CHAPTER 10 â The Man Who Never Existed
Three weeks later...
The entire nation exploded with scandal.
Project Phoenix documents dominated every news channel.
Secret prisons.
Illegal assassinations.
Corrupt politicians.
Billions of dollars hidden in offshore accounts.
General Richard Hawthorne disappeared before authorities could arrest him.
An international manhunt began.
People celebrated Ethan Walker as a national hero.
His name was restored.
His military honors were returned.
For the first time in twelve years...
He slept peacefully beside Emma and Noah.
But one question still haunted him.
How had Hawthorne vanished without leaving a single trace?
One rainy afternoon...
Lucas arrived carrying a classified envelope.
"It came from military intelligence."
"They told me to give it only to you."
Ethan opened it.
Inside...
Was a birth certificate.
The name froze the blood in his veins.
ETHAN JAMES WALKER
Date of Birth...
Didn't match his own.
He frowned.
"This has to be a mistake."
Lucas slowly slid another document across the table.
A DNA report.
It stated:
SUBJECT: ETHAN WALKER
IDENTITY STATUS: REPLACEMENT PROGRAM
Emma looked confused.
"What does that mean?"
Lucas swallowed hard.
"It means..."
"The real Ethan Walker died during the ambush."
Silence.
Ethan stared at the papers.
"I don't understand..."
Lucas opened one final file.
A photograph fell onto the table.
It showed two identical young soldiers standing side by side.
Twin brothers.
One smiling.
One serious.
Emma covered her mouth.
"You... have a twin?"
Ethan whispered,
"I never knew."
Lucas nodded.
"The government separated you at birth under a classified military experiment."
"The brother who grew up with your family died twelve years ago."
"You..."
"...were raised in secret to become the perfect soldier."
Everything Ethan believed about his life shattered in an instant.
His name.
His childhood.
His memories.
Even the family he fought so desperately to return to...
Had belonged to someone else.
Just then...
His phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
He answered.
A familiar voice spoke calmly.
"Congratulations, Captain."
"You survived Phase One."
Ethan's heart stopped.
It was...
Ryan Cole.
Alive.
The line went silent.
Then one final sentence echoed through the receiver.
May you like
"Project Phoenix was never the real mission..."
"...it was only the beginning."
THE END... OR IS IT?
