Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO WORE MY FACE
Samuel couldn't sleep.
The photograph sat on the kitchen table.
He stared at it until sunrise.
The resemblance was impossible.
The same jaw.
The same gray eyes.
The same scar.
Even the same wedding ring.
Emma sat across from him.
“Dad, who is he?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel leaned against the wall.
“You've seen him before.”
Samuel looked up.
“When?”
“At Mom's funeral.”
Samuel froze.
Daniel continued.
“He stood near the back.”
“I don't remember.”
“You wouldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted you to think he was me.”
Samuel stared at his son.
Daniel explained that after their mother's death, he began investigating the accident.
He found inconsistencies.
A missing brake inspection.
A mechanic who disappeared.
A payment to a hospital employee.
Then he discovered something worse.
Someone had been using Samuel's identity.
Bank accounts.
Legal signatures.
Property transfers.
Insurance documents.
Everything appeared legitimate.
But the person behind them wasn't Samuel.
Samuel felt sick.
“Why didn't you come to me?”
“I did.”
“What?”
“Seven times.”
Samuel shook his head.
“I never heard from you.”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“That's because they intercepted every message.”
Emma looked toward the hallway.
“Who?”
Daniel answered:
“Victoria.”
Samuel stood.
“Where is she?”
“Gone.”
“She was here tonight.”
“She left before the police arrived.”
Samuel looked at Damian.
Damian was sitting on the couch with his head lowered.
“Where did she go?”
Damian didn't answer.
Samuel stepped closer.
“You have one chance.”
Damian finally looked up.
“I don't know.”
Samuel placed the photograph in front of him.
“Then explain this.”
Damian stared.
His face turned white.
“I've never seen that man.”
“You met him.”
“No.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
Damian looked away.
Daniel stepped forward.
“Because he's the one who recruited you.”
Damian said nothing.
Emma stood.
“Did you ever love me?”
The question seemed to break something in him.
Damian looked at her.
“I did.”
“Then why?”
“I was trapped.”
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“You tried to steal my life.”
“I know.”
Emma's voice trembled.
“Did you ever intend to kill me?”
Damian's silence answered.
Samuel grabbed him by the collar.
Emma shouted:
“Dad!”
Samuel released him.
He walked away.
He was angry.
But he knew anger could destroy evidence.
His entire life had been built around one principle:
Never make a decision while emotional.
Then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
Samuel answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“You're getting close.”
Samuel said nothing.
“You should have stayed quiet.”
“Who are you?”
“You already know.”
The call ended.
A message arrived immediately.
A photograph.
Emma.
Standing outside the hospital.
Taken only thirty minutes earlier.
Samuel's heart stopped.
Another message appeared.
YOU CANNOT PROTECT HER EVERYWHERE.
Samuel looked at Daniel.
“They're watching the hospital.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
“What do we do?”
Daniel smiled.
“We stop running.”
They packed Emma into an armored vehicle.
The police chief tried to intervene.
Samuel looked at him.
“Get out of my way.”
“You're obstructing an investigation.”
“No.”
Samuel held up the recording.
“I'm conducting one.”
They drove to a secure location.
Inside, Daniel opened a laptop.
He had spent years building a hidden archive.
Thousands of files.
Emails.
Bank transfers.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
Names.
Samuel stared at the screen.
“Why didn't you release this?”
“Because I didn't have enough.”
“Enough for what?”
“To prove who was really behind it.”
Daniel opened a folder labeled:
PROJECT HARBOR.
Inside was a single document.
A list of families.
Twenty-three names.
Every family had suffered a suspicious death, financial collapse, or forced guardianship.
Samuel recognized several.
One belonged to a judge.
Another to a senator.
Another to a wealthy hotel owner.
Daniel pointed to the final name.
“Your family was number twenty-four.”
Samuel stared.
“Who runs Project Harbor?”
Daniel hesitated.
Then opened the final page.
The name was blacked out.
But beneath it was a photograph.
Samuel looked at it.
Then his face went completely blank.
It was his wife.
Alive.
Older.
Standing beside Victoria.
Emma whispered:
“Mom?”
Samuel couldn't answer.
May you like
Because beneath the photograph was a date.
Three months ago.
