CHAPTER 10 THE GIRL WHO HAD HER FACE
The woman on the monitor smiled.
Amelia couldn't look away.
Same eyes.
Same dark hair.
Same pale skin.
Same small birthmark beneath the left eye.
It was like looking into a mirror that had aged differently.
For a moment, Amelia couldn't hear anything.
The countdown.
The alarms.
Richard shouting.
Sarah breathing beside her.
None of it mattered.
She pointed at the screen.
"Who is she?"
Sarah didn't answer.
"Mom."
Nothing.
"Who is she?"
Sarah finally whispered:
"Her name is Elena."
Amelia stared.
"Elena who?"
Sarah's eyes filled with tears.
"Elena Cross."
Richard's face went rigid.
"Cross?"
Sarah nodded.
"Samuel's daughter."
Amelia looked back at the screen.
The woman was still watching.
She appeared calm.
Almost peaceful.
Then she leaned toward the camera.
Her lips moved.
Amelia couldn't hear her.
The image suddenly switched.
A message appeared.
SHE KNOWS YOU'RE HERE.
Amelia looked at Sarah.
"You knew about her."
"No."
"You recognized her."
"I recognized the face."
"That's not an answer."
Sarah shook her head.
"I thought she was dead."
"Who?"
"Elena."
Richard stepped closer.
"What happened to her?"
Sarah stared at the screen.
"She was born six years before you."
Amelia's eyes widened.
"Then she's my sister?"
Sarah nodded.
"Biologically."
Amelia felt dizzy.
"But Daniel said I was the only descendant."
"He was wrong."
"Or he lied."
Sarah's face tightened.
"Daniel didn't know."
Richard looked at her.
"How could he not know his own sister?"
"Because Samuel took Elena."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"When?"
"The year before you were born."
Amelia looked at the monitor.
"So she was raised by Project Seventeen."
Sarah nodded.
"Probably."
"What does that mean?"
"It means they didn't protect her."
She swallowed.
"They trained her."
The archive alarm became louder.
06:41
06:40
06:39
Richard grabbed Amelia's shoulder.
"We need to go."
"No."
"Amelia."
"I'm not leaving her."
"You don't know her."
"She's my sister."
"You don't even know if she's alive."
Amelia pointed at the monitor.
"She's right there."
"That could be a recording."
Amelia looked closer.
Elena was moving.
Real-time.
She suddenly lifted a piece of paper.
Written across it:
LOOK BEHIND YOU.
Amelia turned.
Nothing.
Richard spun toward the corridor.
"Nobody."
Amelia looked back at the screen.
Elena held up another message.
NOT THERE.
Then:
LOOK AT THE FILE.
Amelia looked down.
The file in her hand.
PROJECT SEVENTEEN — ORIGINAL FAMILY REGISTER
She flipped it over.
A small compartment had been cut into the back.
Inside was a thin strip of film.
Richard frowned.
"What is that?"
Amelia pulled it out.
"A microfilm."
"Old."
"Very."
Sarah stared at it.
"I've seen that before."
"When?"
"In 1997."
Amelia looked at her.
"Where?"
"Alexander had one."
"Why?"
"He said it contained the original register."
Richard took it.
"We need a reader."
Amelia looked toward the archive equipment.
"There's one."
They moved to the old machine.
Richard inserted the film.
The screen flickered.
Names appeared.
Seventeen families.
Then photographs.
Then dates.
Then identities.
Amelia watched in horror.
The system had tracked generations.
Children.
Parents.
Grandparents.
Military records.
Addresses.
Medical histories.
Marriage records.
Birth certificates.
Death certificates.
Everything.
Then one file appeared.
FAMILY 17
MERCER / VALE
STATUS: ACTIVE
Under it:
CHILDREN:
1. ELENA CROSS
2. AMELIA CROSS
Amelia stopped breathing.
"Two children."
Sarah nodded.
"But why was I separated from her?"
"Because Samuel wanted you separated."
"Why?"
"Because you were different."
"How?"
Sarah looked at the screen.
"Elena inherited the genetic marker."
Amelia frowned.
"What marker?"
"The one Project Seventeen was studying."
Richard stared.
"The archive access?"
"No."
Sarah shook her head.
"Something older."
Amelia waited.
Sarah whispered:
"Memory."
Richard looked confused.
"Memory?"
"Certain families in the original program showed unusually strong memory retention."
"That's not enough to build a conspiracy."
"It was to them."
Sarah continued.
"Samuel believed descendants could retain information through biological memory."
Amelia frowned.
"That's not possible."
"Not literally."
Sarah pointed at the archive.
"They believed trauma, patterns, behavior, and certain neurological traits could be inherited."
Richard stared at her.
"And Elena had those traits."
"Yes."
"What about Amelia?"
Sarah looked at her daughter.
"Amelia had something else."
"What?"
"Recognition."
Amelia didn't understand.
"You could look at something once and remember it years later."
She thought about it.
Maps.
Faces.
Names.
Numbers.
She had always assumed it was because of military training.
Sarah shook her head.
"It started when you were four."
Amelia's expression changed.
"The nightmares."
Sarah nodded.
"You remembered things you were never supposed to have seen."
"What things?"
"Rooms."
"People."
"Numbers."
"Conversations."
Amelia's eyes widened.
"How would I remember them?"
"Because you were there."
"Where?"
Sarah pointed at the screen.
"At Project Seventeen."
Amelia stepped backward.
"No."
"You were taken there."
"When?"
"When you were four."
Richard looked at Sarah.
"You never told Thomas?"
"Thomas knew."
Amelia stared at her.
"My father knew?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"Because you didn't remember everything."
"What happened?"
Sarah's face became haunted.
"Someone tried to force you to remember."
Amelia's stomach tightened.
"Who?"
"Samuel."
The archive lights flickered.
05:03
Richard looked at the door.
"We're running out of time."
Amelia stared at the screen.
Elena was still there.
This time she wasn't smiling.
She was crying.
She held up another piece of paper.
HE'S COMING FOR YOU.
Then:
HE ALWAYS DOES.
Amelia stepped closer.
"Elena!"
The monitor showed no audio.
Amelia pointed.
"Can you hear me?"
Elena shook her head.
Then she pointed toward something beside her.
A clock.
The time read:
3:17
Amelia's heart raced.
"Why is she showing us the clock?"
Sarah whispered:
"Because she knows."
"Knows what?"
"How the archive works."
Richard stared.
"What if Elena is controlling the feed?"
"She can't."
"Why not?"
"Because the archive is isolated."
Richard shook his head.
"Not anymore."
The computer flashed.
REMOTE USER CONNECTED
Then:
USER: ELENA CROSS
Amelia froze.
"She hacked the archive."
Richard looked at her.
"From wherever she is."
The screen changed.
A text window appeared.
HELLO, SISTER.
Amelia's eyes filled.
She typed:
WHO ARE YOU?
The response came immediately.
THE OTHER ONE.
Amelia typed:
WHERE ARE YOU?
SOMEWHERE YOUR FATHER NEVER FOUND.
WHICH FATHER?
A pause.
Then:
THOMAS.
Amelia's hands trembled.
She typed:
DID YOU KNOW HIM?
YES.
DID HE KNOW YOU?
No response.
The countdown continued.
03:47
03:46
Amelia typed again.
DID MY FATHER SAVE YOU?
The answer appeared.
NO.
Then:
HE SAVED YOU.
Amelia stared.
Another message appeared.
HE COULDN'T SAVE BOTH OF US.
Sarah covered her mouth.
"No..."
Amelia looked at her.
"You knew."
Sarah shook her head.
"I didn't know she survived."
Elena sent another message.
YOUR FATHER MADE A CHOICE.
HE CHOSE YOU.
Amelia felt tears fall.
She typed:
WHY?
The answer took longer.
BECAUSE I TOLD HIM TO.
Amelia froze.
Richard stepped closer.
"What does that mean?"
Before Amelia could answer, the screen filled with a video.
A young Elena.
Perhaps eight years old.
She was sitting in a room.
Thomas stood beside her.
Amelia watched.
Thomas looked exhausted.
Elena was crying.
"Take her," the girl said.
Thomas shook his head.
"I can't."
"You have to."
"Elena."
"Take Amelia."
"Where?"
"Somewhere Samuel can't find her."
Thomas knelt.
"What about you?"
Elena wiped her eyes.
"I'll stay."
"No."
"If I go, he'll know."
Thomas looked devastated.
Elena continued:
"He thinks I'm the key."
Thomas shook his head.
"You're just a child."
Elena looked at him.
"So is she."
Thomas said nothing.
"Promise me."
"What?"
"Promise you'll make her a normal girl."
Thomas closed his eyes.
"I promise."
The video ended.
Amelia couldn't speak.
Sarah was crying silently.
Richard stared at the screen.
"How old was Elena?"
"Eight."
"And Amelia?"
"Four."
Amelia looked at Sarah.
"So my father didn't abandon Elena."
"No."
"He chose to save me."
"Yes."
"And Elena sacrificed herself."
Sarah nodded.
"Yes."
Amelia looked at the monitor.
Elena was gone.
A new message appeared.
YOU HAVE 90 SECONDS.
Richard checked the door.
"Everyone out."
Amelia shook her head.
"We need the files."
"I can copy them."
"How long?"
"Too long."
Sarah suddenly pointed at the computer.
"Not everything."
"What?"
"The archive has a transfer function."
Richard searched the controls.
"There."
He activated it.
A progress bar appeared.
DOWNLOADING PRIMARY EVIDENCE
3%
4%
Outside, footsteps approached.
Fast.
Heavy.
Multiple people.
Richard looked at Amelia.
"They're here."
18%
Sarah grabbed Amelia's hand.
"We need to go."
Amelia stared at the screen.
31%
"No."
"Amelia."
"I need Elena."
"We'll find her."
"How?"
Sarah looked at her.
"She left us a clue."
"What clue?"
Sarah pointed.
The clock.
3:17
"The same time."
Amelia suddenly understood.
"The clock isn't a time."
"What?"
"It's a location."
Richard looked at her.
"How?"
"Project Seventeen."
She remembered the symbol.
The number.
The lines.
The coordinates hidden in the dog tag.
"The three lines."
"What about them?"
"Three seventeen."
"Three degrees?"
"Seventeen."
Richard's eyes widened.
"Coordinates."
Amelia nodded.
"Exactly."
The progress bar reached:
67%
The steel door shook.
Someone shouted from the corridor.
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
Richard raised his weapon.
72%
Sarah whispered:
"Amelia..."
She turned.
Sarah was holding an old photograph.
A photograph of Elena.
But behind Elena was a familiar building.
A large stone house.
Amelia recognized it.
"My father's house."
Sarah shook her head.
"No."
Amelia looked closer.
"The house by the lake."
Sarah nodded.
"That's where Samuel kept Elena."
Amelia's eyes widened.
"But it's been abandoned for years."
"That's what we were supposed to believe."
The door shook again.
89%
Richard shouted:
"Almost!"
Amelia stared at the screen.
A final file appeared.
TRANSFER COMPLETE
She grabbed the drive.
Then—
The steel door exploded inward.
Men flooded the room.
Richard fired.
Sarah pulled Amelia behind the server racks.
Smoke filled the archive.
Someone shouted:
"GET THE GIRL!"
Amelia looked at her mother.
"Which girl?"
Sarah's eyes widened.
"Both."
A figure stepped through the smoke.
Not Edward.
Not Samuel.
A woman.
Military uniform.
Dark hair.
A scar across her cheek.
She raised her weapon.
Amelia recognized her from the monitor.
Elena.
Her sister.
Elena looked at Amelia.
For one impossible second, they simply stared at each other.
Then Elena lowered her weapon.
And whispered:
"Run."
Amelia froze.
"Elena?"
Elena grabbed her arm.
"We don't have time."
"Where's Daniel?"
Elena's expression changed.
"He came for me."
"Where is he?"
"He was captured."
"Is he alive?"
Elena looked at her.
"For now."
Richard joined them.
"How did you get here?"
Elena didn't answer.
She looked at Sarah.
"Mom."
Sarah broke down.
She reached for her daughter.
Elena hesitated.
Then stepped into her mother's arms.
The embrace lasted only seconds.
Then Elena pulled away.
"We have to leave."
Amelia stared at her.
"Where?"
Elena looked toward the ceiling.
"They know about the house."
"What house?"
"The house where Samuel kept me."
Amelia understood.
"The lake."
Elena nodded.
"That's where Daniel is."
A distant explosion shook the building.
Elena looked at Amelia.
"And if we don't reach him before sunrise..."
She swallowed.
"...you'll never learn why he really disappeared."
Amelia gripped the stolen drive.
"Then let's go."
They ran into the darkness together.
For the first time in twenty-nine years, the two sisters were no longer separated.
But neither of them knew that someone was waiting for them at the lake.
Someone who had been watching Amelia since the day she was born.
Someone who knew the truth about 3:17.
Someone who had just received a message:
THE SISTERS ARE TOGETHER.
The reply came immediately.
May you like
GOOD.
BRING THEM BOTH HOME.
