Chapter 9: The Fifth Carter
The monitor counted down.
*09:58.*
My mother's blood covered my hands.
Claire was pressed against Ryan's chest, crying so hard that she could barely breathe.
My father stood beneath the flickering lights, staring at the face on the screen.
Adrian Carter smiled.
His older brother.
The man our family had buried twelve years ago.
The man whose name had never appeared in a single photograph after my uncle Michael disappeared.
The man who had apparently been alive all along.
“Who is the other child?”” I asked.
My mother tried to sit up.
“Emily…”
“Who?””
Her eyes moved toward Claire.
Then toward the screen.
Adrian spoke before she could answer.
“You've spent sixteen years asking the wrong question.””
I looked at him.
“What question?””
“Who is my daughter?””
His smile widened.
“You should have asked who came before her.””
Ryan's face changed.
“What does that mean?””
Adrian leaned closer to the camera.
“The archive has a first generation.””
My father's voice cracked.
“Adrian, stop.””
“Why?””
He looked at him with almost affectionate contempt.
“Because you're finally ashamed?””
Dad took one step toward the monitor.
“This ends tonight.””
“No.””
Adrian's voice turned cold.
“It ends when Emily opens that door.””
The countdown changed.
*09:21.*
A warning appeared beneath it.
*ARCHIVE PURGE INITIATED.*
Michael's voice suddenly came through my earpiece.
“Emily, are you hearing me?””
I grabbed the radio.
“Yes.””
“Listen carefully. Hayes found the facility entrance. Security is moving underground.””
“Claire is here.””
There was a pause.
“I know.””
“Who else is inside?””
“We're not sure.””
“Adrian.””
Another pause.
Then Michael said quietly,
“That's impossible.””
“He's alive.””
“We know.””
I looked at my father.
“You knew?””
Michael answered.
“Not until today.””
I stared at the screen.
Adrian smiled.
“Everyone thought you were dead.””
Michael's voice sharpened.
“We're coming for you.””
“You've spent twelve years trying.””
“I'll finish it.””
Adrian laughed.
“Michael, you're still thinking this is about me.””
My father stared at him.
“What do you want?””
“I want what you stole.””
Dad shook his head.
“I didn't steal anything.””
“You stole my daughter.””
Silence.
I looked at my mother.
She closed her eyes.
I suddenly understood.
The other child.
The one who survived Northstar.
The one Adrian believed had been taken from him.
“Mom.””
She opened her eyes.
“Tell me.””
Her voice was weak.
“Your father and I had a daughter.””
Ryan stared.
“What?””
Mom nodded.
“Before you were born.””
Dad looked down.
“She died.””
Adrian's voice cut through the room.
“No.””
The single word echoed.
“She didn't.””
I stared at the screen.
“Who?””
Adrian smiled.
“Her name was Grace.””
My heart stopped.
Ryan whispered,
“We have another sister?””
Dad shook his head.
“Not exactly.””
Mom closed her eyes.
“Grace was born fourteen months before Ryan.””
Ryan looked at her.
“Why didn't we ever know?””
“Because she wasn't supposed to exist.””
I felt a chill.
“What does that mean?””
Mom's fingers tightened around mine.
“Northstar wasn't originally designed for families.””
She looked toward Adrian's image.
“It was designed for succession.””
I frowned.
“Succession of what?””
“Identities.””
Adrian answered.
“Children were selected based on compatibility.””
Ryan looked horrified.
“You're talking about people like equipment.””
“That was the idea.””
Dad snapped, “No.””
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
“You signed the documents.””
“I thought it was research.””
“You always tell yourself that.””
The countdown reached eight minutes.
*08:00.*
I looked at the files around us.
“Grace was a Northstar child.””
Mom nodded.
“She was the first.””
“And Claire?””
“The last.””
Adrian shook his head.
“Not the last.””
My stomach dropped.
“What do you mean?””
He looked straight at me.
“There were three.””
Ryan's face went white.
“Three children?””
“One was Grace.””
“Two?””
Adrian smiled.
“You're looking at one.””
He pointed at Ryan.
Ryan froze.
“What?””
“You were never an ordinary child, Ryan.””
Dad stepped forward.
“Don't listen to him.””
“You were born with the same genetic markers as Grace.””
Ryan stared at his father.
“Is that true?””
Dad said nothing.
Ryan's breathing quickened.
“Dad.””
Silence.
“Is it true?””
My father finally nodded.
“Yes.””
Ryan looked at me.
I remembered the file.
*SUBJECT DESIGNATION: LEGACY ASSET.*
I hadn't understood it.
Now I did.
I walked toward my brother.
“You were selected.””
Ryan shook his head.
“No.””
“You were part of Northstar before you even knew what the word meant.””
“No.””
“They monitored you.””
“No.””
“They tracked your medical records.””
“Emily…”
“They didn't just protect you.””
I touched his arm.
“They were testing you.””
His eyes filled with anger.
“And you knew?””
“I didn't know.””
Dad stepped toward him.
“I knew after.””
Ryan turned.
“After what?””
“After your sister disappeared.””
Ryan's voice broke.
“You knew my entire life was an experiment.””
“I knew you had been identified.””
“By Adrian?””
“No.””
Dad looked toward the screen.
“By the program.””
Adrian smiled.
“Finally.””
He leaned forward.
“Now you understand.””
Ryan stared at him.
“Why?””
“Because Northstar was failing.””
Adrian's voice became almost gentle.
“Systems decay. Governments change. Names disappear.
Money moves. But blood doesn't.””
I looked at Claire.
“And Claire?””
“She was the perfected version.””
My blood went cold.
“What does that mean?””
“You transferred your access into her.””
Adrian nodded.
“You made her the bridge between identities.””
My mother whispered,
“That was never supposed to happen.””
“You created it,” Adrian replied.
“I created the safeguards.””
“You created an opportunity.””
The countdown reached six minutes.
*06:14.*
The archive doors behind me began unlocking one by one.
Metal clanked through the corridor.
Hundreds of files slid outward automatically.
Documents spilled across the floor.
Photos.
Bank statements.
Birth certificates.
Government orders.
And photographs of children.
Dozens of them.
Ryan picked up one.
A little boy.
Eight years old.
A red circle drawn around his face.
He looked at me.
“How many?””
I couldn't answer.
Mom did.
“Forty-three.””
Ryan stared at her.
“What?””
“Forty-three children were evaluated.””
My chest tightened.
“How many survived?””
“Three.””
Grace.
Ryan.
Claire.
I looked at my father.
“You knew.””
“Yes.””
“And you still called me a failure.””
His face twisted.
“I thought if you hated this family, you'd stay away.””
“You made me believe I was worthless.””
“I was trying to make you leave.””
“You succeeded.””
His eyes filled.
“I know.””
Claire pulled away from Ryan and ran toward me.
“Mommy!””
I caught her.
She buried her face against my chest.
I held her so tightly my hands hurt.
“I've got you.””
She whispered,
“I'm scared.””
“I know.””
“Grandma said you would come.””
I looked at my mother.
She was crying.
“What else did she tell you?””
Claire lifted her face.
“She said Daddy was looking for us.””
My blood froze.
“Who?””
She pointed toward the screen.
“Him.””
Adrian smiled.
“Claire remembers.””
I looked at the monitor.
“What do you want from her?””
“Nothing.””
He paused.
“Not anymore.””
I felt something in my stomach drop.
“Then what do you want?””
“Your access.””
“You can get it from me.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“Your access is split.””
“Yes.””
“Half is in you.””
“Yes.””
“The other half is in Claire.””
I held her closer.
“No.””
“I don't need her alive to retrieve it.””
My body went cold.
Ryan moved in front of us.
“You touch her, and I'll kill you.””
Adrian smiled.
“There he is.””
Ryan stopped.
“What?””
“The protector.””
Adrian's expression changed.
“You were always supposed to be that.””
Ryan looked confused.
“What are you talking about?””
“I wasn't talking about Claire.””
I felt a sudden pressure in my head.
A memory.
A room.
A table.
Three newborn babies.
Grace.
Ryan.
And another.
A third infant.
But whose?
I staggered.
My mother grabbed my wrist.
“Emily?””
I stared at the screen.
“The third child.””
Adrian went silent.
I looked at my father.
His face told me everything.
“You lied.””
“No.””
“You said there were three.””
“There were.””
“Then where is the third?””
Dad couldn't speak.
Ryan looked at him.
“Dad.””
My father finally whispered,
“She wasn't born.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“She was created.””
I felt my blood run cold.
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“Robert.””
Dad looked at me.
“Emily…”
My mother began crying.
The third child.
The final Northstar subject.
The child they had created from the genetic material of the others.
A child designed to be the perfect carrier.
My voice shook.
“Where is she?””
Dad said nothing.
I turned toward Adrian.
“You know.””
He stared at me.
Then, slowly, he smiled again.
“You already do.””
The monitor flickered.
A new photograph appeared.
I stared at it.
A young woman.
Maybe twenty-three.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
A small scar beneath her left ear.
My scar.
My mother's scar.
Claire's eyes.
Ryan's face.
My stomach dropped.
“No.””
Adrian whispered,
“Meet your sister.””
The photograph changed.
A second image appeared.
A hospital record.
The patient's name was blacked out.
The mother's name was visible.
*EMILY CARTER.*
I stopped breathing.
The date was sixteen years ago.
The day I had supposedly disappeared.
I turned slowly toward my mother.
“You said I had one daughter.””
She couldn't look at me.
“You had two.””
The room seemed to spin.
Ryan stared at Claire.
Then at the photograph.
“How?””
My mother closed her eyes.
“Twins.””
I looked at her.
“Twins?””
“One was Claire.””
“And the other?””
My mother started sobbing.
“We thought she died.””
Adrian's voice came through the speakers.
“She didn't.””
The countdown hit three minutes.
*03:00.*
I stared at the screen.
“Where is she?””
Adrian smiled.
“Right here.””
The screen changed again.
A live camera feed appeared.
A woman sat inside a dark room.
She looked directly into the lens.
Her face was mine.
Not similar.
Mine.
She leaned toward the camera.
And whispered,
“Emily.””
My knees almost collapsed.
She lifted her hand.
A thin scar ran across her palm.
The same scar I had carried since the night of the procedure.
Then she spoke six words.
“I remember what you forgot, sister.””
The screen went black.
The archive began screaming.
Every cabinet opened simultaneously.
And somewhere behind us, the steel door unlocked.
A woman's voice whispered from the darkness.
“Emily…”
I turned.
My daughter was no longer in my arms.
May you like
She was standing three feet behind me.
And beside her was the woman from the screen.
