Ghosts of the Past

Ghosts of the Past

Three days after escaping the cabin, Aidan, Asher, and Elijah huddled in a cheap motel room on the outskirts of New Haven. Rain tapped against the windows as cars whooshed by on the wet highway.

"Any word from the others?" Aidan asked, pacing between the beds.

Elijah shook his head. "Radio silence, as planned. Less contact means less chance of Victor tracking us."

Asher sat by the window, watching raindrops race down the glass. "We can't hide forever. Victor has the journal pages and probably knows what Mom hid."

A sharp knock at the door made them freeze. Elijah reached for his gun, nodding at the twins to take position.

"It's me," called Maya's voice.

Elijah checked through the peephole before opening the door. Maya slipped inside, dripping water on the carpet. Her face was tight with worry.

"You weren't followed?" Asher asked.

"I took every precaution," she replied, shrugging off her wet coat. "But Victor's people are everywhere. He's put out a story that you've kidnapped Aidan, Asher. The police are looking for you too."

Aidan cursed. "Of course he'd turn this around on us."

Maya pulled out a laptop from her waterproof bag. "I found something at the office. Something that changes everything."

The three men gathered around as she opened the computer.

"I've been digging through old security archives," Maya explained. "Files that should have been deleted years ago but were backed up on a forgotten server."

She clicked on a video file. The date stamp read August 17, 2004—the day before their mother died.

The black and white footage showed the executive floor of Carter Enterprises. The timestamp read 11:47 PM.

Catherine Carter stormed into Victor's office, her face filled with fury. Though the video had no sound, it was clear she was shouting. Victor remained seated behind his desk, his expression cold.

"Mom looks so angry," Aidan whispered, his eyes glued to the screen.

"I've never seen her like that," Asher agreed.

On screen, Catherine slammed something on Victor's desk—papers or photos they couldn't make out. Victor glanced at them, his face hardening. He stood slowly, walking around the desk.

Their mother backed away, pointing an accusing finger at him. Victor's mouth moved in what looked like a threat.

Then Catherine said something that made Victor's face change. He lunged forward, grabbing her throat.

"No!" Asher cried out, as if he could stop what had happened years ago.

The struggle lasted only seconds before Victor let go. Catherine stumbled back, her hand at her neck. She said something else—something that made Victor's face twist with rage.

The video ended abruptly.

"That's all?" Elijah asked, his voice tight.

Maya shook her head. "There's more, from a different camera."

The next clip showed the parking garage. Catherine rushed to her car, constantly looking behind her. As she fumbled with her keys, Victor appeared at the elevator.

They watched as he approached her, his mouth moving in what must have been calm, persuasive words. Catherine's posture relaxed slightly. Victor reached out, touching her shoulder in what looked like apology.

Then, while her guard was down, he slipped something into her purse.

"What did he put in there?" Aidan asked, leaning closer.

"I think it was a pill bottle," Maya said quietly. "The next morning, she crashed her car on the way to meet her lawyer."

Asher's face had gone pale. "He drugged her. The crash wasn't an accident."

"He murdered her," Aidan whispered, his hands shaking. "All these years, we believed—"

"That's not all," Maya interrupted, pulling up another file. "I found this in her email archives. It was never sent but saved as a draft the night before she died."

The email was addressed to someone called "Guardian" with the subject line "FINAL CONTINGENCY."

If you're reading this, I'm already gone. Victor knows about Project Mirror. He knows I've discovered what he's done to our children. The evidence is hidden where he'll never find it—split five ways as we discussed. But the KEY isn't in those places. It's in plain sight, where only they would think to look. Tell my children: remember the mirrors in the summer house. What they reflected wasn't always what was there.

The last piece is with you. Keep it safe until ALL FIVE are ready.

\-C

Silence filled the room as they absorbed her words.

"The summer house," Aidan finally said. "We haven't been there since we were kids."

"Mom used to play games with us there," Asher remembered. "Hide and seek with mirrors."

Elijah looked thoughtful. "What about the 'all five' part? We've only found four siblings so far."

Maya closed the laptop. "Maybe that's why your mother's plan hasn't worked yet. You need all five of you together."

A buzzing sound made them jump. It was Maya's secure phone.

"It's from Adrian," she said, reading the message. "They found something in Chicago. A safe deposit box with your mother's name."

"What was inside?" Aidan asked eagerly.

Maya looked up, her eyes wide. "Birth certificates. Five of them. But the fifth name isn't Alex."

"What?" Asher moved closer. "But Alex is our brother. We saw the DNA test."

"According to these papers, your fifth sibling is named Sophia."

Elijah frowned. "Could Alex be using another name?"

"No," Maya said, scrolling through more messages. "These certificates have photos attached. Sophia is definitely not Alex."

"Then who is he?" Aidan demanded.

Maya's phone buzzed again with a new message from Adrian. She read it, her face draining of color.

"What?" Asher pressed. "What does it say?"

"They did more tests," Maya said slowly. "Alex's DNA... it's not a match with any of you."

"That's impossible," Aidan insisted. "He knew things only family would know."

"Or things Victor told him," Elijah suggested darkly.

A horrible thought dawned on Asher. "If Alex isn't our brother... then who's been leading Adrian and Audrey around Chicago?"

Maya frantically typed a message to Adrian. The response came seconds later.

"Adrian says Alex disappeared an hour ago. Said he was getting coffee and never came back."

The pieces suddenly clicked into place for Aidan. "The person in the helicopter with Victor—"

"Was Alex," Elijah finished grimly.

Asher reached for the laptop, rewinding the security footage. He froze the frame when Victor slipped something into their mother's purse.

"Look at his hand," Asher said, pointing. "The ring."

They leaned in, squinting at the grainy image. On Victor's pinky finger was a distinctive ring with a square black stone.

"I've seen that ring before," Aidan said slowly.

Maya pulled up a photo on her phone—Alex at the cabin, his hand raised to point at the map. On his right pinky: an identical ring.

"It can't be," Asher whispered, his voice breaking.

"Alex isn't your brother," Maya confirmed. "He's Victor's son. His real son."

Outside, lightning flashed, illuminating the parking lot. In that brief second, a figure was visible standing by their motel room window, watching them.

The same figure wearing the ring with the black stone.