Chapter 7: The Truth Hidden Inside My Own Mind
“Bring Subject Two home.””
The words echoed through the basement.
Subject Two.
Not Ryan.
Not son.
Not father.
A number.
A label.
A reminder that somewhere, in someone’s records, I wasn’t a person.
I was an experiment.
The man standing at the basement entrance lowered the photograph.
He was younger than I expected.
Maybe forty.
Clean suit.
Calm expression.
The kind of person who looked more dangerous because he never needed to raise his voice.
Behind him stood several others.
Not soldiers.
Scientists.
People who had spent years studying human minds.
People who looked at me like I was a discovery.
Not a human being.
The man smiled.
“Ryan Carter.””
Nobody answered.
His eyes moved around the room.
Thomas.
Daniel.
Evelyn.
The real Ryan.
Then me.
“Or should I say…”
He tilted his head.
“Subject Two.””
My hands curled into fists.
“Who are you?””
The man smiled.
“My name is Dr. Adrian Vale.””
Daniel’s expression changed immediately.
“You.””
Adrian looked at him.
“Still alive, Daniel? I’m surprised.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“You were supposed to be arrested.””
Adrian laughed softly.
“By who?””
Nobody responded.
Because everyone knew the answer.
Nobody had ever stopped them.
Adrian looked back at me.
“You have no idea how important you are.””
I stared at him.
“I’m not a thing.””
His smile faded.
“No.””
He looked at the real Ryan.
“You’re right.””
Then back at me.
“You’re much more interesting than a thing.””
Ava stepped closer to me.
I felt her tiny hand grab mine.
Adrian noticed.
And his expression changed.
Not anger.
Curiosity.
“So this is Ava.””
The real Ryan immediately moved in front of her.
“Don’t look at her.””
Adrian raised his hands.
“I’m not here to hurt her.””
Nobody believed him.
Because people who wanted to help children didn’t hide them inside walls.
They didn’t erase memories.
They didn’t create people.
Adrian looked at me.
“She was never the experiment.””
I frowned.
“What?””
He walked slowly into the room.
“The experiment was you.””
My stomach tightened.
“I already know that.””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“You know the story they told you.””
He glanced at Evelyn.
“At least the version she wanted you to believe.””
Evelyn’s expression hardened.
“Don’t listen to him.””
Adrian smiled.
“Still protecting your mistakes, Evelyn?””
I looked between them.
“You both need to stop talking like I’m not standing here.””
Nobody answered.
My anger exploded.
“Enough!””
The basement went silent.
I stepped forward.
“I have spent my entire life being told what happened to me.””
I pointed at Adrian.
“You.””
Then Evelyn.
“You.””
Then Thomas.
“All of you.””
My voice shook.
“I want the truth.””
Adrian studied me.
Then nodded.
“Fair.””
He reached into his coat.
Everyone tensed.
But he didn’t pull out a weapon.
He pulled out a small tablet.
He pressed the screen.
A video appeared.
The image was old.
Grainy.
A hospital room.
My breath caught.
Because I saw myself.
The real Ryan.
Sitting on a hospital bed.
But he looked different.
Broken.
Exhausted.
A man who had lost everything.
A younger Evelyn stood beside him.
Thomas was there.
Daniel too.
Then a younger version of me…
No.
Not me.
The real Ryan.
Spoke.
“I understand the risks.””
Evelyn in the video shook her head.
“Ryan, once the transfer begins, there is no guarantee you’ll return.””
The younger Ryan looked toward the camera.
“I don’t need to return.””
My heart stopped.
The real Ryan beside me looked away.
The video continued.
“What happens to my memories?””
Daniel asked.
The younger Ryan answered:
“They go with him.””
I felt dizzy.
Adrian paused the video.
“Do you understand now?””
I looked at him.
“No.””
He sighed.
“You weren’t created to replace Ryan.””
He looked at the real Ryan.
“You were created to carry him.””
Silence.
I stared at the screen.
The younger Ryan continued.
“If I lose myself…”
He swallowed.
“Promise me Ava gets a father.””
Ava looked at the real Ryan.
Then me.
Her face was full of confusion.
Adrian stopped the video.
“But then something happened.””
“What?””
He looked at me.
“You woke up.””
I frowned.
“I was supposed to wake up as Ryan?””
“Yes.””
“Then why am I not him?””
Adrian smiled sadly.
“Because the human mind doesn’t work like a computer.””
He stepped closer.
“You can copy memories.””
He tapped his head.
“But you can’t copy a soul.””
Nobody spoke.
The word felt strange.
Soul.
Something scientific people weren’t supposed to mention.
But somehow it made sense.
I had his memories.
His love for Ava.
His pain.
His promises.
But I was still me.
Adrian continued.
“The procedure created two consciousnesses.””
He looked at the real Ryan.
“His.””
Then me.
“And yours.””
Thomas spoke quietly.
“So why did you hunt him?””
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Because we made a mistake.””
I stared at him.
“What mistake?””
He looked at me.
“We thought Subject Two would be temporary.””
The room became cold.
“We thought once Ryan recovered, you would disappear.””
Ava squeezed my hand.
I looked down at her.
Adrian continued.
“But you didn’t.””
He pointed at Lily.
“You built a new life.””
Then Emma.
“You formed new attachments.””
Then me.
“You became someone.””
My throat tightened.
“And that was a problem?””
“For the organization?””
Adrian nodded.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because you proved consciousness could evolve.””
He looked almost fascinated.
“You weren’t a copy.””
He smiled faintly.
“You were the first human being created from memory transfer who developed an independent identity.””
Daniel whispered:
“They wanted to destroy the evidence.””
Adrian nodded.
“They wanted to erase him.””
He pointed at me.
“Before the world found out.””
A sound came from upstairs.
More footsteps.
More people.
Adrian looked toward the ceiling.
“We’re out of time.””
Thomas raised his weapon.
“Why should we believe you?””
Adrian looked at him.
“Because they’re not my people.””
Everyone froze.
“What?””
Adrian looked at the entrance.
“They came for me too.””
The basement suddenly erupted.
The lights went out.
A gunshot exploded.
Everyone dropped.
I grabbed Ava and pulled her behind the table.
Emma covered Lily.
The basement filled with shouting.
Glass shattered.
People ran.
For several seconds, nobody knew who was fighting who.
Then emergency lights turned on.
And the scene changed.
Two groups stood in the basement.
One group wore black uniforms.
The other carried medical equipment.
Adrian’s face became serious.
“They sent the cleanup team.””
Daniel looked at him.
“Cleanup?””
Adrian nodded.
“They don’t retrieve experiments.””
He looked at me.
“They erase them.””
A man in a black uniform raised his weapon.
“Subject Two confirmed.””
The real Ryan moved.
But he wasn’t fast enough.
I pushed forward.
I don’t know why.
Maybe because I had spent my entire life protecting people.
Maybe because I was a father.
Maybe because somewhere inside me was the man who made that promise twelve years ago.
I grabbed the weapon.
The man struggled.
And suddenly…
A memory exploded into my mind.
Not a normal memory.
A hidden one.
A room.
A young Ryan.
Ava crying.
And a voice saying:
“If he remembers everything, he will know what we did.””
I froze.
The man pulled away.
“What did you see?””
I looked at him.
Because I recognized his voice.
He was there.
Twelve years ago.
The night Ava disappeared.
The man smiled.
“You remember me.””
My heart pounded.
“You took her.””
His smile widened.
“No.””
He looked at Ava.
“We saved her.””
The room went silent.
“What?””
The man pointed at the real Ryan.
“He’s the one who hurt her.””
Ava screamed.
“No!””
The real Ryan looked horrified.
“Don’t listen to him.””
But the man continued.
“Ask him what happened in the basement that night.””
Everyone looked at the real Ryan.
Even me.
Because suddenly…
A terrible thought appeared.
The memories inside me.
The ones that didn’t belong to me.
The ones from Ethan.
The ones hidden away.
Maybe they weren’t just secrets.
Maybe they were warnings.
The man smiled.
“Ask him why Ava was afraid of her own father.””
The real Ryan’s face went pale.
And for the first time…
I saw fear in his eyes.
Not fear of losing Ava.
Fear of me knowing the truth.
Ava looked at him.
“Daddy?””
Nobody moved.
Then the real Ryan whispered:
“I didn’t hurt her.””
A pause.
Then he looked at me.
“But I wasn’t the one who saved her either.””
The basement went silent.
Because I realized something.
The truth I had been searching for wasn’t about who I was.
It was about what happened before I existed.
May you like
And the next memory waiting inside me…
Was the one everyone had been trying to bury.
