Chapter 9 - The Child Who Was Erased
The envelope was in my hand.
My name was written across the front.
Daniel.
And beneath it...
"Your child is not the only survivor."
I stared at those words.
The hallway around me disappeared.
I didn't hear the alarms.
I didn't hear the nurses running.
I didn't hear Richard telling me to put it down.
All I saw was that sentence.
The baby.
My child.
Not the only survivor.
"What does that mean?"
My voice was barely audible.
Richard looked at me.
His face was full of regret.
"It means Emily wasn't the only person they tried to erase."
I looked at him.
"Who else?"
He didn't answer.
I hated that.
Everyone had answers.
Everyone had secrets.
Everyone except me.
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A hospital room.
A woman lying in a bed.
A newborn baby in her arms.
My fingers froze.
Because I recognized the woman.
My mother.
But the baby...
It wasn't me.
There were two babies.
Two small blankets.
Two hospital bracelets.
I looked closer.
One bracelet said:
Daniel Carter.
The other said:
Ethan Carter.
My heart stopped.
"Ethan?"
Richard nodded slowly.
"Your brother."
I stared at him.
"I don't have a brother."
Richard looked away.
"That's what they wanted you to believe."
My entire life shifted again.
Another secret.
Another person removed from my memory.
"Where is he?"
Richard didn't answer immediately.
That scared me.
"Where is my brother?"
"He survived."
I felt my breathing change.
"Survived what?"
Richard looked toward the elevator.
"The same thing your father tried to protect you from."
The alarm continued.
But now I understood.
Someone wasn't trying to scare me.
Someone was trying to stop me from learning the truth.
I ran toward the elevator.
Richard followed.
"Daniel, wait."
"No."
I pressed the button.
"I am done waiting."
The elevator doors opened.
Richard grabbed my arm.
"You need to understand something."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"Ethan was not taken by accident."
The elevator doors started closing.
I stopped them.
"What are you saying?"
Richard looked directly at me.
"He was chosen."
The doors closed.
I stood alone.
Going back upstairs.
Back to Emily.
Back to the people who had lied to me.
But now I had a different question.
Not who destroyed my marriage.
Not who killed my father.
Not who was behind everything.
I needed to know why someone had spent my entire life removing people from it.
When I reached the eighth floor, the hallway was chaos.
Security guards.
Doctors.
Nurses.
Everyone moving quickly.
I ran toward Emily's room.
The door was open.
My heart dropped.
The bed was empty.
"Emily?"
No answer.
I grabbed the nearest nurse.
"Where is she?"
The nurse looked terrified.
"She was moved."
"Moved where?"
"Protection unit."
"What?"
The nurse looked at the security guard behind her.
"He ordered it."
I turned.
"Who?"
The security guard hesitated.
Then answered:
"Michael Carter."
My anger returned instantly.
Of course.
Michael.
Again.
I ran.
I found him in a private room at the end of the hallway.
He was standing beside Emily.
She was awake.
But she looked scared.
The second she saw me, she reached out.
"Daniel."
I walked inside.
"What are you doing?"
Michael looked at me.
"Keeping her safe."
I laughed.
"You don't get to say that anymore."
He looked at the envelope in my hand.
His expression changed.
"Where did you get that?"
I stepped closer.
"Who is Ethan?"
Michael went completely still.
Emily closed her eyes.
She knew.
She knew that name.
"Answer me."
Michael looked at Emily.
Then at me.
"Who told you?"
I felt my anger explode.
"That is not an answer."
Michael sat down.
For the first time, he looked defeated.
"Ethan was your twin brother."
The room went silent.
Twin.
The word felt unreal.
"I had a twin?"
Michael nodded.
"You were both born twelve years ago."
I stared at him.
"That doesn't make sense."
"Because the records were changed."
My hands shook.
"Why?"
Michael looked at Emily.
"Because someone wanted one child."
I frowned.
"What?"
"One heir."
The room became cold.
"Someone wanted Carter Holdings."
Michael continued.
"They believed your family needed a single successor."
I looked at Emily.
She whispered:
"They took Ethan."
My heart broke.
"What happened to him?"
Nobody answered.
Then Michael said:
"We thought he died."
I looked at him.
"We?"
Michael's eyes filled with guilt.
"Your father and I."
I stepped back.
"You knew."
"Daniel..."
"You knew I had a brother."
Michael looked down.
"Yes."
"And you never told me."
"I was trying to protect you."
I almost smiled.
A painful smile.
"There it is again."
The same excuse.
The same lie.
Michael stood.
"You don't understand what happened."
"Then make me understand."
He took a deep breath.
"Your mother found out Ethan was alive."
I froze.
"What?"
"She tried to get him back."
Emily looked at me.
"But she failed."
I looked between them.
"Where is he now?"
Michael didn't answer.
That silence was worse.
"Where is my brother?"
Michael finally spoke.
"He works for them."
My blood ran cold.
"What?"
"He doesn't know who he really is."
I stared.
"No."
Michael nodded.
"They raised him."
"Who?"
Michael looked at the security camera in the corner.
Then lowered his voice.
"The same people who have been watching Emily."
The room fell silent.
A notification sound suddenly came from my phone.
Unknown number.
One message.
I opened it.
A picture appeared.
A young man standing outside the hospital.
Same age as me.
Same eyes.
Same face shape.
My hands started shaking.
Under the picture were three words.
"Meet your brother."
I looked at Michael.
He looked terrified.
Then another message appeared.
This time it wasn't a picture.
It was a video.
I pressed play.
A man appeared on screen.
The young man from the photo.
He looked directly into the camera.
And then he said:
"Daniel Carter..."
He paused.
His expression changed.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Recognition.
"You don't know me."
The video glitched.
Then he whispered:
"But I know you."
The screen went black.
A final message appeared.
A location.
And one sentence.
"He is waiting where your father died."
I looked at the address.
My father's accident location.
The place everyone told me was just a tragic road.
Michael grabbed my shoulder.
"Daniel, don't go there."
I looked at him.
"Why?"
His face turned pale.
"Because Ethan won't be alone."
My phone vibrated again.
Another message.
Another name.
May you like
The name of the person standing beside Ethan in the video...
The person who had been controlling everything from the beginning.
