CHAPTER 12 — THE GIRL WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO EXIST
Emily stared at the message.
THE FIFTH CHILD IS YOU.
For several seconds, she couldn't understand the words.
Then she laughed.
A short, frightened laugh.
"No."
Daniel stepped beside her.
"That's impossible."
Sarah stared at Emily.
Her face had gone pale.
Julian looked terrified.
Adrian was still missing.
Thomas stood near the corridor entrance, blood running down his sleeve.
Eleanor was crying silently.
Emily held up her phone.
"Someone is lying."
Thomas nodded.
"Yes."
"Who?"
He didn't answer.
Emily looked around.
"Why does everyone keep looking at me like that?"
Sarah whispered:
"Because it's true."
Emily turned toward her.
"No."
Sarah stepped closer.
"You were never the first child."
Emily shook her head.
"I was born March fourteenth."
"Yes."
"Thomas was my father."
"Yes."
"Margaret was my mother."
"Yes."
"Then what does that make me?"
Sarah looked at her.
"The fifth."
Daniel stepped between them.
"Explain."
Sarah took a deep breath.
"You were born after the three of us."
Emily froze.
"What?"
"Julian was born first."
Sarah pointed toward him.
"Then Daniel."
She pointed at Daniel.
"Then me."
Finally, she looked at Emily.
"You came later."
Emily shook her head.
"That's impossible."
"Your birth certificate was changed."
"By Richard?"
Sarah nodded.
"Yes."
Thomas suddenly interrupted.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
Thomas walked toward Emily.
"Sarah is wrong."
Sarah stared.
"You know I'm not."
Thomas shook his head.
"I was there."
"Then tell her."
Thomas looked at Emily.
"You weren't born after them."
"Then when?"
Thomas swallowed.
"You were born before them."
Emily frowned.
"That makes no sense."
"It does."
Thomas pointed toward the jade pendant.
"You weren't born March fourteenth."
Emily's hands began trembling.
"Then when?"
"December twenty-second."
Silence.
Emily stared.
"December?"
Thomas nodded.
"You were born three months earlier."
Daniel's face changed.
"Premature."
"Yes."
Emily felt dizzy.
"Then why did everyone say March?"
"Because Richard needed to hide your existence."
"Why?"
Thomas looked at Eleanor.
"Because you weren't supposed to survive."
Eleanor broke down.
Emily turned toward her.
"Why?"
Eleanor covered her face.
"I was told you were dead."
"Who told you?"
"Richard."
"But you knew I was alive."
"Not until years later."
Emily stepped closer.
"Then what happened to me?"
Thomas closed his eyes.
"You were placed in an incubator."
Emily's stomach twisted.
"At St. Vincent's."
Thomas nodded.
"Yes."
"The hospital records..."
"Were altered."
"By Richard?"
"By Victor."
Emily felt the room spinning.
"Why?"
Thomas looked at her.
"Because you were different."
Daniel frowned.
"Different how?"
Thomas hesitated.
"You were born with the original Carter marker."
"What marker?"
Thomas pointed toward her neck.
"The crescent."
Emily touched it.
"This?"
"Yes."
Sarah whispered:
"That mark was the reason Victor wanted you."
Emily looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because the original Carter heirs carried it."
Julian added:
"Richard believed it could unlock the foundation."
Emily shook her head.
"This is insane."
Thomas looked at her.
"Then explain the pendant."
Emily stared at the jade.
Thomas continued.
"Explain why it was hidden with you."
"Explain why Victor knew your birth date was false."
"Explain why Richard was terrified of you."
Emily looked at Daniel.
He was silent.
She looked at Eleanor.
Her mother was crying.
Then she looked at Sarah.
Sarah slowly nodded.
Emily finally whispered:
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Sarah looked away.
"Because you weren't ready."
"Ready for what?"
Sarah answered:
"To remember."
Emily's heart stopped.
"Remember what?"
Sarah walked toward her.
"Your first memory isn't actually your first memory."
"What?"
"You remember your childhood home."
"Yes."
"You remember Margaret."
"Yes."
"You remember Daniel."
"Yes."
"But you don't remember the hospital."
Emily's breathing slowed.
Sarah placed two fingers against Emily's temple.
"You were awake."
A flash hit Emily.
White lights.
Cold metal.
A nurse.
Someone crying.
A baby.
Then a man's voice.
"She's the one."
Emily gasped.
She stumbled backward.
Daniel caught her.
"What did you see?"
"The hospital."
Thomas looked at her.
"Keep going."
Emily closed her eyes.
Another memory.
A red door.
A woman holding her.
Margaret.
But Margaret wasn't crying.
She was terrified.
She whispered:
"Don't let them take her."
Then Richard appeared.
He grabbed Emily.
Margaret screamed.
Emily opened her eyes.
"He took me."
Thomas nodded.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"To Victor."
Emily's voice trembled.
"Why?"
"Because Victor wanted to test the fifth child."
Daniel looked confused.
"What test?"
Thomas stared at Emily.
"Memory."
Emily's blood ran cold.
"What does that mean?"
"Victor wanted to see if a child could remember something after having it erased."
Sarah nodded.
"And you could."
Emily stared at her.
"That's why..."
"Yes."
"You remembered us."
"Yes."
"You remembered everything."
"Not everything."
Sarah looked at Eleanor.
"She remembered her."
Emily followed her gaze.
Eleanor.
"What did I remember?"
Sarah whispered:
"Your mother."
Eleanor began crying.
Emily looked at her.
"You knew."
Eleanor nodded.
"I remembered."
"Then why did you let me grow up with Margaret?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"Because I was afraid."
"Of Richard?"
"Of myself."
Emily frowned.
Eleanor finally told her.
"When I was seven, Victor taught me one thing."
"What?"
"Never trust your own memories."
Emily stared.
"He made me believe I had killed someone."
"Who?"
Eleanor's voice broke.
"My little sister."
Silence.
Daniel whispered:
"You had a sister?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Her name was Rose."
Emily froze.
"What?"
Eleanor looked at her.
"Rose was not your birth name."
Emily's heart stopped.
"It was hers."
Eleanor continued.
"My sister was named Rose."
Emily couldn't breathe.
"Then why did Richard call me Rose?"
"Because he wanted to replace her."
Emily stared.
"What happened to your sister?"
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
"She died."
"How?"
"I don't know."
"Victor?"
"Maybe."
"Then why did he give me her name?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"Because he wanted me to believe you were her."
Emily stared.
"So I'm not Rose."
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"Then who am I?"
Eleanor looked at her.
"Your real name is Amelia."
Emily froze.
Daniel stared.
"Amelia?"
Eleanor nodded.
"Amelia Carter."
Emily whispered:
"Then why does everyone call me Rose?"
"Because Richard erased Amelia."
Thomas suddenly stepped forward.
"That's not true."
Everyone looked at him.
Thomas stared at Eleanor.
"Don't do this."
Eleanor shook her head.
"She deserves the truth."
Thomas's expression hardened.
"You don't know the truth."
"I know what I saw."
"You saw what Victor wanted you to see."
Emily looked between them.
"Stop."
Both went silent.
Emily turned to Thomas.
"Who am I?"
Thomas looked at her.
"You are Emily Carter."
She shook her head.
"My birth name."
Thomas hesitated.
Then:
"Amelia Rose Carter."
Emily's eyes widened.
"Amelia Rose?"
Thomas nodded.
"Yes."
Sarah smiled faintly.
"That's why the pendant says Rose."
Emily touched it.
"Then why did Richard use Rose?"
Thomas answered:
"Because your middle name was the key."
Daniel frowned.
"The key to what?"
Thomas looked toward the old trust document.
"The original Carter inheritance."
Emily stared.
"Why me?"
"Because you were the only child with the complete marker."
Julian suddenly spoke.
"That's not true."
Everyone turned.
Julian was holding another document.
He looked frightened.
"I found this in Victor's room."
He handed it to Thomas.
Thomas read it.
His face changed.
"What?"
Emily stepped closer.
"What is it?"
Thomas looked at her.
"It's a genetic report."
"About me?"
"No."
He looked at Daniel.
"About him."
Daniel took the document.
His hands shook.
At the bottom was a single line.
SUBJECT 02 DOES NOT CARRY THE ORIGINAL CARTER MARKER.
Daniel stared.
"What?"
Thomas looked at Emily.
"Which means..."
Emily whispered:
"Only I do."
Sarah nodded.
"Exactly."
A loud alarm suddenly began ringing.
RED LIGHTS flashed through the underground facility.
Victor's voice came over the speakers.
"Congratulations."
Everyone froze.
"You finally understand."
Emily looked upward.
Victor continued:
"Amelia Rose Carter."
Her blood went cold.
"That is your real name."
Thomas shouted:
"Victor!"
Victor laughed.
"You spent thirty years searching for Rose."
A pause.
"Rose was never the child I wanted."
Emily's heart pounded.
"Then what do you want?"
Victor's voice became calm.
"You."
The lights flickered.
A metal door opened at the end of the corridor.
Beyond it was a staircase leading upward.
Victor spoke again.
"Come alone, Amelia."
"If you don't..."
The screen beside them turned on.
A live image appeared.
Margaret was tied to a chair.
Beside her stood Thomas.
Emily gasped.
"Father!"
But Thomas was standing right beside her.
Emily stared at the screen.
The man beside Margaret looked exactly like Thomas.
Same face.
Same scar.
Same voice.
Daniel stepped backward.
"There are two Thomases."
The image zoomed in.
The man beside Margaret smiled.
Then he turned toward the camera.
And whispered:
"Hello, daughter."
Emily's blood froze.
Because the man on the screen wasn't Thomas.
He was someone who looked exactly like him.
Someone Victor had created.
Someone who had been impersonating Emily's father for decades.
Victor's voice returned.
"Now you understand why nobody could ever find your real father."
The screen went black.
Then one final message appeared:
AMELIA, COME MEET YOUR REAL FATHER.
Emily stared at the screen.
And for the first time that night...
May you like
She realized something even more terrifying.
She had spent her entire life searching for the wrong man.
