Chapter 3

Evan Cooper!

My lazy, gambling-addicted cousin who'd vanished five years ago, drowning in debt.

Rage wiped out all reason.

"Evan Cooper! It's you! You piece of trash!"

I screamed his name and fought to get up and tear his throat out with my teeth.

Evan stumbled back and dropped to the floor, faking terror.

"Oh my God! He even knows my relatives' names! This is terrifying!"

Laura rushed to help him up. "Honey, are you okay? Hurry! Get him out!"

The guards twisted my arms behind my back and dragged me outside like a dead dog.

They threw me onto the muddy lawn.

Before the door shut, I saw Evan by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding my daughter and smiling in triumph.

***

Cold rain and mud soaked me through.

The neighbors pointed and whispered. Every word stung.

"He must be crazy. Professor Cooper's such a gentleman. How could they be related?"

"Look at his face. He looks like a ghost. So creepy."

I struggled to my feet, chilled to the bone.

Sirens wailed. Two police cars pulled up, lights flashing.

Evan stepped out in a tailored suit, holding an umbrella in one hand and wrapping his other arm around Laura.

He pointed at me, looking distraught. "Officer, that's him."

"He's Calvin's cousin, but he says he's my husband," Laura added. "I think he has mental health issues. He barged in, attacked us, broke things, and scared my kids."

She pressed against Evan, sobbing, playing the frightened wife perfectly.

Two officers approached, one young, one older.

The younger one eyed my muddy clothes and disfigured face with disgust and suspicion.

"You're coming with us."

Cold cuffs clicked around my wrists. My heart sank.

"No! I'm Calvin Cooper! He's the fake!" I shouted with what strength I had left.

"I'm a scientist with the Federal Defense Research Agency! You have no right to arrest me!"

Evan sighed, playing the good guy. "Please, officers, go easy on him. We'd like to get him the best medical care possible."

The neighbors nodded.

"Professor Cooper's such a kind man."

"Poor guy, having to deal with this."

The officers shoved me into the back of a police car.

Through the window, I watched Evan and Laura keep up their act while Robert and Helen glared at me with contempt.

Lily peeked out from behind Evan, her eyes full of fear as she met mine.

In the interrogation room, a harsh light made me squint.

"Name, age, ID number," the younger officer, Danny Reed, said flatly.

"Calvin Cooper. Thirty-five. My ID number is..." I recited it.

Officer Reed typed it in and hit Enter.

Evan's surgically altered face appeared on the screen.

Officer Reed frowned. "That doesn't look much like you."

"It's fake! He stole my identity! Someone changed the records!" I slammed my hands on the table. "Check my fingerprints! Test my DNA!"

"Settle down!" Officer Reed snapped.

The older officer, Frank Miller, finally looked up.

His cloudy eyes narrowed as he studied my face, then the photo.

"You say someone changed the records. What proof do you have?"

I stared at him. "My identity is top secret. You don't have clearance to access my full file."