Chapter 8 - The Man Who Stole My Daughter
I took her.
Three words.
Written in my handwriting.
I stared at the note.
My hands became numb.
"No."
The word escaped my mouth before I even realized I said it.
Claire looked at me.
"What?"
I couldn't answer.
Because I knew that handwriting.
The shape of the letters.
The pressure of the pen.
The way the "t" crossed slightly higher than the other letters.
It was mine.
But I didn't write it.
I looked around the cabin.
Everyone was searching.
Everyone except me.
Because my mind was stuck on one impossible question.
How could someone write a message using my handwriting?
Ethan grabbed the note from my hand.
He read it.
His face changed.
"Daniel..."
"Tell me."
He looked at me.
"This was not written recently."
"What?"
Ethan turned the paper over.
"Look."
There was a small mark in the corner.
A date.
My blood ran cold.
Because the date was from three years ago.
Before Lily was born.
Before Claire disappeared.
Before any of this happened.
"That doesn't make sense."
Ethan looked serious.
"Nothing about this does."
Claire stepped closer.
"Where is Lily?"
Nobody answered.
That was the only question that mattered.
Not Genesis.
Not Victor.
Not my brother.
Not the company.
My daughter was gone.
And I was the only person who should have been protecting her.
I turned toward Alexander.
"You were watching her."
His expression changed.
"Daniel—"
"You were the closest person to her when it happened."
"I was looking for the person who took her."
"Then why didn't you see anything?"
He looked away.
That was enough.
My anger exploded.
"Everyone knew."
My voice shook.
"Everyone had information except me."
Claire reached for my arm.
"Daniel, listen."
I pulled away.
"No."
The pain in her face was obvious.
But I couldn't stop.
Not now.
"I spent months thinking you abandoned us."
She looked down.
"I know."
"I thought you chose to leave."
"I didn't."
"I thought I wasn't enough."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Daniel..."
"And now I find out everyone was lying to me."
The cabin went silent.
Nobody defended themselves.
Because nobody could.
The truth was worse than any excuse.
A sound interrupted us.
A phone ringing.
Not mine.
Not Ethan's.
Not Adrian's.
The phone from the empty seat.
The one that had received the message.
Everyone turned.
Victor walked toward it slowly.
"Don't."
Adrian's voice stopped him.
Victor looked back.
"What?"
"Nobody touches anything."
Victor stared at him.
"You still think you're in control?"
Adrian didn't answer.
He picked up the phone using a cloth from his pocket.
The screen lit up.
One new message.
He read it.
Then his face changed.
"What?"
I stepped closer.
"What does it say?"
Adrian looked at me.
"It's from the system."
I froze.
"The Genesis system?"
He nodded.
The phone made another sound.
A video file appeared.
No sender.
No title.
Just one word.
Father.
My stomach tightened.
"Play it."
Claire immediately said:
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
She looked terrified.
"Daniel, don't."
"Why?"
She didn't answer.
"Why, Claire?"
Her voice dropped.
"Because if it's what I think it is..."
She looked at Lily's empty blanket.
"It means we were too late."
I grabbed the phone.
Before anyone could stop me, I pressed play.
The screen showed a dark room.
A camera.
A table.
And then...
Me.
I stopped breathing.
It was my face.
My voice.
But older.
Different.
Tired.
Broken.
The man in the video looked directly at the camera.
"Daniel."
My knees almost gave out.
It was the same voice from before.
My future self.
"If you are watching this, then they took Lily."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The recording continued.
"I know you won't believe what I'm about to tell you."
The older version of me looked exhausted.
"But you need to understand something."
He leaned closer.
"Lily was never the key."
My heart stopped.
"She was the lock."
The video glitched.
Everyone watched silently.
My future self continued.
"The system wasn't built to control humanity."
A pause.
"It was built to protect humanity from what I created."
I felt confused.
What I created?
I had never created anything like that.
The video continued.
"Victor will tell you he betrayed you."
The screen flickered.
"Claire will tell you she protected you."
Another flicker.
"Alexander will tell you he tried to fix his mistake."
The names appeared one by one.
Then my future self looked directly into the camera.
"But the person you need to fear..."
The video distorted.
The face disappeared.
Only the voice remained.
"Is the person who knows you better than you know yourself."
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then Ethan whispered:
"Daniel..."
I looked at him.
"What?"
He pointed at the screen.
The video had stopped.
But one final frame remained.
A reflection.
In the glass behind my future self.
Someone standing behind him.
Watching.
A woman.
Claire moved closer.
Her face went pale.
"No..."
I looked at her.
"You know her?"
Claire couldn't speak.
Alexander stepped forward.
"Claire."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Who is she?"
Claire looked at the frozen image.
Her lips trembled.
"That's impossible."
"Who?"
She finally whispered.
"That's Lily's mother."
The world stopped.
I stared at Claire.
"What?"
Claire looked at me.
"I never gave birth to Lily."
My entire body went cold.
"What did you just say?"
Tears filled her eyes.
"Daniel..."
She looked at the image again.
"She did."
I couldn't understand.
No.
I refused to understand.
"Who is she?"
Claire closed her eyes.
"Her name is Emma."
The name meant nothing.
But then Victor stepped closer.
And for the first time since I met him...
Victor looked afraid.
"Daniel."
I turned.
"What?"
His voice was barely audible.
"You need to know the truth."
I waited.
Victor looked at Claire.
Then at the phone.
Then at me.
"Emma wasn't Lily's mother."
A pause.
"She was yours."
Nobody moved.
The cabin became silent.
Because the impossible truth was standing in front of me.
And then the phone in Ethan's hand received one final message.
A picture appeared.
A woman holding a newborn baby.
May you like
Under the image were four words.
She remembers everything now.
