Chapter 8 - The Third BrotherVictor couldn’t breathe.
“Third brother?”
Lily stared at the photograph.
The image showed three babies.
Ethan.
Adrian.
And a third infant.
The face had been scratched out.
Victor turned the photograph over.
A hospital number was written beneath the message.
Ward 17.
Again.
Lily whispered:
“We have to go back.”
Victor nodded.
But before they could leave, the underground alarms began screaming.
Adrian appeared on a monitor.
“Dad!”
Victor ran toward the screen.
“Where are you?”
“The old hospital.”
“Ethan?”
“With me.”
Victor exhaled.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
Adrian’s expression darkened.
“But we’re not alone.”
The screen shifted.
Evelyn stood beside Ethan.
Alive.
Victor stared.
“What is happening?”
Evelyn looked directly at the camera.
“Come to Ward 17.”
The call ended.
Victor and Lily drove through the night.
The hospital had been abandoned for years, but the elevator still worked.
It took them to the seventeenth floor.
A corridor stretched into darkness.
At the end was a nursery.
The door opened automatically.
Inside were three cribs.
Two were empty.
One held a photograph.
Victor picked it up.
The same three babies.
Behind him, Lily gasped.
A woman stood in the doorway.
Evelyn.
Victor froze.
“You’re alive.”
She smiled sadly.
“Not for much longer.”
He moved toward her.
“You need a hospital.”
“I need you to listen.”
Victor stopped.
“Why did you lie?”
“Because your father was watching.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“It was the only way to protect Ethan.”
Victor’s voice broke.
“Protect him from what?”
“From you.”
Silence.
Victor shook his head.
“I would never hurt my son.”
“I know.”
She stepped closer.
“But the problem is that you aren’t always yourself.”
Victor stared.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn looked at Lily.
“Tell him.”
Lily’s face went pale.
“I can’t.”
“You must.”
Victor turned.
“Tell me what?”
Lily closed her eyes.
“My mother was involved in Project Eve.”
“Yes.”
“She helped Evelyn hide the children.”
Victor stared.
“And?”
Lily whispered:
“I’m not a maid.”
Victor froze.
“I was assigned to watch Ethan.”
“By whom?”
“Evelyn.”
Victor took a step backward.
“Then why did you let Serena attack him?”
“Because I needed her to believe I was powerless.”
Evelyn nodded.
“She’s telling the truth.”
Victor looked between them.
“What have you been hiding?”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
“The third child.”
A door behind her opened.
A man stepped inside.
He looked exactly like Victor.
Same face.
Same voice.
Same eyes.
Victor stared at his double.
The man smiled.
“You finally found me.”
May you like
Evelyn whispered:
“Your brother.”
