Chapter 7: The Man With My Face
I stared at the photograph until the screen went dark.
Then I turned it back on.
The man in the hospital bed had my face.
Not someone who looked vaguely similar. Not a distant relative with the same nose or hairline.
He had my exact face.
The same scar above the left eyebrow. The same crooked smile. Even the small indentation in his chin that Noah sometimes pressed with his finger when he wanted my attention.
But his hair was longer, his cheeks thinner, and there was something strangely familiar about the way he held his left hand against his chest.
I looked at the wedding ring again.
For Daniel's other brother.
Three brothers.
Three lives.
And apparently, my entire family had been built around keeping us apart.
“Ethan!””
Daniel appeared at the cellar entrance.
He looked at the phone in my hand.
“What happened?””
I showed him the photograph.
His expression changed immediately.
“Where did you get that?””
“Someone sent it.””
He took the phone and enlarged the image.
For several seconds, he didn't speak.
Then he whispered, “That's him.””
“Who?””
“Your twin.””
I grabbed his arm.
“You've seen him before?””
“No. But I've seen this room.””
“What?””
Daniel handed my phone back.
“It's the old St. Agnes hospital. I went there six years ago.””
I stared at him.
“Why?””
“To investigate the hospital records. I found a nurse who remembered your mother bringing two babies there.””
“What did she say?””
“That one baby left with your father. The other was transferred to a private medical facility.””
“Was that baby my twin?””
Daniel nodded.
“The nurse believed so.””
I felt my stomach twist.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't know where he was. And I didn't want to give you another ghost to chase.””
I looked at the photograph again.
“Apparently, he's not a ghost.””
Daniel glanced toward the cellar.
“Where's Emily?””
“Still downstairs with Noah.””
“Good. She shouldn't be alone.””
I frowned.
“Why?””
Daniel hesitated.
“Because whoever sent that picture knows where we are.””
Before I could respond, a police officer entered the garden.
“Mr. Wilson?””
I turned.
“Yes?””
“We've secured the property. Your mother is being transported for questioning. Your wife, however, appears to have left before our officers could locate her.””
“I know.””
The officer glanced at my phone.
“What's that?””
“Evidence.””
He asked me to show him.
I handed over the photograph and explained the messages.
He studied the screen.
“You're not going anywhere alone, sir.””
“I have to find my wife.””
“Then we'll find her together.””
I wanted to argue, but Daniel stepped between us.
“There's something else you need to know.””
The officer looked at him.
“What?””
Daniel pointed toward the cellar.
“Someone has been using the underground passage. The door isn't the only entrance.””
We all turned.
A faint metallic clank came from beneath the garden.
The officer immediately drew his radio.
“Control, we may have another person inside the property.””
I rushed down the cellar steps.
Emily was holding Noah, but her eyes were fixed on the second opening.
“What happened?”” I asked.
She pointed toward the darkness.
“Someone was down there.””
My heart hammered.
“Did you see them?””
“No. I heard a door close.””
Daniel crouched beside the opening.
“There's an old service tunnel beneath this property. It connects to the abandoned greenhouse.””
I looked at him.
“How do you know?””
“Because I used it when I was a teenager.””
He took a flashlight from the officer.
“Come on.””
The officer immediately stopped him.
“Sir, nobody goes down there until we secure it.””
Daniel looked toward Emily.
“Then hurry. If Claire used that tunnel, she could already be miles away.””
I turned to Emily.
“I'm going to find her.””
Emily grabbed my hand.
“Ethan, don't let her convince you that she was helping us.””
“I won't.””
“She knows things about Noah that nobody else knows.””
I frowned.
“What things?””
Emily swallowed.
“Things about his birth. Things about the hospital.””
I felt a chill.
“What are you saying?””
Before she could answer, Noah lifted his head.
“Daddy?””
“Yes, buddy?””
He pointed toward the opening.
“Uncle Daniel said the other man looks like you.””
Daniel went still.
I looked at my son.
“When did Uncle Daniel say that?””
Noah shrugged.
“When Grandma was talking.””
I turned toward Daniel.
“What conversation?””
Daniel looked confused.
“Ethan, I haven't spoken to Noah about your twin.””
Noah pointed toward the staircase.
“Grandma said the man in the picture was Daddy's brother. She said he was sleeping in the big hospital.””
I crouched beside him.
“Did Grandma say anything else?””
Noah nodded.
“She said he was going to come and take me.””
My blood ran cold.
“Why would he take you?””
Noah's lower lip trembled.
“Because he said he wanted his little boy back.””
Emily pulled him closer.
Daniel stared at me.
“Your mother knew about the photograph before we received it.””
“How?””
He looked toward the stairs.
“Because she probably wasn't the only one controlling this family.””
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
“Who is this?””
A woman's voice spoke.
“Ethan, don't go to St. Agnes.””
I froze.
“Who are you?””
“Someone who helped deliver you.””
I looked at Daniel.
He raised his hand, silently telling me to put the call on speaker.
“Are you the person who sent the photograph?””
“Yes.””
“Where is my twin?””
A long pause.
Then she answered.
“His name is Andrew.””
I closed my eyes.
Andrew.
A name I had never heard before.
“Is he alive?””
“Yes.””
“Where is he?””
“Still at the hospital.””
“But St. Agnes closed years ago.””
“The original building did. The private medical wing didn't.””
I felt sick.
“Why is Claire there?””
The woman hesitated.
“Because she was supposed to bring you.””
“Bring me for what?””
Her voice dropped.
“Your mother signed an agreement thirty years ago. Your twin was never supposed to know you existed. But the agreement is ending.””
“What agreement?””
Before she could answer, a loud crash sounded through the phone.
The woman gasped.
Then a man's voice shouted in the background.
“WHO ARE YOU CALLING?””
The line went dead.
I immediately called back.
Disconnected.
Daniel grabbed my shoulder.
“We need to move.””
The officer objected.
“Mr. Wilson, we're not letting you walk into an unknown location.””
“Then come with me.””
He hesitated.
I looked at the photograph.
At the man who had my face.
At the brother I had never met.
And at the woman who had spent eighteen months sleeping beside me while hiding the truth.
“Someone is waiting for me,” I said.
The officer finally nodded.
“We'll take two vehicles.””
I looked at Emily.
She was holding Noah so tightly that his little arms were pressed against her chest.
“I'll come back.””
She kissed my son's hair.
“Bring the truth back with you.””
I walked toward the garden gate.
Then Noah called after me.
“Daddy!””
I turned.
He pointed at the photograph.
“That's not your brother.””
I frowned.
“What do you mean?””
Noah looked at the man's face.
“That's the man who came to Grandma's house when Mommy was crying.””
I felt the ground disappear beneath my feet.
“What man?””
Noah swallowed.
“The man who told Mommy to be quiet.””
Daniel's face went pale.
And suddenly, the hospital photograph wasn't just proof that my twin was alive.
It was proof that he had been at the house.
While Emily was imprisoned.
May you like
While Noah was growing up.
And while I was sleeping beside Claire.
