.
“Every cycle.”
I stared at the walls.
“Then why do I remember?”
“Because you're the anchor.”
My stomach tightened.
“The original.”
“Yes.”
“And Amelia?”
“The trigger.”
I looked at the second baby.
She was still in Nora's arms.
Her eyes were open.
Watching everything.
“What about her?”
Adrian looked at the infant.
“She is the reset mechanism.”
I felt sick.
“You're saying my baby can reset reality?”
“Not reality.”
He pointed at the machines.
“Memory.”
The room began vibrating again.
The lights flickered.
A low alarm sounded.
Adrian looked at the clock.
“We're almost out of time.”
“Time for what?”
“The twelfth cycle.”
I looked at Luka.
His face was pale.
“What happens on the twelfth?”
Adrian answered:
“The system stops resetting.”
Silence.
“And then?”
“Everyone remembers.”
My mother began shaking.
“No.”
Adrian looked at her.
“Yes.”
“What happens to Emma?”
“She remembers everything.”
I stared at him.
“And if I remember everything?”
He smiled.
“You'll know who killed Adrian.”
“You.”
He laughed.
“No.”
He pointed at Gabriel.
“Him.”
Gabriel shouted,
“Liar!”
Adrian turned toward him.
“You killed me in the first cycle.”
Gabriel's face went white.
“You erased my consciousness.”
“I copied it.”
“You were dead.”
“I came back.”
“That's impossible.”
Adrian smiled.
“That's what you taught me.”
I looked between them.
“Why did you kill him?”
Gabriel didn't answer.
My mother did.
“Because Adrian discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That M-17 wasn't Gabriel's project.”
I stared.
“Whose was it?”
She looked at Adrian.
“His.”
The man with my face smiled.
“My father built it.”
I looked at him.
“Then why did Gabriel take it?”
“Because he wanted immortality.”
“And you?”
“I wanted you.”
I froze.
“What?”
Adrian lowered the gun.
“You were the first person I ever loved.”
I shook my head.
“You were my father?”
He smiled.
“Not exactly.”
He stepped closer.
“I was your brother.”
The room went silent.
My mother whispered,
“Elias.”
The man's face changed.
For a moment, I saw the frightened teenager from the photograph.
Then his features shifted again.
Adrian.
Then Elias.
Then someone else.
My face.
His face.
Different identities flashing across the same body.
“What are you?”
He smiled.
“The first successful transfer.”
I stared.
“You transferred yourself between bodies.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Your father discovered the technology.”
“But who was the first?”
Adrian looked at me.
“You.”
I couldn't breathe.
“What?”
“You were the first person capable of carrying multiple consciousnesses.”
My head started pounding.
“You weren't created to be a host.”
“Then what was I?”
“The source.”
The room suddenly went silent.
Every machine stopped.
Amelia looked at me.
Then the second baby.
Both babies began crying simultaneously.
The sound echoed through the underground facility.
Adrian looked alarmed.
“That's not supposed to happen.”
My mother stepped toward him.
“What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are they synchronized?”
He looked at the monitors.
The screen flashed.
TWIN CONNECTION: ACTIVE
Then:
ARCHIVE ACCESS: 93%
Adrian's expression changed.
“What?”
Another line appeared.
ARCHIVE ACCESS: 94%
Then:
95%
My mother stared at me.
“Emma.”
“What?”
“Your daughter is opening the archive.”
“I thought you said it was inside her.”
“It is.”
“Then what's happening?”
My mother looked terrified.
“She isn't opening it.”
“Then who is?”
The screen changed.
A live image appeared.
My own face.
But older.
Blood running down my forehead.
Standing in a room I didn't recognize.
I stared at the screen.
“That's me.”
Luka looked up.
“No.”
The older version of me turned toward the camera.
She spoke.
“Emma.”
My blood froze.
She continued.
“If you're seeing this, then the twelfth cycle has begun.”
I couldn't breathe.
“How does she know me?”
“She is you.”
The recording continued.
“You're going to think Adrian is the enemy.”
I looked at the man with my face.
The recording shook.
“He isn't.”
Adrian lowered his gun.
His face became unreadable.
The older me continued:
“Your father isn't the enemy either.”
Gabriel looked shocked.
“The real enemy is the person who built the reset.”
My mother whispered,
“No.”
The recording turned.
Someone entered the room behind the older me.
I couldn't see the face.
But I recognized the voice.
My mother's voice.
“You shouldn't have come back.”
The older me turned.
“You shouldn't have killed me.”
The recording ended.
Silence.
I slowly turned toward my mother.
She was crying.
“Mom?”
She whispered,
“I didn't want to.”
My voice shook.
“You killed me?”
She closed her eyes.
“In the first cycle.”
I couldn't move.
“What did you do?”
“I reset everything.”
“Why?”
“Because you discovered what was inside the archive.”
“What?”
She looked at me.
“The truth about your birth.”
I waited.
She whispered:
“You were never created by Gabriel.”
My blood froze.
“Then who created me?”
She looked at the second baby.
“Your real father.”
I stared.
“Who?”
My mother pointed toward the elevator.
Everyone turned.
The elevator doors were opening again.
A man stepped out.
Older.
Gray hair.
A scar across his cheek.
He looked at me.
Then at my mother.
Then at Gabriel.
And smiled.
“I think it's time she met me.”
My mother collapsed.
“No…”
The man walked forward.
“My name is Victor Hale.”
I froze.
Hale.
My mother's maiden name.
Victor looked directly at me.
“I am your biological father.”
I couldn't speak.
He pointed at Amelia.
“And that child…”
His smile widened.
“…is the reason I came back.”
Then he looked at the second baby.
His expression changed.
“And she is the reason I'm afraid.”
The second baby suddenly stopped crying.
Her eyes opened.
She looked at Victor.
And spoke her first words.
“Grandfather.”
Victor's face went white.
Then every screen in the underground facility displayed one final message:
ARCHIVE ACCESS: 100%
The doors locked.
The lights went black.
And my mother's voice whispered in the darkness:
“Emma…”
“What?”
“If the archive is open…”
May you like
She began crying.
“…then everyone you've ever trusted is about to remember what you did.”
