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Chapter 4: The Mother

Author: Finn
last update Petsa ng paglalathala: 2026-03-08 18:06:30

"Which mother?"

The question hung in steam and blood.

Lin lowered her cane. Slow. Calculated. "Don't, Yan. Don't read another word."

I held the notebook behind my back. Pages pressed to wet tile. "You said I killed her. Ten years ago. The principal. You said you watched me do it."

"I lied."

"Why?"

"Because—" Her voice cracked. First real crack. "Because you were leaving. College. Scholarship. Three thousand miles away. You would have forgotten me."

The small man laughed. Wet. Bubbling. Burns on his face wept clear fluid. "She's good. The best I ever saw. Made you believe you were the monster. Classic transference."

"Who are you?" I asked.

He touched his throat. Bandages loose. "Wang Tao. The real one. The one who died in the car accident." He smiled. "Surprise."

Lin didn't look surprised. "You should be in the ground."

"I was. For six hours. Then I climbed out. Dug through dirt with broken fingers." He held up his hands. Nails black. Missing. "Your father's work. He taught me how to survive. Before he taught you."

My father. The surgeon. The ghost.

"Read the notebook," Wang Tao said. "Last page. The truth she never wanted you to know."

I looked at Lin. She shook her head. Gray eyes wet. Pleading. "Please. I'm begging you. For the first time. The only time."

I opened the book.

Last page. Not braille. Normal writing. Shaky. Different hand than the first page.

*"Yan—*

*If you find this, I'm dead. Or she's dead. Or we're both someone else.*

*You didn't kill Principal Zhou. I did. I found her hurting another girl. Same as she hurt me. I hit her with the trophy. You walked in after. Saw the blood. Froze.*

*I made you believe it was you. Easier. Cleaner. You were already broken. Already mine.*

*But there's more. You're not my twin. You're hers. Principal Zhou's. She stole you from the hospital. Raised you as punishment. For me. For existing.*

*I saved you from her. Then I made you mine. I'm no better. I'm worse. Because I knew. I always knew.*

*Run. Don't look back. Don't become me.*

*—Lin"*

Silence.

Then Wang Tao: "Principal Zhou. Your mother. The woman you thought you murdered." He stepped closer. "She's alive. In a facility. Brain damage. Can't speak. Can't move. But alive."

I looked at Lin. "You told me she was dead."

"I told you what you needed to hear." She reached for me. "Come home. Let me explain. Let me—"

"Let you what?" My voice broke. "Fix me? Break me again?"

The window shattered.

Glass rained. Cold air. Rain.

A figure on the fire escape. Black coat. Gray hair.

Father.

He climbed in. Gun in hand. Not pointed at anyone. Just held. Heavy.

"Enough," he said. "The notebook. Now."

I held it out.

He took it. Flipped to the first page. The one in Lin's writing. Then the last. Different hand.

"Two notebooks," he said. "Bound together. Her therapy notes. And her confession." He looked at Lin. "You were my patient first. Before they were born. You know that."

Lin nodded. "You tried to cure me."

"I failed." He opened the gun's chamber. Empty. Clicked it shut. "You're not sick, Lin. You're just. First. The original. And originals don't like copies."

He looked at me.

"She's not your sister. Not genetically. But she raised you. Fed you. Made you into her mirror. That's a kind of motherhood too."

Wang Tao moved. Fast for a burned man. Grabbed the gun. Twisted.

It went off.

Not a bullet. A sound. Loud. Sharp.

Alarm.

The door burst open.

Police. Three. Four. Guns real. Raised.

"Freeze!"

But everyone was already frozen.

Everyone except Lin.

She walked to the window. Rain on her face. Eyes closed. Smiling.

"Finally," she said. "An ending."

She stepped out.

I lunged.

Caught her wrist. One hand. Slipping.

"Let go," she said. "It's better. I'm tired, Yan. Tired of seeing. Tired of being seen."

"Then close your eyes." I pulled. Hard. "Be blind again. But stay."

She looked at me. Really looked.

"You read the notebook. You know what I am."

"I know what you did." I pulled harder. Her feet scraped the ledge. "I don't know why. Not yet. But I will. If you stay."

Silence.

Then she laughed. Small. Broken. "You always were the strong one. I just made you think otherwise."

She let me pull her in.

We collapsed on glass. On rain. On blood.

Police everywhere. Voices loud. Confusing.

But I heard my father, last thing, before they took him:

"The facility. Principal Zhou. Ask her about the other baby. The one Lin didn't mention."

Other baby.

Third twin.

Or something worse.

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