CHAPTER 9 — THE GIRL WHO WASN'T LILY
The photograph lay on the table between us.
Two newborn babies.
Two identical faces.
Two tiny bodies wrapped in white blankets.
And underneath them, one sentence:
ONLY ONE OF THEM WAS LILY.
I stared at the photograph.
My mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
"Where did you get this?"
Richard didn't answer.
I pulled against the restraints.
"Where is my daughter?"
"You're still thinking about Lily."
"Because she's my daughter."
Richard smiled.
"Are you sure?"
My blood ran cold.
"What does that mean?"
He tapped the photograph.
"Look closely."
I leaned forward.
The two babies looked identical.
But there was a small difference.
The baby on the left had a tiny red mark near her shoulder.
The baby on the right didn't.
I remembered Lily's birthmark.
Left shoulder.
My stomach tightened.
"That's Lily."
Richard nodded.
"Yes."
"Then who's the other baby?"
"Her sister."
I froze.
"Emily had twins?"
"No."
"Then who?"
Richard leaned back.
"That's what your father spent years trying to discover."
I stared at him.
"You're lying."
"Your father lied to you."
"You've been lying to everyone."
"Perhaps."
"But not about this."
He slid another document across the table.
It was a medical report.
BIRTH DATE: OCTOBER 3
MOTHER: EMILY CARTER
INFANTS: TWO
My hands started shaking.
"No."
Richard watched me.
"Your father knew."
"If there were two babies, where is the other one?"
"Dead."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"That's the official record."
"Official?"
"Yes."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning she wasn't dead."
My heart pounded.
"Where is she?"
Richard smiled.
"That's what Project Echo was created to find."
I looked at the photograph again.
Two babies.
One was Lily.
The other...
I couldn't even imagine it.
"Who is she?"
Richard stood.
"You'll find out."
"Tell me."
"No."
"Richard!"
He walked toward the door.
"Wait!"
He stopped.
I shouted:
"If you hurt Lily—"
"I won't."
"Then where is she?"
Richard turned.
"She's with someone you trust."
My heart stopped.
"Who?"
He smiled.
"That's the problem."
Then he left.
The door slammed shut.
I was alone again.
For several minutes, I sat there trying to understand what I'd just heard.
Two babies.
Emily's children.
One officially dead.
One raised as Lily.
But if Lily had a twin...
who had been raising her?
And why had my father erased my memory?
I closed my eyes.
A strange image surfaced.
A hospital.
A hallway.
My father holding a newborn.
A woman crying.
A baby screaming.
Then a man's voice.
"Take the girl."
I opened my eyes.
I was breathing hard.
Another memory.
A red coat.
A woman standing beside my father.
Miriam Hale.
She was holding a baby.
Then my father said:
"Ryan can never know."
I pulled against the restraints.
"Why?"
The memory vanished.
I tried again.
Nothing.
My head began to ache.
Then the door opened.
A nurse entered.
She carried a tray.
"Who are you?"
She ignored me.
"Where's my daughter?"
No response.
"Where's Lily?"
She placed the tray on the table.
Then walked toward me.
I watched her face.
Something about her looked familiar.
She reached down and loosened the restraints.
I stared.
"Why are you helping me?"
She whispered:
"Because your wife asked me to."
I froze.
"Emily?"
The woman nodded.
"She's alive."
"Where?"
"Close."
"Take me to her."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"Because Richard is watching."
She looked toward the ceiling camera.
Then quietly slid something into my hand.
A key.
"What's this?"
"Your father's office."
I stared.
"What?"
"There's a second entrance."
"Where?"
"Behind the old chapel."
I looked at her.
"Who are you?"
She hesitated.
"Anna."
My heart stopped.
"Anna?"
She nodded.
I stared at her face.
She looked about thirty.
Brown hair.
Green eyes.
A small scar near her left eyebrow.
Something about her eyes felt strangely familiar.
"Do I know you?"
She shook her head.
"You don't remember me."
"Why?"
"Because your father made sure you wouldn't."
Then she left.
I stared at the key.
Anna.
The name from the Project Echo files.
The child who supposedly disappeared.
The child everyone had been searching for.
Could this woman be her?
I had no time to think.
The restraints were loose enough now.
I pulled my hands free.
I ran to the door.
Unlocked.
The hallway was empty.
I moved quickly.
I didn't know where Lily was.
I didn't know where Emily was.
But I knew one thing.
I couldn't stay there.
I found a stairwell.
Went down.
Then another corridor.
Finally, a side exit.
I stepped outside.
Cold air hit my face.
I pulled out my phone.
No signal.
Then I heard a car.
A black SUV stopped beside me.
The rear door opened.
Vanessa stepped out.
"Get in."
I stared at her.
"Where's Lily?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
"With Emily."
I froze.
"Emily has Lily?"
"Yes."
"Then why did Richard say she was with someone I trust?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"Because he knew you would assume it was me."
"What does that mean?"
"Get in."
I climbed into the SUV.
Vanessa drove.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then I asked:
"Who is Anna?"
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel.
"Where did you hear that name?"
"A nurse."
"What nurse?"
"She said Emily asked her to help me."
Vanessa looked terrified.
"Did she give you anything?"
I showed her the key.
She nearly slammed the brakes.
"Where did you get that?"
"From Anna."
"Ryan..."
"What?"
"You need to understand something."
"What?"
"Anna isn't a person."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Anna is a designation."
"For what?"
"Subject A."
I stared at her.
"The file."
"Yes."
"Then who is the woman?"
Vanessa didn't answer.
"Who?"
She whispered:
"Your sister."
My heart stopped.
"I don't have a sister."
"You did."
"When?"
"Before you were born."
I stared at her.
"What are you talking about?"
"Your mother gave birth to twins."
I felt numb.
"Me and who?"
"Not you."
She swallowed.
"Your mother had a daughter first."
"Then me?"
"No."
I looked at her.
"Ryan, you were adopted."
The world went silent.
I laughed.
A short, empty laugh.
"No."
"Your parents never told you."
"My father was my father."
"Biologically, no."
I couldn't breathe.
"My mother?"
"Your biological mother was Miriam Hale."
I stared at her.
Miriam.
The woman in the photograph.
The woman my father had supposedly trusted.
My biological mother.
"Then who was my father?"
"Thomas Carter."
I shook my head.
"My father?"
"Yes."
"So I'm not his son?"
"You are."
"But my mother wasn't my mother?"
"Correct."
I looked out the window.
Nothing made sense.
"Why?"
"Because Project Echo began before you were born."
"What did they do?"
"They studied children from genetically similar families."
"Why?"
"Memory."
Again.
Memory.
"Why did they need me?"
"Because you were their first successful subject."
I turned toward her.
"What?"
"You survived the procedure."
"What procedure?"
"The memory suppression."
My blood went cold.
"You erased my memories?"
"Not me."
"Then who?"
"Your father."
"Why?"
"Because you witnessed something."
"What?"
Vanessa looked at me.
"The night your sister disappeared."
I couldn't speak.
"My sister?"
"Her name was Anna."
The key in my hand suddenly felt heavy.
"Then the woman who helped me..."
"Was your sister."
I stared at Vanessa.
"She's alive?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't my father tell me?"
"Because he thought keeping you ignorant would protect you."
"Protect me from what?"
"Richard."
I closed my eyes.
The memories came again.
A hospital.
Two babies.
My father.
Miriam.
Richard.
Then something else.
A little girl.
Me.
Maybe five years old.
She was holding my hand.
She had a red ribbon in her hair.
I remembered her face.
Anna.
Then a man came.
Richard.
He took her away.
I screamed.
My father grabbed me.
He whispered:
"Forget her."
I opened my eyes.
"I remember."
Vanessa looked at me.
"What?"
"I remember Anna."
Tears filled my eyes.
"My sister."
Vanessa nodded.
"Yes."
I looked at the key.
"Then why does Lily have the same name?"
"Because Richard renamed her."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted to make you think the missing child was Lily."
"Why?"
"To confuse the records."
I stared.
"Where is the real Anna?"
Vanessa looked toward the road.
"With Emily."
I swallowed.
"And Lily?"
"With her too."
"Then take me to them."
"I am."
We drove another fifteen minutes.
Then Vanessa turned onto a dirt road.
A small farmhouse appeared in the distance.
I jumped out before the car stopped.
The front door opened.
Emily stood there.
I stopped.
She looked thinner.
Older.
But it was her.
My wife.
The woman I had buried in my heart for four years.
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Ryan."
I couldn't move.
Then Lily ran outside.
"Daddy!"
I dropped to my knees.
She threw herself into my arms.
I held her.
I couldn't speak.
Emily watched us.
Then Lily turned.
"Mommy!"
Emily knelt.
Lily ran into her arms.
For a moment, everything disappeared.
There was no Richard.
No Project Echo.
No money.
No secrets.
Just a mother holding her daughter.
And a father watching them.
I walked toward Emily.
She stood.
We stared at each other.
"You came back."
She nodded.
"I always wanted to."
"Why didn't you?"
"Because Richard had people watching you."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I tried."
"I know."
She looked at Vanessa.
"You found the files."
"Yes."
Emily nodded.
"Then you know."
"Not everything."
She looked at me.
"You know about Anna?"
"Yes."
Emily's expression changed.
"Who told you?"
"Vanessa."
She closed her eyes.
"I was hoping you would never have to know."
"She's alive."
Emily nodded.
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
Emily looked toward the house.
"Inside."
I walked in.
A woman stood near the fireplace.
The same woman who had helped me escape.
Anna.
She looked at me.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then she smiled.
"Hello, little brother."
I couldn't breathe.
She walked toward me.
"Do you remember?"
I nodded.
"Red ribbon."
She smiled through tears.
"You used to call me Red."
I laughed.
Then cried.
I hugged her.
She held me tightly.
For the first time in my life, I realized there had always been a missing piece inside me.
I had simply forgotten what it was.
Then Anna whispered:
"Ryan."
"What?"
"There's something you need to know."
She pulled away.
"Richard didn't create Project Echo."
I frowned.
"What?"
"He inherited it."
"From whom?"
She looked at Emily.
Emily lowered her eyes.
Then Anna said:
"From your mother."
I froze.
"Miriam?"
Anna nodded.
"She started it."
My stomach dropped.
"Why?"
"Because she believed memory could be controlled."
"She experimented on children?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"She wanted to erase trauma."
I stared at her.
"That doesn't sound like evil."
"It wasn't."
Anna's voice trembled.
"Not at first."
"What happened?"
"She discovered she could erase more than trauma."
"Memories."
"Yes."
"Identities."
"Yes."
"People."
"Yes."
I felt sick.
"And Richard?"
"He turned it into a business."
Emily stepped closer.
"He started using the program to manipulate families."
"For money."
"For power."
"And Lily?"
Emily looked at her daughter.
"She was the first child born with natural resistance to the process."
I stared.
"So they wanted her."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because if they could understand why she resisted..."
Emily stopped.
"They could control everyone."
I looked at Lily.
She was sitting on the floor with her stuffed rabbit.
"What does Lily remember?"
"Everything."
"Everything?"
"Not consciously."
"Then how?"
"Her brain stores memories differently."
I felt a chill.
"That's why she remembers things from four years ago."
"Yes."
"That's why she remembered Richard."
"Yes."
"And why she remembered the warehouse."
"Yes."
I looked at Emily.
"What happened the night you disappeared?"
Her face tightened.
"I found out Lily was being monitored."
"By Richard?"
"By Miriam."
I froze.
"My mother?"
Emily nodded.
"She believed Lily could help complete the research."
"What did you do?"
"I tried to get her out."
"Then what?"
"Richard caught us."
"Did he hurt you?"
"He tried."
"Why didn't he kill you?"
"Because he needed me."
"For what?"
Emily looked at Anna.
"Because I knew where the original records were."
I frowned.
"What original records?"
"The first experiment."
"Where?"
"Your father's office."
I looked at the key.
"The office."
Emily nodded.
"Your father hid the original records there."
"Why didn't Richard find them?"
"Because he couldn't open the vault."
"Why?"
"Because it requires two genetic signatures."
I stared.
"Whose?"
"Yours."
I looked at Anna.
"And hers."
My sister nodded.
"That's why Richard needed both of us."
I understood.
"He couldn't access the vault alone."
"No."
"That's why he kidnapped me."
"Yes."
"Where is the vault?"
Anna pointed toward the key.
"Under the old chapel."
I looked at Emily.
"And what is inside?"
Emily whispered:
"The truth about Lily."
I felt a cold shiver.
"What's the truth?"
She looked at me.
"Lily wasn't the first child they tried to protect."
"Then who?"
"Anna."
I looked at my sister.
She nodded.
"I was supposed to be the first successful subject."
"But you escaped."
"Your father helped me."
"And Lily?"
Emily's voice broke.
"She was born years later."
"Then why did they use her?"
"Because they discovered something in your bloodline."
"What?"
Emily hesitated.
"The ability to recover erased memories."
I stared.
"So Lily can remember what they erase."
"Yes."
"That's why Richard is afraid of her."
"Yes."
"Then why didn't he kill her?"
Emily looked at me.
"Because he still needs her."
"For what?"
"To find the final memory."
"What final memory?"
Emily whispered:
"The memory of what happened to Miriam."
I frowned.
"She's alive."
Emily shook her head.
"No."
I froze.
"What?"
"Miriam Hale died four years ago."
I stared.
"But I saw her."
"That wasn't Miriam."
"Then who?"
Emily looked at Vanessa.
Vanessa whispered:
"Claire."
I felt dizzy.
"Claire?"
"She had surgery."
"To look like Miriam?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Richard needed someone who could control the trust."
I looked at Emily.
"Then who was the woman I saw in the photograph?"
"Miriam."
"And she was dead?"
"Yes."
"Who killed her?"
Emily didn't answer.
Anna did.
"Richard."
Silence.
Then the front door exploded inward.
Everyone screamed.
Three armed men entered.
Richard stepped behind them.
He looked at me.
Then at Anna.
Then at Lily.
"Thank you."
I froze.
"For what?"
"For bringing everyone together."
Emily raised a gun.
Richard smiled.
"Put it down."
"No."
"Emily."
She aimed at him.
"I won't let you take her again."
Richard looked at Lily.
"You're too late."
He raised his hand.
Behind us, the lights went out.
Lily screamed.
May you like
And when the emergency lights came on...
she was gone.
