CHAPTER 60 — THE HIDDEN TWIN
Rose sat motionless.
“A twin?”
Margaret nodded.
“The second baby did not cry.”
“Was it a boy or a girl?”
“A girl.”
“What happened to her?”
“Miriam removed her before I could see her face.”
Sarah opened the registry.
No twin appeared in Rose’s records.
“Miriam erased the child completely.”
C-Two touched one of the empty cribs.
“The first Anchor needed two bodies.”
Elias had mentioned that early experiments divided memory and identity functions between subjects.
Rose looked at Olivia.
“You think my twin is controlling the pregnancy?”
Daniel studied the train’s control panel.
“Or controlling Rose.”
The train passed a wall of reflective glass.
For one second, Rose’s reflection did not match her movement.
The reflection turned its head before Rose did.
Lily screamed.
The glass shattered outward.
A woman fell into the train.
She looked like Rose.
Her hair had been cut short, and her skin was covered in thin surgical scars.
She attacked Sarah immediately.
Mason pulled her away.
Rose stared at the woman.
The stranger smiled.
“Hello, sister.”
Margaret whispered, “Iris.”
The woman stopped struggling.
“You remember my name.”
Rose approached cautiously.
“Are you accelerating Olivia’s pregnancy?”
Iris looked toward the unborn child.
“I am trying to wake her before Miriam cuts her out.”
Olivia backed away.
“What are you talking about?”
Iris pointed toward Sarah.
“She has been leading you to Saint Orison because Miriam promised to return the part of her mind they removed.”
Sarah raised her weapon.
“That is a lie.”
Iris laughed.
“You still hear the empty room, don’t you?”
Sarah’s hand began shaking.
Iris turned to Claire.
“Miriam is not waiting at Saint Orison.”
“Then who is?”
“The person who created Miriam.”
The train exited the tunnel.
An enormous stone orphanage stood on a cliff above the ocean.
Every window was illuminated.
May you like
A man waited at the gate.
He looked exactly like Mason.
