CHAPTER 8 – The Twin Brother No One Knew Existed
The parking garage fell completely silent.
Captain Ryan stared at the man in disbelief.
"You're not Michael?"
Matthew slowly shook his head.
"We're identical twins."
"No one knew because our parents separated us as babies after a custody battle."
Michael joined the military.
Matthew became an undercover engineer investigating corruption inside Vaughn Industrial.
For years, even government records treated them as a single person whenever they worked on classified operations.
Richard laughed.
"Now you're finally catching up."
Five years earlier, Richard had ordered an explosion to eliminate the man exposing his billion-dollar fraud.
But in the darkness...
He attacked the wrong brother.
Matthew survived the blast but suffered severe memory loss.
Richard believed he had killed Michael.
Michael, realizing the conspiracy reached powerful officials, disappeared voluntarily to protect Emma and secretly continued collecting evidence.
Only one witness knew the entire truth.
Shadow.
The loyal military dog had served beside both brothers.
He could recognize them instantly by scent, even when no human could tell them apart.
Detective Harris suddenly remembered something.
"If Matthew survived..."
He looked directly at Richard.
"Where is Michael?"
Richard's smile slowly disappeared.
Before he could answer, the garage speakers crackled to life.
A distorted voice echoed through the building.
"Looking for me?"
Every head turned toward the rooftop security monitor.
A man stepped into view.
He wore a black tactical jacket.
A faint scar crossed his left eyebrow.
Exactly like the photographs in Emma's memory.
Michael Reed.
Alive.
Holding a hard drive in one hand.
And standing behind him...
were three terrified members of Vaughn Industrial's executive board.
Michael looked directly into the camera.
"If this video is playing..."
He said calmly.
"...the final game has already begun."
Then the screen went black.
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At the same moment, every phone in the parking garage vibrated.
A massive file labeled "PROJECT PHOENIX - TOP SECRET" had just been sent anonymously to every major news network in America.
