Chapter 21: The Name That Changed Everything

“Damien.”

The name echoed through the phone.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

Ava felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath her feet.

She slowly turned toward Damien.

“No.”

The word left her lips before she could stop it.

Damien looked just as shocked as everyone else.

“What?”

Ethan stared at the phone.

“Lucas.”

His voice was cold.

“Say that again.”

Lucas coughed heavily.

“The Founder…”

Another cough interrupted him.

“…is Damien.”

Silence.

Then Damien laughed.

Not because it was funny.

Because it was impossible.

“This is insane.”

Ava wanted to believe him.

She desperately wanted to believe him.

After everything they had been through, Damien had saved her life more than once.

He had stood against Richard.

He had helped them find the vault.

He had nearly been shot protecting Ethan.

None of it made sense.

“It can’t be him,” Ava whispered.

Richard suddenly spoke.

“No.”

Everyone looked at him.

Richard’s face was pale.

For the first time, he looked genuinely disturbed.

“It isn’t Damien.”

Relief washed over Ava.

But only for a second.

Because Richard didn’t look relieved.

He looked terrified.

Ethan noticed too.

“Then why are you scared?”

Richard slowly looked toward Damien.

“Because if Lucas said Damien’s name…”

His voice dropped.

“…then someone wants Damien dead.”

The words hung heavily in the air.

Damien frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

Richard ignored him.

Instead, he turned toward Ethan.

“Where is Lucas?”

Ethan immediately understood.

His face lost color.

“The hospital.”

Richard cursed.

Ava had never heard him curse before.

“Then we’re too late.”

Ethan pulled out his phone.

Lucas wasn’t answering.

He called again.

Nothing.

A third time.

Still nothing.

A cold feeling settled in Ava’s stomach.

“What’s happening?”

Ethan lowered the phone.

“Lucas is gone.”

Several miles away…

A hospital room stood empty.

The heart monitor was silent.

The bed was abandoned.

Only one thing remained.

A single piece of paper.

Three words written across it.

Wrong Damien.

Back on the street, Ava stared at everyone around her.

“Wrong Damien?”

Richard nodded slowly.

“There are two Damiens.”

Ava blinked.

“What?”

“No.”

Ethan looked confused.

“What are you talking about?”

Richard closed his eyes.

For a moment, he looked twenty years older.

Then he finally spoke.

“The Founder has used the same trick for years.”

“What trick?” Ava asked.

“Identity replacement.”

Nobody understood.

Except Adrian.

His face suddenly changed.

“Oh my God.”

Ethan looked at his brother.

“What?”

Adrian stared at Richard.

“You knew.”

Richard looked away.

“You knew all along.”

Ava stepped forward.

“Somebody tell me what’s happening.”

Adrian swallowed hard.

“The Founder doesn’t steal money.”

“The Founder steals identities.”

The night became eerily quiet.

Ava’s heart pounded.

“What does that mean?”

Adrian looked directly at her.

“It means people disappear.”

“Then someone else takes their place.”

A chill ran down her spine.

“No.”

Adrian nodded.

“Yes.”

“That’s impossible.”

“It’s exactly how he survived for so long.”

Ethan’s expression hardened.

“The plane crash.”

Adrian nodded.

“The funeral.”

Another nod.

“The fake deaths.”

“Yes.”

Everything suddenly connected.

The fake coffin.

The false identities.

The missing records.

The hidden twins.

The lies.

Ava felt sick.

Someone had been replacing people for years.

Then a terrible thought entered her mind.

She slowly turned toward her father.

The father who had supposedly died three years ago.

The father who had suddenly returned.

The father she barely recognized anymore.

Her blood ran cold.

“Dad…”

He looked at her.

Ava’s voice trembled.

“Are you really my father?”

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Nobody moved.

Nobody even breathed.

Then, very slowly…

Her father smiled.

And Ava knew.

The answer was going to change everything.