Chapter 8 - THE THIRD BABYThe Child Buried from MemoryVictor stepped inside.
The armed men spread out.
Sylvester stood in front of the twins.
"You knew."
Victor smiled.
"I knew everything."
His wife stared at him.
"Three babies."
"Yes."
"Where is the third?"
Victor's expression became almost amused.
"Closer than you think."
Sylvester looked around the room.
Nothing.
Then one of the monitors activated.
A live feed appeared.
A teenage boy sat in a dark room.
He looked twelve.
Maybe thirteen.
Dark hair.
Same eyes.
Same facial structure.
Noah stared.
Anna whispered:
"That's him."
The boy looked directly into the camera.
"Hello."
Sylvester stepped forward.
"Who are you?"
The boy smiled.
"My name is Daniel."
Sylvester's breathing stopped.
"Daniel what?"
The boy answered:
"Daniel Stallone."
Victor raised a hand.
The guards moved forward.
Sylvester looked at his wife.
She could barely stand.
"I don't remember him."
Victor said:
"Because they removed him from your memories."
"Why?"
"Because he was the first successful subject."
Anna stepped forward.
"What subject?"
Victor looked at her.
"The first replacement heir."
Noah shook his head.
"Why do you need him?"
Victor's smile faded.
"Because Daniel remembers everything."
The monitor showed Daniel opening a notebook.
Inside were dozens of names.
Dates.
Addresses.
Photographs.
He spoke slowly.
"They taught me to memorize the names of everyone involved."
Sylvester stared.
Daniel continued.
"Then they tried to erase me."
"Who are they?"
Daniel looked at the camera.
"Your family."
The room became silent.
Sylvester looked at his wife.
"Your family?"
"My father."
"What?"
She whispered:
"My father founded the research program."
Victor nodded.
"And after he died, we continued it."
Sylvester's face hardened.
"Why?"
Victor leaned closer.
"Because powerful families have always hidden their sins behind bloodlines."
He looked at the twins.
"We were going to create heirs who could inherit everything without anyone knowing they weren't the originals."
Sylvester clenched his fists.
"You used my children."
"Your children were the beginning."
Victor pressed a button.
The laboratory doors locked.
"Now they're the evidence."
A gunman grabbed Anna.
Noah lunged.
Sylvester struck the man and pulled Anna free.
Gunfire erupted.
Everyone scattered.
Daniel shouted through the monitor:
"LEFT WALL!"
Sylvester turned.
A hidden panel opened.
"Run!"
They raced through it.
The passage dropped sharply.
Stone stairs led into an underground chamber.
At the bottom was a gigantic iron door.
The door had two handprints.
Noah placed his hand on one.
Anna placed hers on the other.
The door opened.
Inside was the original family vault.
Gold was irrelevant.
Jewelry was irrelevant.
The room was filled with documents.
Tapes.
Hard drives.
Photographs.
And one table containing three sealed boxes.
Each had a child's name.
NOAH.
ANNA.
DANIEL.
Sylvester opened Noah's.
Inside was a letter from his wife.
He read it aloud.
"My son, if you ever find this, know that I never abandoned you."
Noah cried quietly.
Sylvester opened Anna's.
The letter was shorter.
"To my daughter, I am sorry they made you believe you were alone."
Then Daniel's.
One sentence.
Forgive me for not remembering you.
Sylvester stared.
"She wrote this before she lost her memory."
His wife closed her eyes.
"Yes."
Then a loud metallic sound echoed behind them.
The vault door was closing.
Someone was forcing it shut.
Victor's voice came through the speakers.
"One of you stays."
Sylvester looked up.
"Who?"
Victor answered:
"The original."
Daniel's voice suddenly crackled through the system.
"He's lying."
Sylvester turned.
"How do you know?"
Daniel replied:
"Because I know which one of us is original."
The camera showed his face.
May you like
And he whispered:
"It's not Noah."
Related Stories
