Chapter 6: The Father Behind the Glass
The sound of the metal doors locking echoed through the underground facility.
Once.
Twice.
Then silence.
The kind of silence that only exists after something terrible has happened.
I stood there with Lily’s hand in mine, staring at the place where James Vance had disappeared.
My mind kept replaying his final words.
*The question is what she remembers you doing.*
Not what happened to her.
Not what happened to Emma.
Me.
I looked down at my daughter.
She wasn’t looking at me.
She was looking at the floor.
Like she already knew.
“Lily.””
Her shoulders tightened.
“Sweetheart.””
Slowly, she looked up.
Her eyes were full of fear.
Not fear of the locked doors.
Not fear of James.
Fear of me.
That hurt more than anything.
“What did he mean?””
She said nothing.
“Lily, please.””
She squeezed my hand.
Then she whispered:
“You weren’t always you.””
The words made my chest tighten.
Emma stepped closer.
“Lily…”
My wife’s voice broke.
“You don’t have to say it.””
But Lily shook her head.
“No.””
She looked at me.
“Daddy needs to know.””
The hallway seemed colder.
I swallowed.
“Know what?””
Lily looked toward one of the glass rooms.
“The first time I saw you…”
She paused.
“You were already different.””
I felt a wave of dizziness.
“I don’t understand.””
She walked toward the glass.
Inside the room was a small table.
A chair.
A faded drawing taped to the wall.
A child’s drawing.
The same style Lily used.
Except this one was older.
Much older.
She touched the glass.
“You sat here.””
I stared at the room.
“You remember this?””
She nodded.
“You held my hand.””
Emma whispered:
“David…”
I turned.
“What?””
Her eyes were filled with pain.
“There’s something you need to understand.””
I looked at her.
“Apparently there’s a lot.””
She accepted the anger.
“I didn’t tell you because I thought it would destroy you.””
“Try me.””
She looked at Lily.
“After the accident, you weren’t the same.””
My heart stopped.
“Emma.””
“I’m not saying you weren’t you.””
She rushed the words out.
“I’m saying you changed.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone keeps talking about me like I’m not standing here.””
Marcus walked closer.
“Because you were the only person who didn’t know.””
I looked at him.
“Know what?””
He hesitated.
Then he opened the old security archive.
A file appeared.
*INCIDENT REPORT: PARKER FAMILY*
The date was two years ago.
The night my wife supposedly died.
Marcus opened the footage.
The screen showed the outside entrance of the Meridian.
Rain poured down.
A car stopped.
My car.
I watched myself step out.
My stomach turned.
Because I remembered that night.
At least I thought I did.
I remembered driving.
I remembered the rain.
I remembered losing control.
But the video showed something different.
I wasn’t alone.
A second person came out of the car.
Me.
Another version of me.
The two figures argued.
Even without sound, I could see anger.
Fear.
Desperation.
Then one of them grabbed the other.
The footage cut out.
I stepped back.
“No.””
Marcus looked at me.
“That’s why your memory was erased.””
I stared at the screen.
“My memory?””
Emma nodded.
“After that night, Vance’s people found you.””
I looked at her.
“And they fixed me?””
She looked away.
“They changed what you remembered.””
A thousand questions fought inside my head.
But one came first.
“Why?””
Nobody answered.
Then Marcus said:
“Because you knew the truth.””
I looked at him.
“What truth?””
He opened another file.
A medical report.
My name.
My blood.
My signature.
I felt sick.
“This is yours?””
Marcus nodded.
“You weren’t a patient.””
“Then what was I?””
He looked at Lily.
“You were the person who exposed them.””
The room went quiet.
I looked at my daughter.
She looked back at me.
And suddenly, pieces started appearing.
The drawings.
The silence.
The fear.
The way she watched people.
She wasn’t broken.
She was remembering.
“Lily,” I whispered.
She came closer.
“I’m sorry.””
“For what?””
She looked down.
“Because I knew.””
“Knew what?””
“That Mommy was alive.””
Emma started crying.
I turned toward her.
“What?””
Lily continued.
“I saw her.””
Emma covered her mouth.
“When?””
Lily’s voice became smaller.
“Every time I went downstairs.””
My heart stopped.
“Lily.””
She looked at me.
“I thought you knew.””
The pain in her face was unbearable.
Because she truly believed she had failed me.
I dropped to my knees.
“Sweetheart.””
I held her shoulders.
“You were seven years old.””
She looked confused.
“You weren’t supposed to protect me.””
A tear rolled down her face.
“But Daddy was scared.””
The words destroyed me.
“What?””
She looked toward the security cameras.
“After they changed you, you forgot.””
I froze.
“They changed me?””
She nodded.
“You forgot Mommy.””
Emma closed her eyes.
“You forgot what we found.””
I looked at my wife.
“You’re telling me I forgot my own investigation?””
“Yes.””
“And you still let me live here?””
Emma shook her head.
“I tried to get you away.””
“Then why didn’t you?””
Her voice cracked.
“Because you didn’t believe me.””
That stopped me.
“What?””
“The new memories were stronger.””
The sentence sounded impossible.
But nothing about this place was impossible anymore.
Marcus suddenly turned.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at him.
He was staring at the archive screen.
A new file had opened.
Not by him.
Automatically.
A recording began.
The image appeared.
A man sitting in a chair.
Me.
But older.
Exhausted.
Bruised.
The recording version of me looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re watching this…”
He took a breath.
“…then they failed to erase everything.””
I stepped closer.
The room disappeared around me.
My own voice came from the screen.
“David, if you found this, listen carefully.””
The recorded me looked terrified.
“Do not trust the memories.””
I felt my blood run cold.
“Not the ones you have.””
The screen flickered.
“Not the ones they gave you.””
A pause.
Then:
“Especially not the memory of what happened to Lily.””
I looked at my daughter.
The recorded version of me continued.
“She was not the experiment.””
Everyone became still.
“She was the witness.””
The screen distorted.
Then my past self leaned closer.
And whispered:
“The person who hurt Lily is still inside the Meridian.””
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Then the lights above us turned red.
A new message appeared on every screen.
*MEMORY RESTORATION SEQUENCE ACTIVATED.*
Emma grabbed my arm.
“David.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She pointed behind me.
At the glass room.
The door was opening.
Slowly.
Inside was a chair.
A machine.
And a video screen.
On the screen was one sentence.
*WELCOME HOME, ORIGINAL SUBJECT.*
Marcus stepped back.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
His face had gone pale.
“David…”
He pointed at the room.
“That wasn’t a room for Lily.””
My heart pounded.
“Then whose room was it?””
Marcus stared at me.
“The person they replaced.””
The machine powered on.
The screen changed.
A final message appeared.
*RESTORING MEMORY OF DAVID PARKER — VERSION ONE.*
And suddenly…
I remembered the sound of my own scream.
I remembered Lily crying.
I remembered the night my wife disappeared.
And I remembered the person standing over my daughter.
May you like
The person holding the needle.
The person wearing my face.
