CHAPTER 7 — The Twin Who Never Existed
The woman stepped out of the helicopter.
Every heartbeat inside the clearing seemed to stop.
She had Rose's eyes.
Rose's smile.
Even the tiny scar beneath her chin.
Only one thing was different.
She wore black.
Not a single speck of dust touched her tailored coat.
She looked like someone who had spent years giving orders instead of running from them.
The little girl clung tighter to Mason.
"I told you..." she whispered through tears. "There were two Mommies."
Rose slowly lowered her pistol.
"No..."
"I watched you die."
The woman smiled sadly.
"No, you watched them fake my death."
Mason looked from one woman to the other.
His head spun.
"Rose... who is she?"
Before Rose could answer, the Chairman spoke.
"My eldest daughter."
Rose closed her eyes.
"Don't."
The Chairman ignored her.
"Everyone knew Rose existed."
"But no one knew she had a twin."
The woman took another step forward.
"My name is Lily."
"I was erased before I learned how to spell it."
Mason frowned.
"Why?"
The Chairman answered without emotion.
"Because Wolf never allowed two heirs."
"The world only needed one daughter."
"So I hid the other."
Rose's voice cracked.
"You didn't hide her."
"You turned her into a weapon."
Lily never looked away from Rose.
"I waited eight years for you to say that."
Tears filled Rose's eyes.
"I searched for you."
"No."
Lily shook her head.
"You searched for the sister you remembered."
"Not the woman I became."
Silence settled over the clearing.
Then Ethan Cross walked out from the trees.
Alive.
Calm.
Covered in mud and blood.
Every rifle immediately pointed toward him.
The Chairman didn't even blink.
"I wondered how long you'd stay hidden."
Ethan slowly removed a small flash drive from his pocket.
"It took eight years."
"But I finally have it."
The Chairman's expression changed for the first time.
A flicker of fear.
"What did you steal?"
Ethan smiled.
"The membership list."
"The real one."
Every corrupt judge.
Every governor.
Every senator.
Every billionaire.
Every child they ever sold.
Every murder they ever ordered.
Forty years of secrets...
...stored on something smaller than a finger.
The Chairman quietly sighed.
"I hoped it wouldn't come to this."
He raised one hand.
Immediately, dozens of rifles locked onto Ethan.
But Ethan only laughed.
"You still don't understand."
"I didn't bring one copy."
At that exact second...
Every phone belonging to the armed men vibrated simultaneously.
One message appeared on every screen.
UPLOAD: 93% COMPLETE
The Chairman's face lost all color.
For the first time in decades...
The most powerful man in Wolf looked afraid.
Then every light inside the helicopter suddenly went dark.
May you like
Someone else was already inside.
END OF CHAPTER 7
