CHAPTER 10 — THE EMPTY ROOM
“LILY!”
My voice tore through the farmhouse.
I spun around.
The room was chaos.
Emily was shouting.
Anna was running toward the hallway.
Vanessa had dropped to her knees beside the overturned chair.
But Lily was gone.
Her stuffed rabbit lay on the floor.
One small pink shoe was underneath the table.
I picked it up.
My hands shook.
“No.”
Emily grabbed my arm.
“Ryan!”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know!”
“You were standing beside her!”
“I know!”
Richard was gone too.
So were the three armed men.
The front door was swinging open.
I ran outside.
Nothing.
No cars.
No footsteps.
Only the sound of wind moving through the trees.
I looked around wildly.
“LILY!”
Nothing.
I ran around the side of the house.
A black SUV was disappearing down the dirt road.
I sprinted toward it.
It was already too far away.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
“WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER?”
Richard's voice came through calmly.
“Exactly where she needs to be.”
“If you hurt her—”
“I won't.”
“You took her!”
“I rescued her.”
“From what?”
“From you.”
I clenched my fist.
“Give her back.”
“No.”
“Richard!”
“You still don't understand, Ryan.”
“I understand that you're a psychopath.”
He laughed.
“You sound like your father.”
“Don't mention him.”
“Why?”
“Because you killed him.”
“I didn't kill your father.”
I froze.
“What?”
“He died because of you.”
My blood ran cold.
“What does that mean?”
“You'll find out soon.”
I heard Lily crying faintly in the background.
“Daddy!”
I closed my eyes.
“Lily!”
“Daddy!”
Richard's voice returned.
“She's unharmed.”
“Let me talk to her.”
“No.”
“Please.”
“That's not how this works.”
“What do you want?”
“The vault.”
“I don't know how to open it.”
“You do.”
“I don't.”
“You just don't remember.”
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What are you talking about?”
“The memory your father removed.”
I looked at Anna.
She was standing behind me.
Her face was pale.
Richard continued.
“Bring Anna.”
“No.”
“Then Lily stays with me.”
“Where?”
“You know where.”
I immediately understood.
“Saint Mary's.”
“Yes.”
“I'm coming.”
“Good.”
The call ended.
I turned toward Anna.
“She wants you.”
Anna shook her head.
“Not me.”
“Then who?”
“You.”
I stared.
“What?”
“The vault doesn't need both of us anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard already has Lily.”
I felt sick.
“What does Lily have to do with it?”
Anna's eyes filled with tears.
“She has your father's genetic key.”
“What?”
“That's why he wanted her.”
I looked at Emily.
“Did you know?”
Emily lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
“You knew?”
“I was trying to protect her.”
“You should have told me.”
“I was afraid.”
“You were afraid?”
“Ryan, I watched them take children.”
Her voice broke.
“I watched them erase people.”
I stared at her.
“And I was terrified they'd do it to Lily.”
I couldn't answer.
Anna stepped closer.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“The vault isn't under the chapel.”
I looked at her.
“Then where is it?”
“Under your house.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“Your father built it there.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew Richard would search every other location.”
I remembered the hidden room.
The cameras.
The basement.
The strange wall behind the wine shelves.
I suddenly understood.
“There was another door.”
Anna nodded.
“That's the vault.”
I grabbed my keys.
“We're going home.”
Emily stepped forward.
“No.”
I turned.
“What?”
“If Richard knows about the vault, he'll be watching the house.”
“Then we make him think we're going somewhere else.”
Anna looked at me.
“I know how.”
Twenty minutes later, we were back on the road.
Vanessa drove.
I sat beside her.
Emily and Anna were in the back.
Nobody spoke.
Then Vanessa said:
“Ryan.”
“What?”
“I need to tell you something before we get there.”
“What?”
“I know who the man in the black car is.”
I turned.
“Richard?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“His son.”
I stared.
“Richard has a son?”
“Yes.”
“What's his name?”
“Daniel.”
I froze.
“Daniel is dead.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Daniel Morgan is dead.”
“Then who is Richard's son?”
“Daniel Carter.”
My heart sank.
“Another Daniel.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
“I don't know.”
“Vanessa.”
“I swear.”
Emily suddenly spoke from the back seat.
“He's at the house.”
I turned.
“What?”
Emily looked at me.
“He has been there for months.”
My blood ran cold.
“What do you mean?”
“He's the person who installed the basement camera.”
I remembered.
The unauthorized camera.
The one Richard had used.
Daniel.
Someone had been inside my house.
Watching Lily.
Watching me.
Watching everything.
I pressed my foot harder against the accelerator.
“We need to get there before he moves her.”
Vanessa shook her head.
“Ryan.”
“What?”
“What if Lily isn't at your house?”
I looked at her.
“What?”
“What if Richard never took her?”
Silence.
Emily leaned forward.
“That's possible.”
I stared.
“What are you saying?”
“The kidnapping may have been staged.”
“Why?”
“To make us believe Lily was taken.”
“Then where is she?”
Emily looked at Anna.
Anna's eyes widened.
“The chapel.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Richard said he wanted the vault.”
I understood.
“He needs us to open it.”
“Yes.”
“And Lily may be the key.”
“Exactly.”
We turned around.
Back toward the old chapel.
When we arrived, the building was empty.
No guards.
No cars.
No Richard.
No Lily.
I entered first.
The old wooden doors creaked behind me.
The chapel smelled of dust and rain.
Anna walked toward the altar.
“Here.”
She pointed at the floor.
I saw a small metal plate.
A symbol was engraved on it.
The Carter family symbol.
I knelt.
There was a fingerprint scanner.
Anna placed her hand on it.
Nothing happened.
I placed mine beside hers.
The mechanism clicked.
A section of the floor opened.
A staircase descended into darkness.
Emily whispered:
“He found it.”
I looked at her.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
We went downstairs.
The walls were covered with old photographs.
Hundreds of them.
Children.
Families.
Doctors.
Dates.
Names.
Project Echo.
At the end of the hallway was a steel door.
Two scanners.
One for Anna.
One for me.
We placed our hands on them.
The door opened.
Inside was a small room.
A desk.
A safe.
And an old tape recorder.
I walked toward it.
There was a note.
RYAN — IF YOU HAVE FOUND THIS, LILY IS IN DANGER.
My hands trembled.
I pressed play.
My father's voice filled the room.
"My son."
I closed my eyes.
"If you're hearing this, then Richard has finally come for the last piece."
The recording continued.
"Do not trust the woman who claims to be your mother."
I froze.
Miriam.
"She will tell you she wanted to protect you."
A pause.
"That is partly true."
I stared at the recorder.
"She also created Project Echo."
Emily whispered:
"I knew it."
My father's voice continued.
"But she didn't create it to control people."
"She created it because she was afraid of losing her children."
I looked at Anna.
My sister looked away.
"Richard took that research and turned it into something monstrous."
The recording crackled.
"Ryan, there is one thing I need you to know."
I leaned closer.
"You were not the first child."
I frowned.
"You were not the second."
A pause.
"You were the third."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
The recording continued.
"The first was Anna."
"The second was..."
The tape suddenly cut out.
I stared.
"Who was the second?"
Anna looked terrified.
"I don't know."
Emily shook her head.
"Neither do I."
Then we heard something.
A child's voice.
"Daddy?"
I spun around.
"Lily!"
Her voice came from behind the wall.
I ran toward it.
There was another hidden door.
I opened it.
Lily was sitting inside.
Alone.
Terrified.
I grabbed her.
"Daddy!"
I held her against me.
"Are you okay?"
She nodded.
"Did Richard hurt you?"
"No."
"Who brought you here?"
She pointed behind me.
I turned.
No one.
"Who?"
She whispered:
"Mommy."
I looked at Emily.
She shook her head.
"I didn't."
Lily pointed toward the wall.
"Other Mommy."
Everyone went silent.
"Other Mommy?"
Lily nodded.
"She looks like Mommy."
My blood went cold.
Anna whispered:
"Claire."
"No."
Lily shook her head.
"Not Claire."
"Then who?"
Lily looked at me.
"She has Mommy's face."
Emily stepped forward.
"Ryan..."
I raised my hand.
"Wait."
Lily continued.
"She said she was Mommy."
Emily's face went white.
"That's impossible."
Lily looked at her.
"She said Daddy forgot."
I felt a chill.
"Forgot what?"
Lily pointed at me.
"You forgot her."
I looked at Anna.
She was crying.
"No."
"What?"
Anna shook her head.
"Ryan, don't listen."
But Lily was staring at me.
Then she said the words that shattered everything.
"She said she's your first wife."
Silence.
My first wife?
I had never been married before Emily.
Or had I?
I looked at Anna.
She whispered:
"There's something you don't remember."
"What?"
"You were married before."
I laughed.
"No."
"Yes."
"To whom?"
Anna looked at Emily.
Emily closed her eyes.
Then she whispered:
"To me."
I stared.
"What?"
Emily stepped closer.
"You married me twice."
My mind stopped.
"What are you talking about?"
"The first marriage was erased."
"Why?"
"Because you weren't supposed to remember it."
I looked at the recording.
My father's voice.
The missing second child.
The first marriage.
The hidden memories.
Everything was connected.
Then the lights went out.
Lily screamed.
A man's voice echoed through the darkness.
"Now you're finally remembering."
Richard.
I held Lily tighter.
The emergency lights came on.
Richard stood at the entrance.
But he wasn't alone.
Beside him stood a woman.
I looked at her.
My breath caught.
She had Emily's face.
The same eyes.
The same smile.
But she wasn't Emily.
Emily stepped backward.
"No."
The woman smiled.
"Hello, Ryan."
I stared at her.
"Who are you?"
She touched her stomach.
"I think you already know."
My mind raced.
Then she said:
"I'm Sarah."
I froze.
The name from my father's files.
The second subject.
The woman who had supposedly died twenty years ago.
The woman everyone had forgotten.
Richard smiled.
"Now you understand."
I looked at Emily.
She was crying.
"Ryan..."
"Who is she?"
Emily couldn't answer.
Sarah stepped closer.
"I'm the reason your wife disappeared."
I tightened my grip around Lily.
"Why?"
Sarah smiled.
"Because Emily wasn't your first wife."
She looked at Emily.
"She was your replacement."
The room fell silent.
May you like
And then Sarah said the words that would change everything:
"Your real wife was me."
