CHAPTER 10 — THE SISTER WHO WAS ERASED
The words stayed on the screen.
They repeated in Ethan’s mind.
Over and over.
“I’m your sister.”
For twelve years, Ethan believed he was an only child.
One mother.
One father.
One simple family.
Now, in a single night…
Everything he knew had been destroyed.
His father was alive.
His grandmother was alive.
His stepfather was a criminal.
And now…
A girl he had never met was telling him she shared his blood.
The television screen flickered.
Amelia looked directly into the camera.
She looked older than Ethan.
But there was something familiar about her.
The same eyes.
The same expression.
The same way she held herself.
Like someone who learned too young that trusting people was dangerous.
“Ethan.”
Her voice was calm.
But underneath it…
He could hear pain.
“I know this is difficult.”
Ethan stepped closer to the television.
“Who are you?”
Amelia looked down.
“My name is Amelia Blackwood.”
A pause.
“But that isn’t the name I was born with.”
Ethan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
She looked back at him.
“It means they erased me before they erased you.”
Claire moved toward the television.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Her face was pale.
“You can’t be here.”
Amelia looked at the screen.
“Hello, Claire.”
The way she said her name made Ethan notice something.
They knew each other.
“You knew her?”
Ethan turned toward his mother.
Claire didn’t answer.
“Mom.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“I knew her.”
Ethan felt betrayed again.
Another secret.
Another person who knew everything.
“Everyone knew.”
His voice cracked.
“Everyone knew except me.”
Claire reached for him.
“Ethan—”
“No.”
He stepped away.
“I’m tired of hearing that you were protecting me.”
His eyes moved around the room.
“Everyone says the same thing.”
A pause.
“But nobody ever asks what it feels like to be the only person living inside a lie.”
Nobody spoke.
Because Ethan was right.
For twelve years, adults had made decisions about his life.
They chose what he could know.
What he could remember.
What he could believe.
They called it protection.
But from Ethan’s perspective…
It was still a prison.
Amelia’s voice came through the television again.
“Ethan.”
He looked up.
“I know you’re angry.”
A pause.
“You should be.”
Everyone froze.
Because nobody expected her to say that.
Amelia continued:
“They made choices for us.”
A pause.
“Not because we were weak.”
“Because they were afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” Ethan asked.
Amelia looked directly at him.
“Of what we could become.”
The screen went black.
Then a video began playing.
A recording.
A laboratory.
A younger Daniel Parker.
Ethan immediately recognized him.
His father.
Daniel stood beside a woman.
A woman Ethan had never seen before.
Amelia’s mother.
Daniel looked exhausted.
Afraid.
But determined.
The recording began.
“If you are watching this, then Project Echo is no longer hidden.”
Daniel looked into the camera.
“I failed to stop them.”
He looked down.
“But I succeeded in protecting my children.”
Ethan froze.
Children.
Plural.
Daniel continued.
“Amelia was the first.”
The camera moved toward a young girl.
A child.
Maybe five years old.
Standing alone.
“They wanted to turn her into a tool.”
Daniel’s voice shook.
“They wanted her to become a living key.”
The recording changed.
A medical room.
Files.
Machines.
People in white coats.
Ethan looked away.
He couldn’t watch.
Because he finally understood.
Amelia wasn’t just another secret.
She was a victim.
Like him.
Daniel’s voice returned.
“When I discovered they planned to create another child…”
A pause.
“I tried to stop them.”
The screen showed Claire.
Pregnant.
Holding her stomach.
Ethan felt his chest tighten.
“But they had already decided.”
“The second child would be born.”
“The second key.”
The recording ended.
The room was silent.
Ethan looked at Claire.
“You knew.”
Claire started crying.
“Yes.”
“About Amelia?”
“Yes.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
His voice broke.
“And you still had me?”
Claire walked closer.
“I had you because I loved you.”
A pause.
“I had you because I refused to let them decide your life.”
Ethan looked back at the television.
“Amelia.”
The screen turned back on.
She was still there.
“Why are you helping me?”
Amelia looked at him.
“Because I know what it feels like.”
“What?”
“To grow up believing you were a mistake.”
Her voice softened.
“And I don’t want you to feel that way.”
For the first time…
Ethan didn’t see Amelia as a mystery.
He saw her as someone like him.
Someone who had spent her life carrying a burden she never chose.
Then Amelia said something that changed everything.
“Ethan.”
“Yes?”
“Your father isn’t hiding from Richard.”
Ethan froze.
“Then who?”
Amelia looked toward the camera.
“The Blackwood Council.”
Detective Carter immediately stepped forward.
“What is that?”
Amelia answered:
“The people who created Project Echo.”
Ethan frowned.
“But why would they want me?”
Amelia’s expression changed.
“Because you and I are not the only ones.”
Silence.
“What?”
“There were three children.”
Everyone froze.
Claire whispered:
“No…”
Amelia nodded.
“Yes.”
Ethan felt cold.
“Who was the third?”
Amelia looked away.
“We don’t know.”
“What do you mean?”
“The third child disappeared.”
A pause.
“And unlike me…”
She looked at Ethan.
“Unlike you…”
“They were never found.”
Suddenly, the mansion lights shut off.
Everyone moved.
Detective Carter pulled his weapon.
Someone had entered.
A shadow moved across the hallway.
Ethan grabbed the key.
The same key everyone wanted.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You should have listened to your father.”
Everyone froze.
Because the voice was familiar.
Richard.
Again.
But this time…
He wasn’t alone.
A second figure stepped forward.
A woman.
Older.
Elegant.
Powerful.
Ethan had never seen her before.
But Claire immediately recognized her.
Her face turned white.
“No…”
The woman smiled.
“Hello, Claire.”
A pause.
“I see you finally told him.”
Ethan looked between them.
“Who is she?”
Claire whispered:
“The woman who started everything.”
The woman stepped into the light.
Her name was:
Victoria Blackwood.
The founder of the Blackwood Council.
The person who created Project Echo.
The person who controlled Richard.
The person who had been searching for Ethan since before he was born.
She looked at Ethan.
Not with hatred.
Not with anger.
With curiosity.
“You look exactly like your father.”
Ethan stared.
“What do you want?”
Victoria smiled.
“The same thing I wanted twelve years ago.”
A pause.
“The key.”
Ethan held it tighter.
“You mean me.”
Victoria shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone looked confused.
She pointed at the key.
“I mean what your father hid inside it.”
Ethan looked down.
The metal key.
The object everyone had been fighting over.
“What is it?”
Victoria smiled.
“Ask Amelia.”
Everyone turned.
Amelia looked terrified.
Because she knew.
She whispered:
“The key doesn’t open a vault.”
A pause.
“It opens a truth.”
Victoria took one step closer.
“And once Ethan opens it…”
Her smile disappeared.
“The entire world will discover what our families have been hiding for generations.”
A gunshot suddenly echoed.
The room exploded into chaos.
When the smoke cleared…
Victoria was gone.
Richard was gone.
And Ethan was holding the key.
But something had changed.
A small compartment had opened.
Inside was a tiny piece of paper.
Only one sentence was written:
“THE THIRD CHILD IS ALREADY WITH YOU.”
Ethan slowly looked around the room.
His mother.
His grandmother.
Detective Carter.
Amelia.
Everyone became silent.
Because everyone understood.
The missing third child…
Was not lost.
Was not dead.
May you like
Was not hidden somewhere.
The third child had been standing beside Ethan all along.
