Chapter 20 - The Sister They BuriedI stared at the document.
My hands were numb.
"My sister?"
Nate nodded.
"Her name was Elise."
"I had no sister."
"Your mother made you believe that."
"Why?"
"Because Elise was Subject Zero."
The room seemed to tilt.
I sat down.
"Explain."
"She was the first successful test subject."
"Successful?"
"Her body accepted the implant."
I remembered the phrase.
Subject One.
But there had been a Subject Zero.
Nate continued.
"Elise was older than you by four years."
"Where is she?"
He looked at the fire.
"Dead."
"How?"
"The same device."
I closed my eyes.
"Then why did my mother hide her?"
"Because Elise survived long enough to discover what Orchid was."
"And?"
"She tried to expose it."
"Who killed her?"
Nate hesitated.
"Vesper."
My stomach turned.
"But you said I had been the first successful subject."
"I lied."
"Why?"
"Because Elise was the real breakthrough."
"Then why am I important?"
He looked directly at me.
"Because Elise died before the transfer."
"What transfer?"
"The implant can carry information between biological systems."
I stared.
"Memories?"
"Patterns."
"Personality?"
"Fragments."
I felt cold.
"You're saying..."
"Elise's neurological pattern was preserved."
"Where?"
Nate swallowed.
"In you."
I couldn't speak.
"You were born carrying the final sequence."
"What does that mean?"
"Your mother used Elise's biological data to stabilize you."
I looked at him.
"So I wasn't Subject One."
"No."
"You made me think that."
"Because if Vesper learned the truth..."
"What?"
He said the words slowly.
"They would believe Elise was still alive."
I stood.
"Where is the data?"
Nate looked toward the wall.
"A hidden archive."
"Where?"
"Under the original hospital."
I stared.
"My hospital."
He nodded.
Suddenly everything connected.
The chief who had trained me.
The hospital records.
The hidden basement.
The altered patient files.
The voice of my mother.
The reason Nate had told me to run.
I wasn't being hunted because I could control Orchid.
I was being hunted because the evidence of Elise's existence was inside me.
And someone wanted it.
Nate stood.
"I have one last thing."
"What?"
He handed me a small box.
Inside was a hospital bracelet.
ELISE MORGAN
Below the name was a date.
The day she died.
I stared at it.
Then I noticed the second bracelet underneath.
HANNAH MORGAN
Same date.
Same hospital.
My heart stopped.
"These aren't mine."
Nate shook his head.
"Read the time."
I did.
Elise: 11:42 p.m.
Hannah: 11:58 p.m.
I looked at him.
"What happened in those sixteen minutes?"
Nate whispered,
"Elise died."
I waited.
"And you were born."
Silence.
"No."
He nodded.
"Your mother didn't give birth to two daughters."
He looked at the photograph on the table.
"She transferred Elise's pattern into you."
I stared at the bracelet.
At my own name.
At the date.
Everything I knew about myself had become uncertain.
Then Nate's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed instantly.
"What?"
He listened.
Then looked at me.
"She's awake."
"Who?"
He swallowed.
"Elise."
The world stopped.
"That's impossible."
Nate looked toward the cabin door.
"It would be."
Three knocks sounded from outside.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Nate went pale.
The door opened.
A woman stood in the snow.
Same eyes as mine.
Same face.
Older than me by four years.
Alive.
She looked at me.
Then smiled.
"Hannah."
I couldn't breathe.
She stepped inside.
"You're finally awake."
Behind her, black vehicles appeared between the trees.
Dozens of headlights.
Nate reached for my hand.
Elise looked past us.
"Run."
I stared at her.
"From whom?"
She looked toward the road.
And whispered,
"Everyone."
May you like
Then the lights went out.
And someone outside chambered a gun.
