Chapter 8 - Ryan sat on the basement floor for nearly a minute without moving.His entire marriage had just been turned inside out.
The meeting.
The wedding.
Noah's birth.
The house.
Even Lily.
Had all of it been planned?
He turned toward Emily.
“Tell me everything.”
She stared at him.
“I was supposed to leave you after the wedding.”
Ryan frowned.
“What?”
“Victor wanted you close.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel said you were the only person he trusted.”
Ryan felt his stomach twist.
“You married me because of Daniel?”
Emily nodded.
“At first.”
“And then?”
“I fell in love with you.”
Ryan laughed bitterly.
“At first?”
Emily cried.
“I was twenty-four. I was terrified. Victor controlled everything. Daniel promised he could help me escape.”
“And did he?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Daniel had become part of the project.”
Ryan stared.
“What project?”
Emily looked at the dark monitor.
“They needed a family.”
Ryan's voice was almost a whisper.
“For the twins.”
“Yes.”
“They wanted you to raise one.”
“Yes.”
“And me?”
Emily closed her eyes.
“You were the emotional anchor.”
Ryan shook his head.
“You made me a test subject.”
“No.”
“You married me under false pretenses.”
“Yes.”
“You hid my daughter under the floor.”
“Yes.”
“How is that not a test?”
Emily couldn't answer.
Ryan looked at the monitor.
“Why Noah?”
Emily hesitated.
“Because the project changed.”
“How?”
“The twins weren't supposed to remember the experiment.”
“But they did.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Emily looked frightened.
“Because Noah remembered for them.”
Ryan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Emily whispered:
“When Noah was born, something happened.”
“What?”
“He began describing things he couldn't possibly know.”
Ryan's mind flashed back to Noah's childhood.
At four, Noah had drawn a hospital basement.
At five, he had asked why Mommy cried when someone mentioned October third.
At six, he began talking about a sister who lived beneath the floor.
Ryan had dismissed it as imagination.
Emily had never corrected him.
A noise came through the monitor.
The children were moving.
The camera angle changed.
Ryan saw Lily looking directly at the lens.
Then she raised her hand.
She made a fist.
Opened it.
Closed it again.
Ryan frowned.
“I know that.”
Emily looked at him.
“What?”
“She used to do that as a baby.”
Ryan demonstrated.
Three fingers.
Then two.
Then one.
Lily was sending a signal.
Ryan suddenly remembered.
Noah had used the same gesture months ago.
Three.
Two.
One.
He had thought it was a game.
“What does it mean?”
Emily whispered:
“Three doors.”
Ryan looked at the room.
Three doors.
One was the entrance.
One led to the tunnel.
One was hidden behind the bed.
Ryan opened the third.
A narrow staircase descended.
At the bottom was a room filled with old video equipment.
On the wall were hundreds of tapes.
Each had a name.
RYAN.
EMILY.
NOAH.
LILY.
GRACE.
Ryan picked up the first tape labeled with his own name.
He found an old player.
Pressed play.
A younger Victor appeared.
He stood beside a hospital crib.
“Subject father selection begins today.”
Ryan's face went pale.
Victor turned to the camera.
“Ryan Mercer is emotionally stable, highly protective, and has a history of unresolved grief involving the loss of his mother.”
Ryan stared.
Victor continued.
“He will make an ideal attachment figure.”
The video changed.
Ryan saw himself.
Years earlier.
Entering a hospital room.
Emily was standing there.
But Ryan remembered that day differently.
He remembered meeting her at a charity event.
The tape showed something else.
Emily had approached him first.
She had already known his name.
Ryan stopped the tape.
“No.”
Emily stared at the screen.
“They selected me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“They believed you would become attached quickly.”
Ryan felt dizzy.
Then another recording appeared.
Victor speaking again.
“Phase two requires conception.”
Ryan's face went numb.
Emily started crying.
Ryan turned toward her.
“You were already pregnant when you met me.”
Emily nodded.
“Yes.”
“The twins?”
“Yes.”
Ryan stepped backward.
“You lied about the pregnancy.”
“I had no choice.”
The monitor suddenly switched to live footage.
Daniel entered the room with Noah.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Ryan.”
Daniel smiled.
“The truth is finally catching up.”
Ryan stepped toward the screen.
“Let my son go.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
He turned toward Noah.
“Because the boy knows something you don't.”
Noah looked at the camera.
Then spoke four words.
May you like
“Dad, I'm not Noah.”
Ryan froze.
Related Stories
