CHAPTER 6 — THE GIRL WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
Darkness swallowed the laboratory.
The emergency lights had failed.
Only the distant flashes of lightning above the mansion briefly illuminated the room through a narrow ventilation shaft.
Step...
Step...
Step...
The footsteps grew closer.
Richard tightened his grip on the pistol.
"Flashlights!" he ordered.
Several beams cut through the darkness.
Empty tables.
Broken glass.
Blood.
No one.
The footsteps stopped.
Sarah frowned.
"They're trying to make us nervous."
A loud metallic bang echoed from the far end of the laboratory.
One of the guards turned instinctively.
Too late.
A black-clad figure burst from behind a storage cabinet and drove a knife into his shoulder.
The guard screamed.
Gunfire erupted.
The attacker disappeared into the maze of laboratory equipment before anyone could get a clear shot.
"They're everywhere!" another guard yelled.
"No," Sarah replied.
Listening carefully.
"It's only one person."
The attacker was moving incredibly fast, knocking over shelves and equipment to create echoes that made it sound like several people were surrounding them.
Professional.
Calculated.
Another flash of movement.
Bang!
Richard fired.
The bullet shattered a monitor.
The shadow vanished again.
Then—
Emily coughed.
Everyone turned.
Her eyes fluttered open.
She looked terrified.
"Dad..."
Richard dropped beside her immediately.
"I'm here."
Emily grabbed his sleeve.
"You have to leave."
"We're outnumbered."
Richard shook his head.
"I'm not leaving you."
Emily looked around the laboratory.
"They built this place..."
"...under our house."
Sarah leaned closer.
"Who?"
Emily swallowed painfully.
"I never learned his name."
"Everyone called him..."
"The Director."
The title sent a chill through the room.
Richard exchanged a glance with Sarah.
The same name from the assassin's phone.
Emily continued.
"I found financial records inside the company."
"Millions of dollars disappearing."
"I followed the money."
"It led to St. Matthew Hospital..."
"...and here."
Her breathing became heavier.
"I thought Victoria was responsible."
Victoria lowered her eyes.
Emily slowly turned toward her.
"I was wrong."
Silence.
Richard stared at both women.
Emily reached out weakly and took Victoria's hand.
"I'm sorry."
Victoria's eyes filled with tears.
"I should've protected you."
Sarah frowned.
"Protected her from who?"
Victoria hesitated.
Then finally spoke.
"The Director."
"I met him two years ago."
Richard looked stunned.
"What?"
Victoria nodded.
"He approached me before I met you."
"He already knew everything about your family."
"He wanted someone close to you."
"You were spying on me?"
Richard asked bitterly.
"At first..."
Victoria admitted.
"But then I fell in love with you."
Richard looked away, unable to process the confession.
Victoria continued.
"When Emily started investigating the missing money..."
"The Director ordered me to earn her trust."
"I refused."
"So he found another way."
Sarah looked at Emily.
"The fake medication?"
Emily nodded weakly.
"One of the doctors worked for him."
"The nurse who entered my room..."
"...wasn't Sarah."
Sarah frowned.
"You saw her?"
Emily closed her eyes, trying to remember.
"She looked exactly like Sarah."
The room became silent.
Richard slowly looked toward the frozen security footage still displayed on one cracked monitor.
"So the woman in the video..."
"...was an impostor."
Sarah whispered,
"But how?"
Before anyone could answer—
The laboratory speakers crackled again.
The Director's voice returned.
"Excellent."
"I was wondering how long it would take."
Richard pointed his pistol toward the ceiling.
"Show yourself!"
A soft laugh echoed through the room.
"I already have."
Suddenly every monitor switched on.
This time displaying live security footage from inside the mansion.
Hallways.
Bedrooms.
Kitchen.
Garage.
Every room.
One screen caught Sarah's attention.
A woman wearing a white nurse's uniform walked calmly down the second-floor hallway.
Sarah froze.
The woman had...
Her face.
Her hair.
Her voice.
Even the small scar above her left eyebrow.
It was an exact copy.
"No..."
Sarah whispered.
The woman on the screen stopped walking.
She looked directly into the camera.
Then she smiled.
Exactly the way Sarah smiled.
She raised one hand...
And slowly waved.
Richard felt the blood drain from his face.
"My God..."
Emily's breathing became frantic.
"That's her..."
"That's the woman who poisoned me."
The fake Sarah spoke into the security camera.
"If you're watching..."
"...come upstairs."
"I've been waiting."
Then she disappeared around the corner.
The monitors went black.
No one spoke for several seconds.
Finally one of the guards whispered the question everyone was thinking.
"If that isn't Sarah..."
"...then who is she?"
Before anyone could answer—
A loud explosion rocked the mansion.
The ceiling above the laboratory cracked.
Dust and concrete rained down around them.
One final message echoed through the speakers.
"Tick..."
"Tick..."
"Tick..."
Sarah's eyes widened.
"Everyone down!"
May you like
The entire laboratory erupted as the first support beam collapsed.
END OF CHAPTER 6
