CHAPTER 7 – THE GIRL WHO HAD BEEN HUNTING HIM ALL ALONG
The words echoed through the burning underground archive.
"Your twin sister is alive."
The boy stood frozen.
"I never had a twin..."
The elderly janitor grabbed his shoulders.
"That's exactly what they wanted you to believe."
As flames consumed the secret room, police officers rushed everyone outside.
Father Michael was arrested before he could escape, screaming that no one would ever find "the other child."
But the old janitor simply smiled.
"Oh, she already found him."
The boy frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, the janitor reached into his pocket and handed him a faded photograph rescued from the fire.
It showed two newborn babies lying side by side.
Both wore identical silver bracelets.
One bracelet had the letter A.
The other...
L.
On the back of the photo was a handwritten message:
"Never let them grow up together."
That night, the photograph appeared on every major news channel.
Within hours, thousands of people shared it across social media.
Most saw it as another heartbreaking story.
But one woman nearly dropped her coffee when she saw the image.
Across the country, a successful young investigative journalist named Lena Carter stared at the television in disbelief.
Around her wrist was an old silver bracelet engraved with one letter.
L.
For twenty-four years she had believed she was abandoned.
Now she knew someone had stolen her entire life.
Without telling anyone, Lena booked the first flight to the city.
Meanwhile, the boy had no idea.
He spent the next morning helping repair the children's rehabilitation center funded by the ballerina's foundation.
As he lifted a box of supplies, a black SUV stopped across the street.
A young woman stepped out wearing sunglasses.
She watched him from a distance.
Tears slowly rolled down her face.
"It's really him..."
She whispered.
The old janitor noticed her immediately.
His face turned white.
"No..."
He muttered.
"They found her first."
Before he could reach the street, two other black SUVs sped toward the woman.
Masked men jumped out.
"Lena!"
One shouted.
"You know too much!"
The woman ran.
The boy instinctively chased after her, not knowing why his heart was pounding so hard.
She turned the corner into a crowded marketplace.
One of the kidnappers grabbed her arm.
Just as he pulled out a syringe...
The boy tackled him to the ground.
Chaos erupted.
People screamed and scattered.
The second attacker fled, dropping a cellphone onto the pavement.
Lena looked into the boy's eyes for the first time.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them understood why.
But they both felt it.
An invisible bond neither time nor lies had managed to break.
Then the boy noticed something shining beneath her sleeve.
A silver bracelet.
Engraved with the letter L.
Slowly... he lifted his own wrist.
Hidden beneath his watch was the matching bracelet with the letter A.
The crowd fell silent.
Lena covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.
"I've spent my whole life looking for you..."
she whispered.
The boy couldn't answer.
Because at that exact moment, the dropped cellphone began ringing.
The caller ID displayed only one name.
DIRECTOR.
Lena's face instantly filled with terror.
She looked at the boy and whispered the words that changed everything:
May you like
"Don't answer... because the person calling isn't just behind the kidnapping."
"He's the one who raised us... from the shadows."
