Chapter 5 - Ryan wanted to blame Emily.Every instinct told him to.
She had lied.
She had hidden Lily.
She had buried a fake body.
She had lied about being a widow to her own daughter's existence.
But as they searched the house for Lily, Ryan began to realize something terrifying.
Emily wasn't the architect of this nightmare.
She was afraid of it.
And fear, Ryan knew, had a language.
Emily moved like someone who had survived something.
Not someone in control.
They found Lily's bedroom window open.
Ryan looked outside.
There were no footprints.
No broken glass.
No sign of forced entry.
He turned toward Emily.
“How did they take her?”
Emily shook her head.
“I don't know.”
“You said Victor.”
“I thought it was Victor.”
“You thought?”
“I haven't seen him in years.”
Ryan stared.
“Who is he?”
Emily sat on the bed.
“Before I met you, my father ran private medical facilities.”
Ryan said nothing.
“He called them treatment centers.”
“What were they?”
“Testing facilities.”
Ryan felt his stomach turn.
“Testing what?”
“Children.”
Silence.
Emily continued.
“Victor believed certain children could be manipulated more easily than adults. Fear. Isolation. Memory conditioning. He wanted to study how children responded to extreme environments.”
Ryan's jaw tightened.
“You let him use Lily?”
“No.”
“Then how did she end up beneath our house?”
Emily looked at him.
“Because I took her.”
“What?”
“I stole her.”
Ryan stared.
“The night Lily was born, there were two babies.”
Emily wiped her tears.
“Twins. Lily and Grace.”
Ryan nodded slowly.
“They told me Grace died.”
“Did she?”
Emily shook her head.
“No.”
“Then where is she?”
“I don't know.”
Ryan paced.
“What happened to Lily?”
Emily continued.
“Victor wanted both babies. He said they were part of a research program. He said they had identical genetic markers that made them valuable.”
Ryan looked at her.
“What markers?”
Emily hesitated.
“I don't know.”
“You're still lying.”
“I swear I'm not.”
Emily looked exhausted.
“I escaped with Lily.”
“And left Grace?”
“I tried to take both.”
Her voice broke.
“I failed.”
Ryan stopped.
“Why did you tell me she died?”
“Because Victor found us.”
She looked at him.
“He said if I told you the truth, he would take Noah too.”
Ryan felt his throat tighten.
“What happened after that?”
“I hid Lily underground.”
“For six years?”
“Yes.”
“Why not leave?”
“Because every time I tried, he found us.”
Ryan stared at the floor.
Then something clicked.
“Emily…”
She looked up.
“Why did Lily call me Daddy?”
“She remembered you.”
“But she was an infant.”
Emily shook her head.
“Victor kept records.”
Ryan felt the pieces assembling.
Victor knew him.
Daniel had been involved.
The hospital had been involved.
The twins had been separated.
And now Lily had been taken.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
Ryan answered.
“Where is my daughter?”
A child's voice responded.
“Daddy?”
Ryan went cold.
“Lily?”
“Daddy, don't trust Mom.”
Ryan looked at Emily.
The call continued.
“She locked me away because she knew what I was.”
Ryan's heart pounded.
“What are you?”
Silence.
Then Lily whispered:
“Not what you think.”
The call ended.
Ryan stared at the phone.
Emily approached him.
“Who was it?”
“Lily.”
Emily froze.
“What did she say?”
Ryan didn't answer.
He walked outside.
There were cameras around the property.
He checked the footage.
At 3:14 a.m., a black van had entered the driveway.
At 3:15, the rear door opened.
At 3:16, a figure carried Lily out.
But the camera footage was strange.
The person's face had been covered.
Ryan zoomed in.
Then he saw the shoes.
White sneakers.
Small.
Child-sized.
He froze.
The person carrying Lily wasn't an adult.
It was another child.
Ryan replayed the footage.
A second figure followed the first.
A girl.
Same height as Lily.
Same dark hair.
Same yellow dress.
Ryan's breath caught.
Grace.
One of the twins had come back for the other.
Ryan turned toward Emily.
“There are two girls.”
Emily stared at the screen.
Her face collapsed.
“No.”
Ryan pointed.
“That's Grace.”
Emily whispered:
“She found us.”
Then, from behind them, Noah spoke.
“That's not Grace.”
Ryan and Emily turned.
Noah was standing in the doorway.
He looked terrified.
He pointed at the screen.
“That girl isn't her.”
Ryan frowned.
“Then who is she?”
Noah swallowed.
“The girl under the floor told me.”
Ryan stepped closer.
“What did Lily say?”
May you like
Noah whispered:
“She said the other girl doesn't have a name.”
Related Stories
