Chapter 16: The Man Inside the Wall
The hidden door opened slowly.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because the voice coming from inside wasn’t unfamiliar.
It was mine.
Not the other Ryan’s.
Not a recording.
Mine.
A voice that sounded tired.
Broken.
Like someone who had been waiting too long.
Megan grabbed my hand.
“Ryan…”
I couldn’t answer.
My eyes were locked on the darkness behind the wall.
The same darkness where Emma had been hidden.
The same darkness where my secrets had been buried.
Lucas stepped forward.
“No.””
The fear in his voice stopped me.
I looked at him.
“What?””
He shook his head.
“That room shouldn’t exist.””
“Why?””
“Because I destroyed it.””
The words made no sense.
Before I could ask, the figure inside stepped forward.
The emergency lights flickered.
And I saw him.
Another version of me.
But different.
Older.
His hair was almost completely gray.
His face carried years of exhaustion.
His eyes carried something none of us had.
Memory.
All of it.
The man looked at me.
Then at the other Ryan.
Two copies.
Two reflections.
Three versions of the same impossible person.
“Finally,” he whispered.
My voice shook.
“Who are you?””
The older man smiled sadly.
“You already know.””
I felt my stomach drop.
“No.””
“Yes.””
He stepped into the light.
“I’m the one who remembers.””
The other Ryan moved closer.
“You’re lying.””
The older man looked at him.
“No.””
A pause.
“You’re the one they created.””
He looked at me.
“You’re the one they rebuilt.””
Then he touched his chest.
“And I’m the one who survived.””
Nobody spoke.
Because there was no room left for disbelief.
Not anymore.
Megan whispered:
“Ryan…”
I looked at her.
She was crying.
“How many?””
She closed her eyes.
“I don’t know.””
That answer terrified me.
The older man looked toward Emma.
His expression softened.
“Hello, sweetheart.””
Emma stared.
“Do I know you?””
His eyes filled with pain.
“You used to call me Grandpa.””
My blood ran cold.
Grandpa.
Mara.
The experiments.
The hidden rooms.
Everything connected.
“You’re not my grandfather.””
The man smiled sadly.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“I’m your father.””
The room exploded into chaos.
Lucas stepped back.
The other Ryan stared.
Megan covered her mouth.
“My father?””
I whispered the words.
The older man nodded.
“Your biological father.””
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
He looked around.
“Everything you believe about your life was built on missing pieces.””
My head hurt.
Another truth.
Another impossible memory.
I hated that I believed him.
Because deep down…
something inside me recognized him.
A feeling.
A connection.
Something stronger than logic.
Lucas looked furious.
“You knew?””
The older man looked at him.
“Yes.””
“And you let us go through this?””
His expression changed.
“I tried to stop it.””
“Then why didn’t you?””
“Because I failed.””
Silence.
The older man walked toward the hidden room.
Inside were thousands of files.
Photos.
Recordings.
Research.
“Our family created this technology.””
He looked at me.
“But we were not the first ones to suffer from it.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
He touched one file.
“The first memory transfer was tested on me.””
The room went quiet.
“You?””
He nodded.
“My memories were copied.””
I looked at the other versions of myself.
“Like us.””
“Yes.””
He looked at me.
“But unlike you…”
A pause.
“I knew there would never be only one of me.””
The other Ryan clenched his fists.
“So what are we?””
The older man looked at him.
“You are all pieces of the same person.””
The answer was painful.
But honest.
Then alarms suddenly sounded.
Everyone froze.
The older man looked toward the tunnel entrance.
“They found us.””
Lucas grabbed a weapon.
“Who?””
The older man’s expression darkened.
“The final team.””
Megan held Lily closer.
“Who are they?””
He looked at Emma.
“The people who want to take her.””
I stepped forward.
“No.””
The older man looked at me.
“Ryan.””
I had never heard my own name sound like a warning.
“What?””
He pointed toward the hidden files.
“There’s something you need to see.””
He opened one final folder.
Inside was a photograph.
A recent one.
My entire body froze.
It showed Emma.
Not as a child.
Older.
Much older.
Standing beside a machine.
And behind her…
was me.
All three versions.
Alive.
The older man whispered:
“This is why they’re coming.””
I stared at the picture.
“What is this?””
He looked at me.
“The future.””
The tunnel shook.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Then a voice echoed from outside.
“Ryan Carter.””
Everyone froze.
The voice continued.
“Open the door.””
The older man closed the folder.
“Now you understand.””
I looked at him.
“Understand what?””
He stared at the door.
“They aren’t here to capture Emma.””
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A pause.
“They’re here to make sure she is never born.””
