CHAPTER 4 – The Girl Who Never Existed
The police searched every room of Lily's house.
Nothing.
No signs of a struggle.
No broken windows.
No blood.
It looked as if the entire family had simply... vanished.
Detective Mason noticed something strange on the kitchen table.
Lily's breakfast was still warm.
A glass of milk had been knocked over.
Beside it lay a single sheet of paper.
Three words were written in black ink.
"You're Too Late."
Miles away...
Lily slowly opened her eyes.
Everything around her was white.
White walls.
White lights.
White curtains.
She wasn't tied up.
She wasn't locked in a cage.
She was lying in a luxurious bedroom.
Confused, she climbed off the bed.
"Mom?" she called softly.
No answer.
The bedroom door opened.
An elderly woman with silver hair walked inside.
She wore an elegant navy-blue suit and carried herself like royalty.
The moment she saw Lily awake...
Tears filled her eyes.
"My goodness..."
"It's really you."
Lily stepped backward.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled sadly.
"My name is Eleanor Ashford."
"I've been searching for you for seven years."
Lily frowned.
"I don't know you."
"I know," Eleanor whispered.
"Because someone made sure you never would."
Meanwhile...
Ethan refused to stay behind.
Ignoring Detective Mason's orders, he began searching Richard's secret files again.
Hidden behind layers of encrypted folders, he finally found an old photograph.
His hands started shaking.
The picture showed a smiling young woman holding a newborn baby.
Standing beside them...
Was Richard.
But the date shocked Ethan.
The photo had been taken two years before Richard even met Ethan's mother.
On the back of the photo was a handwritten sentence.
"The original child must never be found."
Ethan's heart nearly stopped.
"The original child?"
Detective Mason stared at the picture.
"Who is the baby?"
Ethan zoomed in.
Wrapped around the infant's tiny wrist was a hospital bracelet.
One word was clearly visible.
LILY.
At that exact moment...
Eleanor handed Lily a small wooden music box.
"I've kept this safe since the night you disappeared."
Lily slowly opened it.
Inside was a faded family photograph.
She looked closer...
Then froze.
The smiling woman holding the baby looked exactly like...
Her mother.
But standing beside her wasn't Lily's father.
It was a completely different man.
Lily's breathing became uneven.
"This..."
"This isn't my family."
Eleanor gently held her shoulders.
"No, sweetheart."
"It is."
"The people who raised you loved you with all their hearts..."
"But they were never your biological parents."
Lily's world shattered.
Before she could ask another question...
A television inside the room suddenly switched on by itself.
Every screen across the mansion displayed the same live broadcast.
A masked man appeared.
He looked directly into the camera.
Then he smiled.
"If you're watching this..."
"It means you've finally found Subject Seven."
He slowly removed one black glove.
A tattoo appeared on his wrist.
Ethan gasped from miles away.
He had seen that exact tattoo before.
On Richard.
The masked man leaned closer to the camera.
"And now..."
May you like
"The real hunt begins."
TO BE CONTINUED...
