Chapter 9: The Man Behind the Door
Mom's hand slipped from mine.
I stared at her.
“Is that true?””
She didn't answer.
“Mom.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I wanted to tell you.””
“But you didn't.””
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
“Of losing you.””
Dad's voice echoed from the basement.
“She's been afraid of the wrong person.””
Daniel pressed one finger to his lips.
Then he pointed toward the passage.
We moved deeper into the hidden corridor.
It opened into a small room.
There was a desk.
A chair.
And an old tape recorder.
Daniel closed the door behind us.
I stared at Mom.
“Tell me.””
She sat down.
“Your father put you in witness protection.””
“Why?””
“Because he betrayed the organization.””
“And you?””
“I followed you.””
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because Ethan made me promise.””
I laughed bitterly.
“He made you promise?””
“He told me if you ever learned what happened, they'd find you.””
Daniel leaned against the wall.
“Ethan wasn't lying about that.””
I looked at him.
“So Dad really was protecting me?””
“Yes.””
“But he attacked you.””
Mom's eyes lowered.
“That wasn't part of the plan.””
“What plan?””
She didn't answer.
Daniel did.
“Your father needed the organization to believe he was still loyal.””
I shook my head.
“By beating Mom?””
“He went too far.””
Mom whispered, “He always went too far.””
I looked at the tape recorder.
“What is that?””
Daniel walked toward it.
A label was attached.
*FOR EMILY. AGE 18.*
My heart stopped.
“I'm eighteen?””
Mom nodded.
“Tomorrow.””
I stared at her.
“Tomorrow is my birthday?””
“Yes.””
The room suddenly felt colder.
Daniel pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Dad's voice.
Younger.
Calmer.
“Emily, if you're hearing this, you're eighteen.””
I looked at Mom.
She was crying.
Dad continued.
“I promised your mother I'd never tell you the truth unless the organization found us.””
A pause.
“They have.””
My throat tightened.
“First, I need you to know something.””
His voice cracked.
“I never stopped loving you.””
I closed my eyes.
The man who had hit me.
The man who had carried me to bed when I was sick.
The man who had taught me to drive.
All of him existed in my head at once.
Dad continued.
“The night you were born, Rebecca discovered the organization had identified a storage method they couldn't control.””
Static.
“They called it Project Seventeen.””
Daniel stared at the recorder.
“They wanted to encode their master ledger into a living biological carrier.””
My heart raced.
Dad continued.
“They chose a child who had no connection to the organization.””
Me.
“Your mother was pregnant with you.””
Mom covered her face.
“They planned to take you after birth.””
The recording crackled.
“I couldn't let them.””
I looked at Mom.
“So Dad stole me from the hospital.””
“Yes.””
“He saved me.””
“Yes.””
“Then why did we run?””
“Because they found out.””
The recording continued.
“Rebecca helped us escape.””
Dad's voice became quieter.
“She told me the only way to protect Emily was to make everyone believe she was dead.””
I stopped breathing.
“What?””
Mom looked at me.
“Your father told them you died.””
The tape continued.
“Sarah took Emily into witness protection.””
I stared at the floor.
“But the organization kept searching.””
Dad paused.
“So I stayed behind.””
Mom whispered, “He became their man again.””
Daniel nodded.
“He infiltrated them.””
I looked up.
“For fifteen years?””
“Yes.””
The tape continued.
“I had to become someone you would hate.””
My eyes filled with tears.
Dad's voice shook.
“I knew someday Emily might see me as a monster.””
He breathed out.
“But if hating me kept her alive, I accepted it.””
I covered my mouth.
Mom began sobbing.
The recording continued.
“There is one thing I never told Sarah.””
Daniel looked at Mom.
The tape crackled.
“Rebecca didn't hide the ledger.””
A long silence.
“She destroyed it.””
Daniel's face changed.
“What?””
Dad continued.
“She destroyed the paper records and kept one copy.””
My heart raced.
“Where?””
Dad answered.
“Inside Emily.””
Mom whispered, “No.””
Dad continued.
“The seventeenth key isn't information stored in her DNA.””
Daniel leaned closer.
“Then what is it?””
Dad's voice became barely audible.
“It's a memory.””
I frowned.
“A memory?””
“The organization believed the key was hidden biologically.””
He paused.
“They were wrong.””
My pulse hammered.
“The key was hidden psychologically.””
Daniel stared at the recorder.
“Trauma.””
Dad continued.
“Rebecca discovered that Emily witnessed something the night she was born.””
Mom's eyes widened.
“No.””
“What did I see?”” I whispered.
The tape answered.
“You saw the person who ordered the entire operation.””
My blood went cold.
I looked at Mom.
“Who?””
The tape crackled.
Then Dad said a name.
“Sarah.””
Mom froze.
I stared at her.
“No.””
Dad's voice continued.
“Emily saw your mother hand the ledger to Rebecca.””
Mom shook her head violently.
“That isn't true.””
The tape played on.
“She was three minutes old.””
Daniel looked confused.
“How could she remember?””
Dad answered.
“She couldn't.””
A pause.
“But Rebecca found a way to make sure she would.””
The recording stopped.
I stared at the machine.
“What does that mean?””
Mom didn't answer.
Then a loud bang shook the hidden room.
Someone had found the passage.
Daniel raised his gun.
Dad's voice came from the other side of the door.
“Emily.””
I stepped backward.
“Dad?””
“Open the door.””
Daniel shouted, “Ethan, drop your weapon!””
Dad answered calmly.
“I don't have one.””
Silence.
Then:
“I came alone.””
Mom whispered, “Don't open it.””
Dad said, “Sarah, you know why I'm here.””
She closed her eyes.
“I know.””
He continued.
“They found Rebecca.””
My heart stopped.
“Is she alive?”” I shouted.
Dad answered.
“Yes.””
Daniel looked at me.
May you like
Dad's next words made the entire room go silent.
“And she's not the person you think she is.””
