Chapter 7: The Man in My Face
The room stopped making sense.
Every sound became distant.
The rain outside.
The shattered window.
Lily’s frightened breathing.
Ava’s hand wrapped around mine.
All of it faded beneath one impossible sentence.
*You’re the copy.*
I stared at the man standing in front of me.
My face.
My voice.
My eyes.
Everything about him felt like looking into a mirror that had learned how to hate me.
“No,” I whispered.
The stranger tilted his head.
“That’s what I said too.””
My stomach twisted.
Emma pushed herself up from the chair.
“Ryan…”
She wasn’t looking at me.
She was looking at him.
And the fear in her eyes told me something I didn’t want to understand.
“You knew,” I said.
Emma shook her head quickly.
“No.””
“Then why are you looking at him like you’ve seen a ghost?””
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
The stranger smiled.
“Because she knows.””
I turned toward him.
“Who are you?””
He stepped closer.
“My name is Ryan Mitchell.””
The words felt like a punch.
“No.””
“Yes.””
He pointed at me.
“And you?””
His smile disappeared.
“You’re something they built.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Don’t listen to him.””
The other Ryan looked at Daniel.
“You still protect him?””
Daniel’s expression hardened.
“You’re not him anymore.””
A strange sadness crossed the stranger’s face.
“That’s exactly what they wanted you to believe.””
Dr. Carter moved toward the doorway.
“Enough.””
Everyone looked at him.
He held the folder tightly.
“You weren’t supposed to come here.””
The stranger laughed.
“You say that like you didn’t create this mess.””
I looked between them.
“Someone explain.””
Nobody moved.
Then the stranger spoke.
“The accident was real.””
I swallowed.
“Then why?””
“Because I survived.””
He touched his chest.
“And when I woke up, I learned something.””
He looked at me.
“They had already replaced me.””
The room went silent.
I felt Ava’s fingers tighten around mine.
“Replaced?””
He nodded.
“Your memories. Your personality. Your habits.””
He looked disgusted.
“They copied everything.””
I shook my head.
“That’s impossible.””
Dr. Carter spoke quietly.
“Not impossible.””
I looked at him.
“You did this?””
His silence answered.
A wave of anger hit me.
“You made me?””
Dr. Carter looked away.
“We saved your life.””
“No.””
I stepped forward.
“You created someone else.””
The stranger stared at me.
For a moment, I expected him to hate me.
Instead, he looked tired.
“I hated you for years.””
The honesty caught me off guard.
“You hated me?””
“You had my life.””
His voice cracked.
“My wife. My home. My daughter.””
My eyes moved to Emma.
Then Ava.
The little girl looked confused.
“Daddy?””
The stranger looked at her.
His face softened.
“I’m sorry.””
Ava stepped back.
“No.””
The pain in her voice stopped everyone.
“You’re not my daddy.””
The stranger froze.
Because a four-year-old child had just rejected the person who looked exactly like me.
Ava hid behind me.
“You don’t know my songs.””
The stranger said nothing.
“You don’t know my favorite story.””
His expression broke.
“You don’t remember the night I was scared of thunderstorms.””
I felt something inside me crack.
Because I didn’t remember those things either.
But somehow…
I wanted to.
The stranger lowered his eyes.
“You’re right.””
He whispered.
“I’m not the daddy you know.””
A strange silence followed.
Then a loud crash came from downstairs.
Everyone turned.
Dr. Carter looked toward the hallway.
“They found us.””
Daniel grabbed Ava.
“We move now.””
“No,” I said.
Everyone looked at me.
I looked at the two men with my face.
“I’m done running.””
The stranger stared.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.””
“I know exactly what I’m saying.””
I held up the folder.
“I want the truth.””
Dr. Carter sighed.
“You may not like it.””
“I haven’t liked anything about tonight.””
The lights flickered.
A voice echoed from downstairs.
“Dr. Carter?””
Everyone froze.
The voice was calm.
Professional.
Familiar.
The doctor’s face changed.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“Who is that?””
He whispered:
“The person who ordered the experiment.””
The footsteps began climbing the stairs.
Slowly.
Confidently.
The stranger beside me looked terrified.
For the first time all night.
“What?””
I looked at him.
“You know who it is?””
He nodded.
His face had gone pale.
“Yes.””
The footsteps stopped.
A shadow appeared beneath the bedroom door.
May you like
And the stranger whispered:
“That’s the man who killed the original Ryan.””
