Chapter 11 - The Woman Who Had My Face
The room stopped.
Nobody looked at Adrian anymore.
Nobody looked at the doctors.
Everyone looked at her.
The woman standing in the doorway.
My face.
My eyes.
My voice.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe.
Because I wasn't looking at a stranger.
I was looking at myself.
She slowly stepped inside.
The doctors didn't notice anything unusual.
To them, she was just another woman entering the room.
But to us...
She was impossible.
Adrian stared at her.
His hand was still connected to the monitors.
His heartbeat was unstable.
But he didn't care.
"Emma..."
The woman said my name.
I stepped backward.
"No."
My voice shook.
"No, that's not possible."
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
And that was the worst part.
She didn't look like an enemy.
She looked like someone who had been waiting a long time to see me.
"I know how this looks."
I laughed quietly.
A broken sound.
"You have my face."
She nodded.
"I know."
"Who are you?"
She took a breath.
"My name is Emily Carter."
The room went silent.
My heart stopped.
Carter.
My last name.
I looked at Adrian.
Then back at her.
"No."
Emily stepped closer.
"I'm your sister."
The words didn't make sense.
I felt like the entire world had shifted.
"I don't have a sister."
She looked down.
"Because they made sure you didn't."
Nobody moved.
Victoria looked terrified.
Julian looked shocked.
But Clara...
Clara looked like she already knew.
I turned toward her.
"You knew."
Clara didn't deny it.
"Yes."
My anger rose.
"You all knew."
Nobody answered.
I looked at Adrian.
"You knew?"
His expression broke.
"No."
His voice was weak.
"I didn't."
Emily looked at him.
"That's because they hid me from everyone."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
She looked at Victoria.
The answer was immediate.
Victoria closed her eyes.
"Because your father wanted it hidden."
I froze.
"My father?"
Emily nodded.
"Our father."
The room became heavier.
I couldn't process anything.
A sister.
A hidden family.
Missing memories.
A fake identity.
It was too much.
"Why don't I remember you?"
Emily looked at me sadly.
"Because you asked them to erase me."
The words cut deeper than anything.
"What?"
She reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small photograph.
She handed it to me.
My fingers trembled.
It was old.
A picture of two young girls.
Standing together.
One was me.
The other was her.
On the back of the photo were words written in handwriting I recognized.
Mine.
Protect her. Even if I forget.
I stared at it.
A memory exploded.
A little girl crying.
A basement.
A locked door.
My younger self holding someone's hand.
My voice whispering:
"Don't let them find you."
I dropped the photo.
Emily caught it.
"You remember."
I covered my mouth.
"I..."
The memories came back in pieces.
Not like a movie.
Like broken glass.
My father.
Thomas.
The company.
The secrets.
Emily.
And the night everything changed.
"I thought you died."
Emily nodded.
"That's what they wanted you to believe."
I looked at Victoria.
"You knew."
Victoria looked away.
"I was trying to protect you both."
I almost laughed.
Everyone used the same words.
Protect.
Protect.
Protect.
But every protection had destroyed something.
"What happened to her?"
I asked.
Emily answered.
"Your father discovered that his own business partners were using Vale Global for something illegal."
Adrian listened carefully.
"He created evidence."
Emily continued.
"He knew they would come after him."
"Then why fake his death?"
Nobody answered.
Until Julian spoke.
"Because he didn't."
Everyone turned.
Julian looked at the floor.
"Thomas didn't die."
Adrian stared.
"We already know that."
Julian shook his head.
"No."
His face was pale.
"You don't understand."
He looked at me.
"The man everyone has been searching for..."
A pause.
"He was never hiding."
My stomach tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Julian looked toward the hallway.
"It means he has been watching all of us."
A cold silence filled the room.
Then the hospital lights flickered.
Everyone froze.
Not again.
Not another impossible moment.
Emily grabbed my arm.
"We need to leave."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
Her eyes filled with fear.
"Because if he knows I'm here..."
She stopped.
Adrian looked at her.
"Who?"
Emily didn't answer.
Then the elevator outside made a sound.
Ding.
Everyone turned.
Slow footsteps approached.
Not rushed.
Not afraid.
Like someone who knew they owned the place.
Victoria whispered:
"No."
Adrian looked at her.
"You know who that is."
Victoria didn't respond.
The footsteps stopped outside the door.
The handle moved.
Slowly.
Nobody breathed.
Then the door opened.
A man stood there.
Older.
Calm.
Wearing a dark suit.
The same face from the video.
The same face from the photograph.
Thomas Vale.
Alive.
He looked directly at Adrian.
Then at me.
Then at Emily.
And smiled.
"Finally."
His voice was quiet.
"You all found the truth."
Nobody moved.
Thomas stepped into the room.
May you like
And the first thing he said was:
"Emma, tell them what happened the night you killed me."
