CHAPTER 4 — "The Woman Smiled... Then Claimed She Had Buried the Real Emily Years Ago."
Emily stared at the woman in disbelief.
"You've been living my life?"
The stranger smiled as if they were old friends.
"No."
"I've been living the life that was always meant to be mine."
Henry stepped in front of Emily.
"Stay behind me."
The woman laughed.
"Still protecting her after all these years, Henry?"
His face turned pale.
"You know my name?"
"I know everyone's name."
She slowly removed her leather gloves.
On her left wrist...
Was the exact same crescent-shaped birthmark Emily had carried since childhood.
Emily froze.
"That's impossible."
The woman tilted her head.
"Is it?"
She reached into her purse and tossed an old photograph onto the table.
It showed two newborn baby girls lying side by side in the same hospital nursery.
Each wore an identical bracelet.
Each had the name...
Emily Carter.
Emily's voice trembled.
"There were... two babies?"
The woman nodded.
"Twins."
The room fell silent.
Henry whispered,
"No..."
"Your father told you she died."
The woman's smile disappeared.
"That's the first lie."
"He told everyone I died."
"But I didn't."
Emily looked at Henry.
His eyes filled with tears.
"I never knew..."
The woman continued walking toward Emily.
"Your father didn't create this nightmare."
"He tried to stop it."
"The people behind Project Mirror were far more powerful than he ever imagined."
She opened another file from the safe.
Inside were photographs of judges...
Police chiefs...
Senators...
Hospital directors...
Each photo was connected by red strings to a single company logo.
MIRROR BIOTECH.
"They weren't stealing money."
"They weren't stealing companies."
"They were stealing identities."
Emily felt sick.
"Why?"
The woman looked directly into her eyes.
"Because a person with the right name..."
"...can inherit billions."
Henry suddenly gasped.
"The inheritance..."
The woman smiled.
"Exactly."
"When your grandfather died, his will contained one condition."
"The entire Carter fortune would belong only to the biological granddaughter whose DNA matched the hospital records."
Emily frowned.
"So they changed the DNA..."
"...and changed the records."
"They replaced everything."
The woman nodded.
"For twenty-three years."
"But they made one mistake."
Emily whispered,
"What mistake?"
The woman looked toward the fireproof safe.
"They never found the original birth bracelet."
Before Emily could ask another question...
A deafening explosion shook the underground vault.
BOOM!
The lights went out.
Emergency alarms screamed through the darkness.
Smoke filled the room.
Masked men rushed inside carrying assault rifles.
"Take the bracelet!"
"Leave no witnesses!"
Henry shoved Emily behind a steel cabinet.
"RUN!"
Gunshots echoed through the vault.
Emily crawled toward the exit, clutching the red folder.
Suddenly...
A bullet struck Henry in the chest.
He collapsed.
With his final breath, he pressed a tiny velvet box into Emily's hand.
"Don't let them..."
"...destroy your mother's last secret."
Emily opened the box.
Inside wasn't jewelry.
It was a tiny gold hospital bracelet.
Engraved with one name.
Emily Carter.
But underneath the name...
Was a birth date.
Emily's heart nearly stopped.
It wasn't her birthday.
It belonged to...
the woman trying to steal her life.
END OF CHAPTER 4
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Scroll down to the comments for Chapter 5. The biggest betrayal in the Carter family is about to be revealed.
