Chapter 18 - The Twin in the Shadows
Arthur stood frozen in the vault, the ultrasound photo trembling in his withered hands.
Twin sisters.
Lily had a twin.
When Rachel gave birth in that private clinic in Zurich twelve years ago, the doctors had told Arthur that the second baby was stillborn. Arthur had handled the funeral arrangements from afar, consumed by corporate mergers, never asking for proof, never looking into the small white coffin that had been buried in the Swiss Alps.
Julian had stolen the child. He had raised her under his own roof, naming her Chloe, poisoning her mind from infancy with the lie that Arthur Vance was a tyrant who had cast her aside like garbage.
"Marcus..." Arthur gasped, clutching his chest as a blinding pain shot through his left arm. "The mansion... Lily..."
"We left six men on her, sir!" Marcus said, catching Arthur before he collapsed. "The estate is locked down tighter than Fort Knox!"
"No," Arthur wheezed, his vision blurring with black spots. "Chloe doesn't need to break in. Chloe has the biometric clearance. She’s registered as family!"
Marcus yanked his radio to his lips. "Echo Base! This is Marcus! Do you copy? Report status on the principal! Echo Base, respond immediately!"
Static. Harsh, crackling static hissed through the speaker.
Then, a voice broke through the channel—calm, cold, and dripping with venomous amusement.
"Echo Base can’t hear you, Marcus," Chloe’s voice echoed through the radio. "They’re sleeping out by the pool. Just like Mama slept on Route 9."
"Chloe!" Arthur screamed into the mic, fighting through the crushing agony in his chest. "Listen to me! Julian lied to you! You are Rachel’s daughter! Lily is your twin sister!"
A chilling laugh responded from the speaker.
May you like
"Nice try, old man. Julian told me you’d make up some pathetic fairy tale when the walls closed in. I’m standing in Mama’s rose garden right now. And I’ve got Lily sitting on the patio. Do you want to hear her beg, Grandpa? Just like Daniel made her beg?"
***
