Chapter 9 - The truth no longer had a straight line.Every answer created another question.

Daniel insisted he had never made the recording.

Ethan insisted he had never ordered the crash.

Margaret had disappeared again.

Claire refused to explain where she had been for twelve years.

And Ava had begun remembering pieces of a life she wasn't sure belonged to her.

That morning, they returned to the safehouse.

Claire opened a hidden cabinet.

Inside were dozens of VHS tapes.

Ava stared.

“What are those?”

“Your memories.”

“My memories?”

“Copies.”

Claire inserted one.

A child appeared.

Ava.

Eight years old.

She sat in a chair.

Beside her sat Claire.

Ava watched herself speak.

“Grandpa says we have to run.”

Claire's younger face looked frightened.

“Where?”

“Anywhere.”

“Why?”

“Mom knows.”

The recording ended.

Ava stared at Claire.

“You knew.”

“I was twelve.”

“You knew they were doing this.”

“Yes.”

“And you left me.”

Claire's eyes filled with tears.

“I tried to take you.”

“But you left.”

“They found us.”

Ava's expression hardened.

“You let them think you were dead.”

“I had no choice.”

“You always had a choice.”

Claire looked away.

Daniel stepped in.

“She was protecting you.”

Ava snapped:

“Everyone keeps saying that.”

She looked around.

“Everyone has a reason.”

Then she pointed at the screen.

“But no one asked what I wanted.”

Silence.

She pushed herself from the wheelchair.

Her legs trembled.

Ethan reached for her.

She slapped his hand away.

“I can stand.”

She took one step.

Then another.

Her knees shook.

But she stood.

Claire stared.

“You've been able to do that?”

“Not for long.”

Ava looked down.

“The doctors told me my spinal injury prevented it.”

Claire's face went pale.

“They lied.”

Ava tried another step.

Then pain shot through her back.

She collapsed.

Ethan caught her.

She looked into his eyes.

For one second, she saw the man she married.

Not the man in the recordings.

Not the man who took the money.

Just Ethan.

Then the image disappeared.

She pushed him away.

That afternoon, Rowan received a call.

A body had been found.

Margaret.

Ava's heart stopped.

They rushed to the morgue.

The body was burned beyond recognition.

But the ring on the right hand belonged to Margaret.

Ethan stared.

“She's dead.”

Rowan nodded.

“Probably.”

Ava looked at him.

“Probably?”

“We found something.”

“What?”

“The body doesn't have Margaret's DNA.”

Silence.

Claire whispered:

“She switched bodies.”

Rowan shook his head.

“Not switched.”

He opened a report.

“Cloned identity.”

Ava stared.

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone used another woman's body and altered the fingerprints.”

Ava felt sick.

“So Margaret could still be alive.”

“Yes.”

They returned to the safehouse.

The lights were on.

Nobody had turned them on.

Ava stopped.

“Someone's inside.”

Rowan raised his weapon.

They entered.

The rooms were empty.

Then they heard a child crying.

Ava froze.

“Do you hear that?”

Everyone did.

The crying came from beneath the floor.

They found a hidden door.

Underneath was a small room.

A crib.

A camera.

A monitor.

And a photograph.

Ava picked it up.

It showed a newborn baby.

On the back was written:

SUBJECT ECHO-2

Claire covered her mouth.

Ava stared at the baby.

“Who is this?”

Claire didn't answer.

Ava turned.

“Who?”

Claire began crying.

“That was supposed to be your child.”

Ava's world stopped.

“My child?”

“Before the crash.”

Ava stared at her.

“I was pregnant?”

Claire nodded.

“Eight weeks.”

Ava looked at Ethan.

He went white.

“What?”

Ethan whispered:

“I remember.”

Ava's heart shattered.

“What?”

“The night before the crash.”

His voice trembled.

“You told me you were pregnant.”

Ava stepped backward.

“I don't remember.”

“You said we'd leave.”

“Stop.”

“You said you didn't want your child anywhere near my mother.”

“Stop!”

“But then…”

Ethan covered his face.

“What?”

“My mother found out.”

Ava slowly turned toward the crib.

“The baby?”

Claire looked at the floor.

“Never existed officially.”

Ava's voice became barely audible.

“What happened?”

Claire swallowed.

“We don't know.”

Then a monitor turned on.

A video appeared.

A newborn crying.

A masked person entered the frame.

They lifted the baby.

Before the video ended, the mask came off.

Ava stared at the screen.

The person holding her child was Margaret.

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