CHAPTER 13 — THE WOMAN WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD
For several seconds, I simply stared at Ethan.
He stood beside the black SUV as if the last twenty years hadn't happened.
As if he hadn't betrayed me.
As if he hadn't worked for Richard.
As if he hadn't helped hide the truth about my family.
I raised my gun.
"Don't move."
Ethan stopped.
"Ryan."
"You knew."
"Yes."
"You knew Miriam was alive."
"Yes."
"You knew where she was."
"Yes."
"You knew about Daniel."
"Yes."
"You knew about Lily."
"Yes."
My finger tightened around the trigger.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Ethan looked at the children.
"Because if I told you too early, they would have killed all three of them."
"Three?"
His eyes moved toward Emily.
She looked terrified.
"Ryan..."
I turned to her.
"You knew."
She nodded slowly.
"There was another child."
My heart sank.
"Who?"
Emily couldn't answer.
Ethan did.
"Her name is Rachel."
I felt a strange pressure in my chest.
"Rachel."
He nodded.
"The third subject."
I looked at Sarah.
She was crying.
"Where is she?"
Ethan opened the SUV door.
"Get in."
"No."
"Ryan, we don't have time."
"Where is she?"
"With Miriam."
I froze.
"She's with my mother?"
"Yes."
"Then take me to them."
Ethan shook his head.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
"Miriam doesn't want you to find Rachel."
"Why?"
"Because Rachel is the only person who can expose her."
Silence.
I looked at the burning ruins behind us.
"Why would my mother fear a child?"
"Because Rachel remembers the first experiment."
I stared at him.
"How old is she?"
"Twenty-three."
My blood went cold.
"Twenty-three?"
"Yes."
"Then she was born before Lily."
"Yes."
"Before Daniel."
"Yes."
"Before my marriage to Emily."
"Yes."
I looked at Emily.
Her face was pale.
"Then why did everyone tell me I had never been married before?"
"Because your first marriage happened when you were twenty-one."
I stared.
"To Sarah?"
Sarah stepped forward.
"Yes."
"And Rachel?"
Sarah looked at me.
"She was our daughter."
Everything stopped.
I couldn't breathe.
"What?"
Sarah nodded.
"Rachel was born before they erased you."
I looked at her.
"Our daughter?"
"Yes."
I felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath my feet.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you forgot."
"That's not an answer."
"You were forced to forget."
"Why?"
"Because Richard discovered Rachel inherited something from you."
"What?"
"Your memory resistance."
I looked at Daniel.
Then Lily.
Then Sarah.
"All my children."
Sarah nodded.
"They inherited it."
"But Rachel is twenty-three."
"Yes."
"And she's alive."
"Yes."
"Then where has she been?"
"Hidden."
"From whom?"
"Miriam."
I looked at Ethan.
"Why does Miriam want her?"
"Because Rachel remembers what Miriam did."
I felt sick.
"What did she do?"
Ethan took a breath.
"She created the first version of Project Echo."
I stared.
"My mother."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"She was trying to save Sarah."
Sarah looked down.
"I was dying."
Ethan continued.
"Miriam believed memory could be used to stabilize neurological deterioration."
"And she succeeded."
"Partially."
"What went wrong?"
"She discovered that memories could be copied."
I stared.
"Copied?"
"Yes."
"Into another person."
"Into another brain."
"Into another child."
"Yes."
I looked at Daniel.
"That's what happened to him."
Ethan shook his head.
"Not exactly."
"What then?"
"Daniel wasn't a copy."
"Then what?"
"He was a storage vessel."
My stomach turned.
"That's worse."
"I know."
"Who authorized this?"
"Miriam."
"And Richard?"
"He turned it into something bigger."
"How?"
"Your mother wanted to preserve memories."
"Richard wanted to control them."
I looked at Emily.
"Where were you during all this?"
She swallowed.
"Working with Miriam."
I felt betrayed all over again.
"You worked with my mother?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I believed she was trying to save people."
"And then?"
"I discovered what Richard was doing."
"So you ran."
"Yes."
"With Lily."
"Yes."
"But not Rachel."
Emily's face crumpled.
"Rachel was already gone."
"Where?"
"Miriam took her."
"Why didn't you stop her?"
"I tried."
"What happened?"
"Richard threatened Lily."
I looked at Lily.
"Again."
Emily nodded.
"He knew that if he threatened one child, I'd sacrifice everything to save her."
I closed my eyes.
For four years, I had believed Emily had abandoned me.
The truth was worse.
She had been fighting a war I couldn't remember.
And everyone had been paying the price.
I looked at Ethan.
"You said Miriam wants Rachel."
"Yes."
"Then why did she call me?"
"To lure you."
"Into what?"
"Her final experiment."
I stared.
"What experiment?"
"Memory transfer."
I felt a chill.
"She wants to put Rachel's memories into me."
Ethan shook his head.
"Not Rachel's."
"Then whose?"
"Yours."
I frowned.
"My memories?"
"She wants the memories Richard erased."
"Why?"
"Because those memories contain the original research."
I understood.
The knowledge my father had hidden.
The master sequence.
The names.
The locations.
The evidence.
Everything.
Miriam wanted it.
Richard wanted it.
And I was carrying it inside my own mind.
I looked at my hands.
"How do we stop her?"
Ethan looked toward the SUV.
"We don't."
"What?"
"We can't fight her from here."
"Then what?"
"We expose her."
"How?"
"By finding Rachel first."
I looked at Sarah.
"Can she remember?"
"Everything."
"Even the first experiment?"
"Yes."
"Then why haven't they killed her?"
Ethan answered:
"Because Miriam needs her."
"Why?"
"Rachel's memories are the original archive."
I stared.
"Then Daniel isn't the archive."
"No."
"Rachel is."
"Yes."
I looked at Emily.
"How did she survive?"
Emily whispered:
"Your father saved her."
Again.
My father.
Always my father.
"What did he do?"
"He hid her."
"Where?"
"No one knows."
Ethan shook his head.
"I do."
I stared at him.
"Where?"
He looked at the children.
"Under the old Carter estate."
I felt a chill.
"The house burned."
"The estate isn't the house."
"What do you mean?"
"There is a second property."
"Where?"
"Twenty miles north."
I remembered an old family map.
A large forest.
A lake.
An abandoned observatory.
My father used to disappear there.
I had always assumed he went hunting.
Maybe he hadn't.
We got into the SUV.
Vanessa sat beside Lily.
Emily sat with Daniel.
Sarah sat opposite me.
Ethan drove.
For nearly an hour, nobody spoke.
Then Lily reached for my hand.
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Are we going to see Rachel?"
I looked at her.
"How do you know her name?"
"Daniel told me."
I looked at Daniel.
He was staring out the window.
"How do you know Rachel?"
He whispered:
"She talks to me too."
A chill ran through me.
"Where?"
"In the dreams."
I looked at Sarah.
She nodded.
"Rachel can communicate through memory."
"How?"
"No one knows."
Daniel turned toward me.
"She says she's scared."
I squeezed his hand.
"Why?"
"Because Grandma is coming."
I felt my blood run cold.
"Miriam."
He nodded.
"She says Grandma wants to take Daddy."
I looked at Ethan.
"How much longer?"
"Ten minutes."
The forest became thicker.
The road narrowed.
Finally, we reached a clearing.
An enormous stone building stood among the trees.
An old observatory.
The windows were shattered.
The dome was rusted.
Ethan parked.
"This is it."
We got out.
I looked at the building.
"Rachel is inside?"
"No."
"Then where?"
"Below."
We entered.
Inside was a circular chamber.
At the center stood a large telescope.
Underneath it was a metal hatch.
Ethan opened it.
A staircase descended.
We followed.
At the bottom was another steel door.
There was a keypad.
Ethan entered a code.
The door opened.
A room appeared.
Old monitors.
Medical equipment.
Photographs.
Files.
And on the wall...
hundreds of children's drawings.
I walked closer.
Most showed families.
Some showed houses.
One drawing stopped me.
A little girl.
A man.
A woman.
Two babies.
And above them...
a red sun.
I looked at Sarah.
"Rachel?"
She nodded.
"She drew that."
"How old was she?"
"Five."
I looked at the drawing.
"Why the red sun?"
"She said it was the color of the room where they took her."
I turned.
"What room?"
Sarah pointed.
"The original laboratory."
"Where?"
"Here."
My heart stopped.
"This place?"
"Yes."
I looked around.
The observatory wasn't an observatory.
It was a laboratory.
The telescope was a disguise.
The real facility was underground.
I found a folder.
PROJECT ECHO — ORIGINAL SUBJECTS.
I opened it.
The first photograph was Sarah.
SUBJECT ZERO.
The second was Rachel.
SUBJECT ONE.
The third was me.
SUBJECT TWO.
The fourth was Daniel.
SUBJECT THREE.
The fifth was Lily.
SUBJECT FOUR.
I stared.
"Why did Richard say I was the last subject?"
Ethan looked away.
"Because he lied."
"About what?"
"You aren't the prototype."
"Then what am I?"
Ethan swallowed.
"The bridge."
"Between what?"
"Human memory and artificial memory."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Your brain can store memories outside normal neural pathways."
"That's impossible."
"That's why Miriam needed you."
"Then why did she erase me?"
"She didn't."
I looked at him.
"Richard did."
"But my father—"
"Your father helped hide the evidence."
"By altering my memories."
"Yes."
I turned toward Sarah.
"Why didn't you stop him?"
"Because you asked him to."
I froze.
"What?"
"You wanted to forget."
"Why?"
"Because you couldn't live with what happened."
"What happened?"
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"You killed someone."
The room went silent.
I stepped backward.
"No."
"You were twenty-one."
"No."
"You found out what Richard was doing."
"No."
"You tried to stop him."
"No."
"You failed."
I shook my head.
"I've never killed anyone."
Sarah whispered:
"Not intentionally."
"What does that mean?"
"You were defending Rachel."
"From who?"
"Richard."
I couldn't breathe.
"What happened?"
"He tried to take her."
"I stopped him."
"How?"
Sarah looked at me.
"You pushed him."
"And?"
"He fell."
"Did he die?"
"No."
"Then?"
"He survived."
"Then who died?"
Sarah's voice broke.
"Your mother."
I froze.
"Miriam?"
"No."
"The woman you thought was Miriam."
"Claire."
I stared.
"Claire died?"
"Yes."
"But she was alive."
"She wasn't."
I looked at Ethan.
"Then who was the woman who called me?"
He didn't answer.
"Who was she?"
Ethan looked toward the door.
Then whispered:
"Miriam."
I felt cold.
"But you said Claire died."
"She did."
"Then Miriam is alive."
"Yes."
"Where?"
Ethan pointed toward the ceiling.
I looked up.
A speaker crackled.
Then a woman's voice filled the room.
"Hello, Ryan."
My heart stopped.
Miriam.
She laughed softly.
"I knew you would come."
I raised my gun.
"Where are you?"
"You're looking for Rachel."
"Yes."
"She's close."
"Bring her out."
"No."
"Then I'll find her."
"You already did."
I froze.
The lights came on.
A glass wall illuminated.
Behind it stood a young woman.
Twenty-three.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small red birthmark on her shoulder.
She looked at me.
My heart stopped.
"Rachel."
She smiled.
"Daddy."
I couldn't breathe.
She placed her hand against the glass.
"I've been waiting for you."
I stepped closer.
"Rachel."
She nodded.
"You finally remember."
Tears filled my eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"You didn't know."
"I should have."
"They made you forget."
"Who?"
She looked toward the ceiling.
"Grandma."
Then she turned toward another door.
"She's coming."
A second door opened.
Miriam Hale walked into the room.
Older.
Gray hair.
Calm eyes.
She looked at me.
Then at Sarah.
Then at Emily.
Finally, she smiled.
"My family."
I raised my gun.
"You destroyed my life."
"No."
She shook her head.
"I saved it."
"You erased my memories."
"To protect you."
"You took my daughter."
"To study her."
"You took my son."
"To preserve him."
"You took Rachel."
"To protect her from Richard."
I stared.
"Then why are you still doing this?"
Miriam looked at me.
"Because Richard is not the enemy."
I froze.
"What?"
She smiled.
"Your father was."
Silence.
"My father?"
"Your father started the rebellion."
"What rebellion?"
"Against me."
She stepped closer.
"He stole my research."
"He hid my children."
"He erased your memories."
"He turned you against me."
I shook my head.
"Why would he do that?"
"Because he wanted control."
I stared.
Miriam's eyes filled with tears.
"I created Project Echo to save Sarah."
She looked at my sister.
"Your father turned it into a weapon."
Sarah shook her head.
"That's not true."
Miriam ignored her.
"Richard merely continued what Thomas started."
I looked at Sarah.
"Who is telling the truth?"
She whispered:
"Neither."
Everyone went silent.
Sarah stepped forward.
"The truth is worse."
Miriam's expression changed.
Sarah looked at me.
"Project Echo wasn't created by our parents."
"Then who?"
Sarah pointed at me.
"You."
I stared.
"What?"
"You created it."
The room went silent.
"You were the first person to discover the memory process."
I shook my head.
"I was twenty-one."
"Exactly."
"You were a scientist?"
"No."
"A researcher?"
"No."
"Then how?"
Sarah whispered:
"Because you were born with it."
I couldn't breathe.
"You could remember things other people forgot."
"You could recover erased memories."
"You could transfer emotional memories."
"And Miriam used your ability."
I looked at my mother.
She nodded.
"Yes."
I felt sick.
"Then why did you make me forget?"
"Because you wanted to."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Yes."
She stepped closer.
"You saw what your ability could do."
"You were terrified."
"You begged me to erase it."
I stared at her.
"Did I?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Miriam's voice softened.
"Because you remembered every person who had died."
"Every child."
"Every experiment."
"Every mistake."
"You couldn't sleep."
"You begged me to make it stop."
I closed my eyes.
And suddenly...
I remembered.
Not fragments.
Everything.
The laboratory.
The children.
Sarah crying.
Rachel screaming.
My father arguing.
Richard threatening Miriam.
Emily holding a baby.
Lily.
Daniel.
And me standing in the center of the room.
I was the one who had activated the machine.
I was the one who had asked for my memories to be erased.
But there was one memory still missing.
The final memory.
The one my father had hidden.
I opened my eyes.
"What's the final memory?"
Miriam smiled.
"You already know."
I looked at Rachel.
She nodded.
Then she said:
"The night you killed your father."
I froze.
My father.
I remembered him dying.
But now...
I remembered the truth.
He hadn't been murdered by Richard.
He hadn't died from illness.
He had asked me to kill him.
Because he knew what was coming.
And I had agreed.
But why?
Rachel stepped closer.
"Because your father wasn't trying to stop Project Echo."
She whispered:
"He was trying to activate it."
My blood ran cold.
Miriam looked at me.
"And that's why..."
She smiled.
"...we can never let you remember the final part."
Suddenly, the doors behind us locked.
The monitors came alive.
A countdown appeared.
PROJECT ECHO — FINAL PHASE
00:10:00
Miriam looked at me.
"Now, Ryan."
May you like
"Remember."
And the first memory began.
