CHAPTER 7 – The Child Who Was Never Supposed to Exist
Daniel couldn't take his eyes off the old family photograph.
Three children.
He had only ever known two.
"Who is the third boy?" he whispered.
Emily's face turned pale.
"He was erased."
Arthur slowly nodded.
"His name was Noah."
"He was Richard Sterling's firstborn... and the legal heir to everything."
Daniel frowned.
"Then why has no one ever heard of him?"
Arthur took a deep breath.
"Because someone wanted the world to believe he died at birth."
Emily suddenly interrupted.
"He didn't die."
"He escaped."
The room fell silent.
Arthur unlocked one final steel cabinet hidden behind the wall.
Inside lay dozens of newspapers, legal records, and birth certificates.
Every document had been stamped:
CLASSIFIED.
Daniel opened the oldest file.
It contained a hospital bracelet.
The name printed on it wasn't Noah.
It was...
Daniel Sterling.
His breathing stopped.
"What does this mean?"
Arthur looked him directly in the eyes.
"It means you've been living under someone else's identity your entire life."
"You are not Daniel Sterling."
"The real Daniel died as a baby."
Lily gasped.
Emily burst into tears.
Before anyone could speak, every light inside the bunker suddenly shut off.
A deep voice echoed through the darkness.
"So..."
"You finally know who you really are."
Then the emergency lights flickered on.
Standing at the end of the hallway...
Was the mysterious third child.
Alive.
May you like
Older.
And smiling.
