Chapter 6 - They found the hidden room again at midnight.Ryan refused to call the police.
Not yet.
Too many people were involved.
The hospital.
Victor.
Possibly Daniel.
And now whoever had taken Lily.
Every official document Ryan had found was either falsified or incomplete.
He couldn't risk trusting the wrong person.
Emily followed him beneath the kitchen.
The room seemed different.
Ryan noticed it immediately.
One of the walls had been opened.
Behind it was a narrow tunnel.
Emily stared.
“I didn't know that was there.”
Ryan looked at her.
“For once, I believe you.”
They crawled through.
The tunnel ended beneath the garage.
There they found a metal door.
Ryan forced it open.
Inside was a small control room.
Monitors lined one wall.
Most were dead.
One was still active.
The screen showed the kitchen.
Another showed the basement.
Another showed Noah's bedroom.
Another showed the street.
Ryan stared.
Someone had been watching them for years.
Emily began crying.
Ryan moved toward the equipment.
A label was attached to the main terminal.
PROJECT MIRROR.
He clicked through the files.
Videos appeared.
Children.
Medical tests.
Brain scans.
Behavioral recordings.
Then a folder titled:
LILY / GRACE
Ryan opened it.
Two columns.
Two children.
SUBJECT A: LILY
SUBJECT B: GRACE
The data was almost identical.
Except for one line.
SUBJECT B RESPONSE TO MEMORY RECONSTRUCTION: SUCCESSFUL.
Ryan stared.
“What does that mean?”
Emily shook her head.
“I don't know.”
A video began playing automatically.
Victor Hale appeared on screen.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Cold.
He sat behind a desk.
“Today is the seventh anniversary of the twins.”
He looked directly into the camera.
“Subject A has developed strong emotional attachment to the biological father.”
Ryan froze.
Victor continued.
“This attachment creates vulnerability.”
A second video began.
Emily was standing in a hospital room.
Holding Lily.
Victor entered.
He took the baby.
Emily tried to stop him.
Victor looked at her.
“You may keep one.”
Emily screamed.
“I want both!”
Victor leaned toward her.
“Then choose.”
The video ended.
Ryan looked at Emily.
“You chose Lily.”
Emily covered her face.
“I thought I could save her.”
“Where was Grace?”
“In the facility.”
Ryan closed his eyes.
“You left her.”
“I came back.”
“When?”
“Three months later.”
“What happened?”
Emily whispered:
“She was gone.”
Ryan looked at the screen.
“Who took her?”
Emily stared.
“I don't know.”
Suddenly a door slammed above them.
Ryan grabbed the gun.
They climbed back into the kitchen.
The lights were off.
Noah was gone.
Ryan sprinted upstairs.
His son's bedroom was empty.
The window was open.
A small piece of paper lay on the bed.
Ryan unfolded it.
YOU TOOK MY SISTER.
Ryan's face went numb.
He looked at Emily.
“What does that mean?”
Emily shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Then Ryan noticed the handwriting.
It wasn't Lily's.
It wasn't Noah's.
It looked too precise.
Adult.
A phone rang from the hallway.
Ryan found an old landline phone sitting on the floor.
He answered.
A man's voice said:
“Bring Emily to the old hospital.”
Ryan recognized it.
Daniel.
His supposedly dead brother.
“Daniel?”
The voice laughed.
“Hello, little brother.”
Ryan nearly dropped the receiver.
“Where's Noah?”
“Safe.”
“Where are my children?”
“Closer than you think.”
“What do you want?”
A pause.
“You've spent seven years believing your wife betrayed you.”
Ryan said nothing.
Daniel continued.
“You never asked who she betrayed you with.”
Ryan felt cold.
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Daniel's voice became quiet.
“Me.”
The call ended.
Emily stared at Ryan.
He looked at her.
“You knew Daniel was alive.”
Emily began sobbing.
“Yes.”
Ryan stepped back.
“How long?”
“Six years.”
“You've been meeting him?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know he's alive?”
Emily looked toward the basement.
“Because he is the reason Lily survived.”
Ryan stood motionless.
Then he heard a child's voice from beneath the kitchen.
“Dad?”
Noah.
Ryan ran toward the grate.
The boy's voice came again.
“Dad, don't let Mommy open the door.”
Ryan froze.
Behind him, Emily whispered:
“Which door?”
A deep metallic click sounded beneath the floor.
Ryan looked down.
May you like
There was now a third door in the hidden passage.
And it had just unlocked itself.
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