CHAPTER 8: THE FIRST EMILY
Daniel's arms tightened around his daughter.
The girl standing across the room looked exactly like Emily.
Not similar.
Not close.
Exactly.
Same brown eyes.
Same small nose.
Same little birthmark beneath her left cheek.
Even the way she tilted her head was identical.
Daniel stared at her.
“You're lying.”
The girl smiled.
“I know what you're thinking.”
“How?”
“Because I remember you.”
Daniel felt a cold pressure behind his eyes.
“You've never met me.”
The girl's smile disappeared.
“Yes, I have.”
“When?”
“Before you forgot me.”
Daniel looked at Anna.
“What is she talking about?”
Anna didn't answer.
“Anna!”
The old woman closed her eyes.
“The first Emily was born twenty-nine years ago.”
Daniel stared at the girl.
“Twenty-nine?”
“She hasn't aged.”
“Why?”
“Because Evelyn stopped her.”
Daniel looked toward Evelyn.
“What did you do?”
Evelyn's face was expressionless.
“I saved her.”
The girl laughed.
“You imprisoned me.”
“I preserved you.”
“You stole my life.”
“You would have died.”
“I was supposed to die.”
Daniel looked between them.
“What happened?”
The first Emily stepped closer.
“When I was seven, Evelyn discovered that my memory couldn't be transferred.”
Daniel frowned.
“Why?”
“Because I could remember everything.”
“Everything?”
“Everyone.”
She pointed toward the seven duplicates.
“I remember each Daniel.”
Daniel's face tightened.
“You remember them?”
“Yes.”
“What happened to them?”
“They were erased.”
One of the duplicates lowered his head.
The girl continued.
“They weren't copies.”
Daniel looked at them.
“They were real?”
“They were boys.”
Silence.
“They had names.”
Daniel's stomach turned.
“What names?”
The first Emily looked at the seven men.
“Daniel.”
“That can't be their names.”
“It was.”
“Why would Evelyn create seven Daniels?”
“To find one who could survive her.”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“You were testing them.”
Evelyn didn't deny it.
“Every Daniel died.”
Daniel's voice became cold.
“And I survived.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Evelyn finally answered.
“Because you were the first one who could resist me.”
Daniel felt sick.
“So you kept me alive.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did you erase my memories?”
“Because you became dangerous.”
The first Emily laughed.
“You weren't dangerous.”
She looked at Daniel.
“You were in love.”
Daniel frowned.
“With Sarah?”
The girl nodded.
“That's why Evelyn couldn't control you.”
Evelyn's eyes narrowed.
“Enough.”
The first Emily ignored her.
“You chose Sarah.”
Daniel looked at his wife.
Sarah was crying.
“I remember,” Daniel whispered.
A memory flashed.
Sarah standing in a hallway.
Daniel holding her hand.
Evelyn screaming from another room.
“Don't let him leave!”
Sarah pulling Daniel through a door.
Then darkness.
Daniel grabbed his head.
“She helped me escape.”
Sarah nodded.
“You were losing your memories.”
“Why?”
“Evelyn was trying to transfer herself into you.”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you still here?”
Evelyn smiled.
“Because I found another way.”
Daniel looked at Emily.
His blood ran cold.
“You want my daughter.”
“I need her.”
“For what?”
“To finish what I started.”
The first Emily stepped forward.
“You're lying.”
Evelyn turned.
“You've been locked away for twenty-two years. You don't know what happened.”
“I know enough.”
“You know nothing.”
“I know you killed everyone who tried to stop you.”
Evelyn's face hardened.
“I protected this family.”
“You destroyed it.”
Daniel stepped between them.
“Enough.”
Both women looked at him.
Daniel pointed at Evelyn.
“You don't get near my daughter.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You still think this is about taking her.”
“What else would it be?”
“The house.”
Daniel frowned.
“What?”
“The house needs a new keeper.”
Anna's face changed.
“No.”
Evelyn looked at her.
“You know the rules.”
“What rules?”
Daniel turned toward Anna.
“What is she talking about?”
Anna whispered:
“The Morgan house isn't just a house.”
Daniel stared.
“Then what is it?”
“A machine.”
“For what?”
“Memory.”
The walls suddenly hummed.
The lights flickered.
The children inside the room began whispering again.
“Memory.”
“Memory.”
“Memory.”
Daniel looked around.
“How?”
Anna pointed toward the walls.
“Every memory of every person who lived here is stored inside.”
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“Stored?”
“Yes.”
“Then my memories...”
“Are here.”
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“You can access them.”
“Yes.”
“Change them.”
“Yes.”
“Erase them.”
“Yes.”
Daniel's jaw clenched.
“That's why I don't remember.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Every time you got close to the truth, I removed the memory.”
“How many times?”
She smiled.
“Eight.”
Daniel stared.
“Eight?”
“You've discovered the house eight times.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“And every time?”
“You forgot.”
Daniel looked at Sarah.
“You knew.”
Sarah nodded.
“I tried to stop it.”
“But you failed.”
“Yes.”
Daniel looked toward Claire.
“And you?”
Claire whispered:
“I remembered each time.”
Daniel turned.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because every time I did, someone died.”
Daniel's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Claire's voice broke.
“Sarah.”
Sarah looked down.
Daniel stared at her.
“You died eight times?”
Sarah nodded.
“And every time I forgot.”
“Yes.”
Daniel felt tears forming.
“How many times have we done this?”
Sarah answered:
“Eight.”
The room went silent.
Daniel looked at Emily.
“Then why is she here now?”
Sarah looked toward the first Emily.
“Because this is the first time she survived.”
The first Emily smiled.
“No.”
She looked at the younger Emily.
“This is the first time she remembered me.”
Emily stared at her.
“I don't remember.”
The first Emily stepped closer.
“You will.”
Emily suddenly cried out.
“Daddy!”
Daniel grabbed her.
She was shaking violently.
Her eyes closed.
Then she whispered:
“I remember the freezer.”
Daniel froze.
“What freezer?”
“The first one.”
“What happened?”
Emily's eyes opened.
They were full of tears.
“David wasn't inside.”
Daniel looked at his son.
David was standing beside Claire.
His face was pale.
Emily continued:
“There was another little boy.”
Daniel's heart raced.
“What little boy?”
Emily pointed toward the first Emily.
“Her brother.”
The first Emily's smile disappeared.
Daniel looked at her.
“You had a brother?”
She nodded.
“He was Daniel.”
Daniel stared.
“What?”
“He was the first Daniel.”
The seven duplicates looked at each other.
The first Emily continued.
“Evelyn killed him.”
Daniel's stomach dropped.
“Why?”
“He refused to become her.”
Evelyn suddenly shouted:
“Enough!”
The walls shook.
Every light exploded.
Darkness.
Then a deafening sound came from beneath the floor.
BOOM.
The children screamed.
The stone floor split down the middle.
A deep crack opened.
Daniel grabbed Emily.
Sarah grabbed David.
Claire grabbed the railing.
Anna shouted:
“Everyone away from the floor!”
The crack widened.
Something metallic rose from beneath the basement.
A circular platform.
Covered in wires.
Old monitors.
Glass tubes.
And dozens of photographs.
Daniel's photographs.
His childhood.
His wedding.
Emily's birth.
David's first birthday.
Sarah.
His mother.
His father.
Every moment of his life.
All displayed on screens.
Daniel stared.
“What is this?”
Anna whispered:
“The memory chamber.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Finally.”
Daniel turned toward her.
“You've been waiting for this.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Evelyn looked at Emily.
“To transfer the final memory.”
Daniel pulled his daughter closer.
“No.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“You don't understand.”
“Then explain.”
“The first Emily isn't the one I need.”
Daniel frowned.
“Then who?”
Evelyn looked at his daughter.
“Your Emily.”
Daniel's heart sank.
“Why?”
“Because she carries something I lost.”
“What?”
Evelyn smiled.
“My original memory.”
Daniel stared.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn walked toward the machine.
“When I was young, I made one mistake.”
“What?”
“I separated my memory from my body.”
Daniel looked at the first Emily.
“And she has it?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Evelyn pointed at the little girl.
“Inside her.”
The first Emily's eyes widened.
“No.”
Evelyn smiled.
“You've carried it for twenty-two years.”
Daniel stepped between them.
“Stay away from her.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You can't protect her forever.”
Then the machine suddenly activated.
Every screen lit up.
Daniel saw one image.
A hospital room.
Sarah lying unconscious.
A doctor standing beside her.
Then another image.
Daniel standing in the same room.
Then another.
Evelyn.
Then another.
A newborn baby.
Emily.
Daniel stared.
The screen changed.
A date appeared.
A date from four years ago.
Then words appeared beneath it:
TRANSFER FAILED.
Daniel's blood ran cold.
Another message appeared.
SUBJECT EMILY MORGAN RETAINS ORIGINAL MEMORY.
Then:
SECOND TRANSFER REQUIRED.
Daniel looked at Evelyn.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn smiled.
“It means your daughter has been remembering for four years.”
Daniel looked at Emily.
His little girl was staring at the machine.
Tears streamed down her face.
Then she whispered:
“Daddy...”
“What?”
“I remember where Mommy died.”
Daniel froze.
Emily pointed at one of the screens.
“She didn't die at the hospital.”
The screen changed.
A basement.
This basement.
Sarah was lying on the floor.
Evelyn stood over her.
And Daniel was there.
Holding a syringe.
Daniel staggered backward.
“No.”
The recording continued.
His younger self looked directly at the camera.
And said:
“I'll do it.”
Daniel stared at his own face.
The screen went black.
Then one final sentence appeared.
DANIEL MORGAN WAS THE ONE WHO KILLED SARAH.
Daniel's entire world collapsed.
Sarah slowly turned toward him.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Daniel...”
He couldn't look at her.
May you like
Because deep inside his mind...
another memory was beginning to wake.
