Chapter 13 - The Other BoyThe boy looked exactly like Ethan.
Same dark hair.
Same narrow jaw.
Same green eyes.
Even the same small scar above his left eyebrow.
Ethan felt dizzy.
“Who are you?”
The boy didn't answer.
Thomas stepped aside.
“His name is Adam.”
Ethan shook his head.
“My brother died.”
“They told you that.”
“Because he did.”
Thomas smiled.
“That's what everyone believed.”
Adam stared at Ethan.
Then finally spoke.
“Do you remember the three knocks?”
Ethan froze.
“Yes.”
Adam nodded.
“Me too.”
Thomas watched them carefully.
“When you were babies, Claire created the code.”
Ethan looked at Adam.
“You know Mom?”
“She used to visit.”
“What?”
Adam's face changed.
“She told me stories about you.”
Ethan's heart broke.
“Where were you?”
“Here.”
Thomas opened the steel door.
Beyond it was a laboratory.
Rows of medical equipment.
Screens.
Freezers.
Photographs.
Adam had grown up inside it.
Ethan looked at Thomas.
“You kept him here.”
“I protected him.”
“You kidnapped him.”
Thomas shrugged.
“Words.”
Adam whispered:
“They tested me.”
Ethan stepped closer.
“Why?”
“Because they wanted to know which of us was stronger.”
Ethan stared.
“What does that mean?”
Adam looked down.
“They made us different.”
Thomas turned toward him.
“Enough.”
But Ethan noticed something.
Adam's hand was shaking.
There was a small scar on his wrist.
The same scar Ethan had.
A matching medical mark.
Ethan touched his own wrist.
“You're really my brother.”
Adam nodded.
Before Ethan could say more, the lights went out.
A gunshot echoed.
Thomas disappeared.
Adam grabbed Ethan.
“Run!”
They rushed through a side door.
“Where are we going?”
“Anywhere he can't see us.”
“How do you know this place?”
“I've been escaping for twelve years.”
They entered a maintenance tunnel.
Adam stopped.
“He'll come after us.”
“Who?”
“Thomas.”
“Why?”
“Because he needs both of us.”
“For what?”
Adam turned.
“For the inheritance.”
“No.”
“For the experiment.”
Ethan stared.
“What experiment?”
Adam looked terrified.
“He doesn't want to control the family.”
He whispered:
“He wants to replace it.”
A door slammed behind them.
Thomas's voice echoed through the tunnel.
“You boys always were difficult.”
Adam grabbed Ethan's hand.
They ran.
Then a hidden trapdoor opened beneath Ethan's feet.
He fell.
When he landed, his wrist struck something metal.
A switch.
Lights turned on.
A wall of screens lit up.
Every screen showed the same image.
Ethan.
At different ages.
Six.
Seven.
Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
Eleven.
Twelve.
Then the final screen.
A live camera feed.
It showed Claire.
Tied to a chair.
Thomas stood behind her.
May you like
He looked into the camera.
“Now,” he said, “we can finally talk about your father.”
