Chapter 9: The Choice No Father Should Make
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to wake up.
I wanted to go back ten minutes and live in the world where my biggest problem was a missing child hiding somewhere in the house.
But there were two of them.
Two boys standing in front of me.
Two faces I knew.
Two voices I loved.
And one impossible decision.
Lily started crying.
“No.””
She shook her head.
“No, no, no.””
I immediately moved toward her.
“Lily.””
She grabbed my hand.
“Dad, make it stop.””
I wanted to.
God, I wanted to.
The boy inside the hidden room stepped forward.
“I’m Noah.””
The boy behind me answered:
“No, you’re not.””
They stared at each other.
Neither looked scared.
That scared me most.
Children should be afraid of impossible things.
But these two looked like they had been waiting for this moment.
I looked at Vanessa.
“Tell me.””
She couldn’t.
“Vanessa.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I don’t know.””
Both boys looked at her.
The boy in the room laughed softly.
“You do.””
The other boy shook his head.
“She always says that when she’s scared.””
Vanessa covered her ears.
“Stop.””
I stepped between them.
“Enough.””
The room became silent.
I looked at both boys.
“I’m going to ask questions.””
They nodded.
I pointed at the boy near the door.
“You first.””
He looked at me.
“Okay.””
“What was the first thing we did after bringing you home from the hospital?””
He answered immediately.
“You fell asleep holding me because you were afraid to put me down.””
My eyes burned.
True.
I looked at the other boy.
He answered:
“And Mom woke up and found both of you on the couch.””
Vanessa gasped.
“That never happened.””
The boy smiled.
“Yes, it did.””
She shook her head.
“No.””
The boy’s smile disappeared.
“You forgot.””
The room went quiet.
I looked between them.
They both knew things.
Things only our family should know.
I tried another question.
“What was your favorite stuffed animal when you were four?””
The boy by the door answered.
“A brown bear named Captain.””
The boy in the room answered at the same time.
“You threw Captain away because his eye fell off.””
I froze.
Both answers were correct.
Lily whispered:
“How?””
Nobody answered.
Then the boy in the room looked at Vanessa.
“Tell him.””
Vanessa looked away.
The boy’s voice became colder.
“Tell him what you did.””
My eyes moved to her.
“What did you do?””
Vanessa shook her head.
“I was trying to fix it.””
“Fix what?””
She started crying.
“The experiment.””
The word hit the room like a weapon.
I stared at her.
“What experiment?””
She looked at the two boys.
Then at me.
“Before we moved here…”
She stopped.
“I worked for a company researching memory transfer.””
I felt sick.
“What?””
“They were trying to preserve memories.””
She looked down.
“They used children’s brain patterns.””
Lily stepped back.
“Mommy…”
Vanessa immediately looked at her.
“I never let them hurt you.””
“But Noah?””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“I thought I could undo it.””
The boy in the room whispered:
“You made a copy.””
Silence.
The other boy looked at him.
“You’re the copy.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
They stared at each other.
Then both looked at me.
Waiting.
Vanessa whispered:
“Marcus…”
I turned.
She was crying.
“You have to understand.””
“Understand what?””
Her voice broke.
“I don’t know which one is my son anymore.””
The lights flickered.
The hidden room went dark.
Then, somewhere deep beneath the house…
A third voice whispered.
A child’s voice.
May you like
“Neither of them.””
And every person in that room turned toward the darkness.
