Chapter 12 - The girl standing beside Victor looked exactly like Lily.Same dark hair.
Same eyes.
Same yellow dress.
Ryan's heart wanted to believe his son was wrong.
But Noah didn't look confused.
He looked certain.
“That isn't Lily,” he whispered.
Victor smiled.
“You've taught him well, Ryan.”
Ryan stepped in front of Noah.
“What did you do to my daughter?”
Victor looked at the girl.
“I brought her back.”
The girl smiled at Ryan.
“Daddy.”
Ryan stared.
“What is your favorite memory of me?”
She answered instantly.
“When you taught me to ride a bicycle.”
Ryan froze.
Only Lily knew that.
But then the girl said:
“You held the seat.”
Ryan shook his head.
“Wrong.”
Her smile faded.
“I never taught Lily to ride a bicycle.”
Victor's smile widened.
“Exactly.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
The girl tilted her head.
“I am Lily.”
Noah shook his head.
“No.”
Victor looked at Noah.
“You're becoming troublesome.”
Ryan raised his gun.
“Let her go.”
Victor sighed.
“Still using violence to protect what you love.”
Ryan ignored him.
“Where is the real Lily?”
The girl spoke.
“I am the real Lily.”
Noah suddenly screamed:
“YOU STOLE HER!”
The girl flinched.
Victor grabbed Noah.
Ryan lunged.
Cole and the officers intervened.
A struggle erupted in the hospital corridor.
Victor escaped through a side exit.
The girl disappeared with him.
Ryan chased them outside.
A black SUV sped away.
He couldn't catch it.
He stood in the parking lot, breathing hard.
Detective Cole grabbed his shoulder.
“Ryan.”
Ryan turned.
“We have another problem.”
“What?”
Cole held up a file.
“The hospital system shows something impossible.”
“What?”
“Lily Mercer was admitted here yesterday.”
Ryan stared.
“Yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Before we found her?”
Cole nodded.
“That admission was made using your insurance.”
Ryan's face went pale.
“What diagnosis?”
Cole looked at the report.
“Dissociative identity disorder.”
Ryan stared.
“That's impossible.”
Cole shook his head.
“No.”
He handed Ryan another page.
“The doctor notes say the patient identifies herself as Lily, Grace, and…”
He stopped.
Ryan waited.
“And Emily.”
Ryan felt his stomach drop.
“What?”
“She sometimes identifies as your wife.”
Ryan looked at Emily.
She appeared frozen.
Then she whispered:
“No.”
Ryan backed away.
Emily shook her head.
“They did something to me too.”
Ryan stared.
“What do you mean?”
Emily touched her head.
“I've been losing time.”
Ryan's expression changed.
“How long?”
“Years.”
“You didn't tell me.”
“I thought it was stress.”
Cole stepped in.
“Mrs. Mercer, when was the first time?”
Emily closed her eyes.
“After Lily died.”
Ryan corrected her.
“After Lily disappeared.”
Emily looked at him.
“Yes.”
Cole asked:
“What happens during those episodes?”
Emily swallowed.
“I wake up in different places.”
“Where?”
“Basements.”
Ryan felt cold.
“What do you see?”
Emily whispered:
“Children.”
The hallway went silent.
Ryan remembered something.
The hidden room.
The notes.
The phrase.
I AM NOT YOUR DAUGHTER.
The answer suddenly clicked.
Maybe the experiment wasn't just about transferring memories between children.
Maybe it was about transferring identity.
Maybe Emily had been used as part of the experiment.
Ryan grabbed her hand.
“Come with me.”
They returned to the house.
In the basement, Ryan found another file.
This one had his wife's name.
SUBJECT ZERO: EMILY MERCER
Ryan stared.
“Subject zero?”
Emily looked at the document.
“No.”
Ryan opened it.
Inside was a photograph of Emily as a child.
She was standing beside Victor.
And another girl.
A girl who looked exactly like Lily.
But the date on the photograph was twenty-two years earlier.
Ryan couldn't speak.
Emily stared at the image.
Then whispered:
“That girl…”
Ryan looked at her.
“Who?”
Emily's face became blank.
“She was my sister.”
Ryan's heart stopped.
“You had a sister?”
Emily nodded slowly.
“I thought she died.”
Ryan flipped the photograph over.
On the back was written:
SUBJECT ZERO TRANSFERRED INTO EMILY AT AGE SEVEN.
Ryan looked at his wife.
She wasn't crying anymore.
She was smiling.
A smile Ryan had never seen before.
Emily whispered:
“Ryan…”
Her voice was suddenly different.
“Do you remember me?”
Ryan froze.
She tilted her head.
May you like
And said:
“My name isn't Emily.”
