CHAPTER 8 The Twin No One Knew
The vault fell into stunned silence.
Elena looked from Michael to the man on the screen.
Then back again.
They were identical.
Same face.
Same eyes.
Same voice.
The only difference...
The man on the screen wore a black suit and a cold smile.
Lily whispered, "Mom... are there two of them?"
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
The man on the screen chuckled.
"I've waited a long time for this moment."
Michael's jaw tightened.
"You shouldn't be here."
"Oh, but I belong here."
The stranger tilted his head.
"After all..."
"...I was born here."
Richard stared at the screen in disbelief.
"Who are you?"
The man's smile widened.
"You really don't recognize your own son?"
Richard shook his head.
"No."
"You won't."
"Because I'm not the one you raised."
Daniel stepped closer to Michael.
"Start talking."
Michael kept his eyes fixed on the screen.
"When they took me after the fire..."
"I wasn't alone."
Elena frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Michael took a slow breath.
"They had another child."
Silence.
"A boy the same age as me."
"They raised us together."
Frank's face drained of color.
"My God..."
"The rumors were true."
Richard looked at Frank.
"You knew?"
"Only whispers."
Frank swallowed hard.
"Years ago, I heard the words 'genetic matching' during one of Victor's phone calls."
"I thought it was nonsense."
Michael shook his head.
"It wasn't."
The man on the screen smiled.
"They called us Brothers."
"They called us Assets."
"But eventually..."
"They gave us names."
He leaned closer.
"I'm Adam."
"And Michael..."
"...was always supposed to replace me."
Elena's heart pounded.
"So you're not twins?"
Michael answered.
"No."
"We're something much worse."
The countdown continued.
26:41
Daniel looked toward the sealed vault door.
"We can figure this out later."
"We need to get out."
Frank examined the control panel.
"There has to be another exit."
Michael nodded.
"There is."
Everyone looked at him.
"Where?"
"Beneath the archive room."
Victor watched through hidden cameras.
"So..."
"He remembers."
Victor smiled.
"Good."
He picked up the satellite phone again.
This time someone answered immediately.
"Status?"
Victor replied calmly.
"They found Subject Zero."
"And Subject One?"
Victor looked toward the monitor showing Adam.
"He revealed himself."
A pause.
Then the voice said,
"Proceed to Extraction."
Victor frowned.
"What about the family?"
"They're no longer your concern."
The call ended.
Victor slowly lowered the phone.
For the second time that night...
He realized he wasn't in control.
Inside the vault...
Michael led everyone toward the archive shelves.
He stopped beside a massive steel cabinet.
"Help me."
Richard and Daniel pushed together.
The cabinet slowly rolled aside.
Behind it...
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
Frank smiled.
"I knew there had to be another tunnel."
Michael looked serious.
"It isn't a tunnel."
"It's a laboratory."
Elena froze.
"A laboratory?"
Michael nodded.
"The place where Phoenix began."
Richard's expression hardened.
"I destroyed it."
Michael looked at him.
"No."
"You destroyed the part they wanted you to find."
The group descended carefully.
The air grew colder.
Dust covered everything.
At the bottom of the stairs stood a pair of thick blast doors.
Unlike the rest of the estate...
These doors looked modern.
Electronic.
Untouched by time.
Michael pressed his hand against the scanner.
A green light flashed.
Identity confirmed.
Welcome, Subject Zero.
The doors slowly opened.
The laboratory stretched farther than anyone expected.
Glass walls.
Medical equipment.
Computer servers.
Cryogenic storage tanks.
Most were empty.
But not all.
Lily pointed toward one chamber.
"Mom..."
"Someone's in there."
Everyone turned.
Inside a frosted glass pod...
A person floated motionless.
Their face was hidden by condensation.
Daniel stepped closer.
The display beside the pod read:
STATUS: STASIS
PATIENT: E.B.
Elena frowned.
"E.B.?"
Richard's breathing became uneven.
"No..."
He wiped the glass with his sleeve.
The face inside slowly became visible.
Elena gasped.
It was her mother.
Young.
Exactly as she had looked twenty-two years earlier.
Not aged.
Not changed.
As though time had stopped.
Richard stumbled backward.
"Claire..."
Tears filled his eyes.
"I buried you."
At that same moment...
The countdown suddenly accelerated.
20:00
19:59
19:58
Frank looked at the monitor.
"It just skipped ten minutes!"
Michael's eyes widened.
"Adam."
"He changed the timer."
The laboratory speakers crackled to life.
Adam's voice echoed through the room.
"I've always hated waiting."
He smiled through the surveillance camera.
"So let's make this more interesting."
Every blast door behind them slammed shut.
Emergency lights turned crimson.
Then another voice interrupted.
It wasn't Adam.
It wasn't Victor.
It was an older woman.
Calm.
Commanding.
Cold.
"Enough games."
Everyone looked toward the nearest monitor.
A silver-haired woman appeared on the screen, seated in a dark office.
Even Adam's smile faded.
He lowered his head slightly.
"Director."
The woman ignored him.
Her eyes settled on Richard.
"So..."
"The Bennett family is finally together."
She folded her hands.
"How touching."
Richard whispered one name.
"Margaret..."
The woman smiled.
"Hello, Richard."
"I've spent twenty-two years waiting for you to come back."
The screen went black.
Michael slowly turned toward Richard.
"You know her."
Richard closed his eyes.
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
"I married her sister."
Elena felt the room spin.
"What?"
Richard looked at his daughter with tears in his eyes.
May you like
"Margaret..."
"...is your aunt."
