MasukThe voice of a dead man had just called Ava by her childhood name.For one terrible second, nobody moved.Then Ethan drew his weapon.“Seal every exit.”Marcus was already moving.“On it.”Metal locks slammed into place throughout the underground level.Ava remained frozen beside the little girl.Her lips barely moved.“Dad…”The child looked up at her.“He isn't your daddy.”Ava's eyes snapped toward her.“What?”The girl shook her head.“The man upstairs isn't Daddy.”Ava stared at her.“But you said—”“He made me call him that.”The distinction struck harder than the voice itself.Ava crouched in front of the child.“Who made you?”The little girl looked toward the ceiling.“The man who comes when the lights go out.”Ava's stomach tightened.“What's his name?”The child hesitated.“He doesn't use one.”Ethan crouched beside Ava.“Then how do you know him?”“He told me names were dangerous.”Ethan exchanged a glance with Marcus.The child continued.“He said if anyone asked, I shoul
The cry came again.Ava knew it before anyone else did.Not Lily.Not Noah.Not Lucas.Not any child currently living in the mansion.It was the cry she had spent five years trying not to remember.The cry from the hospital.The cry that had followed the first three newborn cries into the darkness.The cry that had become the beginning of every nightmare she had never been able to explain.Ava turned toward the corridor.“That's her.”Ethan caught her hand.“Ava, wait.”“She was there.”“Who?”“The baby.”Her voice trembled.“The fourth baby.”Marcus raised his weapon.“Stay behind me.”“No.”Ava pulled free.“I've spent five years being told my memories were wrong.”She looked at Ethan.“I know what I heard.”Ethan studied her face.Then he nodded.“I'm coming with you.”She gave him a grateful look.“Together?”“Together.”They ran.The cry came from somewhere beneath the mansion.Not the basement.Lower.Marcus reached the end of the corridor and stopped.“There shouldn't be anothe
Ava knew her father's voice.That was what terrified her.Not the hidden room.Not the impossible records.Not the man who looked like Ethan standing beside a photograph that should never have existed.Her father's voice.The same deep, steady voice she remembered from childhood.The same voice that had once called her little star when thunderstorms frightened her.The same voice she had heard the night before his funeral.“Open the door, sweetheart.”Ava couldn't breathe.Ethan moved in front of her immediately.“No one opens that door.”The footsteps stopped.For several seconds, there was only silence.Then the voice came again.“You always were stubborn, Ava.”Ava's fingers tightened around Ethan's.“That isn't him.”Richard stared at the door.He looked older than he had moments ago.“Richard,” Ava whispered. “Who is that?”He didn't answer.“Richard.”His silence frightened her more than the voice.Ethan stepped toward him.“If you know who's outside, speak.”Richard looked at t
The doors slammed shut.The sound echoed through the basement like a verdict.Ethan didn't look at the locked doors.He looked at the man standing across from him.Subject C.The supposed dead child.The boy from the photograph.The man who looked enough like Ethan to make every lie he'd ever been told feel deliberate.Ethan raised his weapon.“Who are you?”The man's smile disappeared.“I told you.”“No.”Ethan's voice hardened.“You told me what they wanted me to believe.”The man's eyes flickered.“That is the first intelligent thing you've said tonight.”Ava moved beside Ethan.“Ethan.”“I know.”He lowered the weapon slightly.“I'm not shooting anyone until I know what we're dealing with.”Sophia stared at Subject C.“You shouldn't be alive.”He looked at her.“Neither should you.”Sophia went pale.Marcus immediately moved between them.“Everyone stays where they are.”Richard looked at Marcus.“You're alive.”Marcus gave him a cold smile.“Disappointed?”“I thought Alexander ha
Ava didn't step back because Elias Vale looked dangerous.She stepped back because he looked familiar.Not to her.To Ethan.The resemblance between the two men was close enough to make the room feel suddenly too small.Same dark eyes.Same strong jaw.Same straight nose.Even the slight tilt of the head when they studied a room.Ethan stared at him.“You're Elias Vale.”The man nodded.“Yes.”“The name on my original records.”“Yes.”“The man who was supposed to be me.”Elias smiled faintly.“Now you're getting somewhere.”Ethan's weapon remained raised.“Then explain the part where you were supposed to be Ava's husband.”Ava turned sharply.“What?”Elias looked at her.“That part is true.”Ethan's expression hardened.“Start talking.”Elias took another step.Richard immediately raised his weapon.“Don't.”Elias glanced at him.“Still pretending you saved everyone?”Richard's voice was cold.“Still pretending you were innocent?”The tension between them was immediate.Ethan stepped
The woman standing in the doorway had Ava's face.But she didn't have Ava's eyes.Ava's eyes carried warmth even when she was furious.This woman's carried calculation.She smiled as though she had just walked into a room where everyone else had finally caught up to a joke she had understood years ago.Ethan moved in front of Ava.The woman laughed softly.“Still protecting her.”“Stay where you are.”“You always say that.”Ava stared at the stranger.“Who are you?”The woman tilted her head.“You really don't remember me?”“No.”“Of course you don't.”Her smile disappeared.“They made sure of that.”Mira stepped backward.“A-02.”The woman looked at her.“Don't call me that.”“What should I call you?”“Leah.”Ava's face tightened.“Leah.”The woman nodded.“That's the name I was given after they decided Ava Reed was more useful than I was.”Ethan's eyes narrowed.“You're claiming you were supposed to be Ava?”“I was born before her.”Ava shook her head.“No.”Leah smiled sadly.“That







