THE PARALLAX PROTOCOL

The Ring on Her Finger

James stared at Evelyn's left hand.

The gold band gleamed in the morning light. Simple. Elegant. The same ring she had worn for nine years. The same ring she had removed before standing in the shadows of Mercy Hospital.

Now it was back.

"When did you put that on?" James asked.

Evelyn looked down at her hand. Her expression didn't change. "I never took it off."

"At the hospital. In the lobby. You weren't wearing it."

"You must have been mistaken."

James pulled out his phone. The photograph from the hospital feed was still there. He turned the screen toward her.

In the image, Evelyn's left hand was bare.

Evelyn's face went pale. "That's not me."

"Of course it's you."

"That woman in the photograph is not me. Look closely, James. The hair is different. The jawline. The way she stands."

James looked again.

The woman in the photograph had darker hair. A sharper jaw. A different posture. He had assumed it was Evelyn because she was wearing Evelyn's clothes, standing in Evelyn's hospital, watching over Evelyn's husband.

But the face was wrong.

"Who is she?"

Evelyn sat down on the porch step. Her hands trembled.

"Her name is Sarah. Sarah Morrison. My half-sister."

James sat beside her. "You never mentioned a sister."

"Because I didn't know about her until three years ago. My father had an affair while he was married to my mother. Sarah was born six months before I was. He kept her hidden. Raised her in secret. Trained her to be... me."

"An identical copy?"

"A genetic twin. Same father, different mothers. We look similar enough to pass for each other in photographs. In security footage. In the dark."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he needed a backup. Someone who could replace me if I ever betrayed him. Someone who could walk into my life and no one would know the difference."

James thought about the wedding ring. The wrong name in her sleep. The small inconsistencies that had plagued his marriage for years.

"Has she replaced you before?"

"Not entirely. But there have been times. Nights when I was drugged, unconscious, being debriefed by my father's people. Sarah would take my place. Sleep beside you. Answer your questions. Smile at your jokes."

James felt sick.

"What about the prescriptions? The medication?"

"Sarah handled some of that. She has access to my office, my files, my patients. She's been slowly taking over my life for years."

"And you didn't think to mention this?"

"I was scared. My father has cameras everywhere. Listening devices. He would know if I told you. And if he knew, he would replace me permanently."

Evelyn looked at him. Tears streamed down her face.

"I know you don't trust me, James. I know I've lied to you. But I'm telling you the truth now. The woman in that photograph is Sarah. The woman who tried to inject you at the hospital was Sarah. The woman who sent you the message about Chloe was me."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Evelyn reached into her pocket and pulled out a small knife. She pressed the blade against her palm.

"What are you doing?"

"Proving I'm real."

She cut a thin line across her skin. Blood welled up.

"Sarah has a scar on her left hand. She got it when we were sixteen. I don't have that scar. Check my hand."

James took her hand. No scar. Just the fresh cut.

"Sarah also has a birthmark behind her right ear. I don't. Look."

She turned her head. James parted her hair. No birthmark.

"Now let me show you something else."

Evelyn pulled up a photograph on her phone. Two women stood side by side. One was Evelyn. The other was nearly identical.

"Sarah," Evelyn said.

The woman in the photograph had a small scar on her left hand. A birthmark behind her right ear.

"Where is she now?"

"Somewhere in Chicago. Probably at Mercy Hospital. She's been reporting to my father about everything you've been doing."

James stood up. "Then we need to move. Fast."

---

Inside the farmhouse, Harper was setting up a secure video feed.

Steven had managed to tap into the Chicago Police Department's surveillance network. Dozens of camera feeds flickered across the screen.

"Christopher Vance," Harper said. "My foster brother. He works out of the 18th District. Evidence locker is in the basement."

"How do we get in?"

"We don't. I go alone. Christopher trusts me. He'll let me into the locker if I tell him it's urgent."

David shook his head. "Too dangerous. Morrison has people everywhere. If he's watching Christopher, you'll walk right into an ambush."

"Then we create a diversion. Something that pulls Morrison's attention away from the evidence locker."

James looked at Evelyn. "You said Sarah is at Mercy Hospital?"

"Probably. She uses the basement office as her base."

"Then we hit the hospital. Not to get in. To cause chaos. Make Morrison think we're trying to rescue Michael again."

David nodded. "Divide their resources. While they're focused on the hospital, Harper goes for the evidence."

Harper grabbed her jacket. "I'll leave now. Steven, keep me on the line. If anything goes wrong, I need backup."

Steven tapped his earpiece. "Channel is secure. I'll monitor your location."

James turned to Evelyn. "You're coming with me to the hospital."

"I can't. Sarah will recognize me."

"That's the point. You're going to walk in, look her in the eye, and tell her it's over."

Evelyn's face went pale. "She'll kill me."

"Not with David and me beside you."

---

The drive to Mercy Hospital took two hours.

James, David, and Evelyn sat in the stolen delivery van. Steven had patched into the hospital's security feed. Sarah was in the basement office, alone.

"She's waiting for something," Steven said. "Or someone."

"We're about to give her what she wants."

David parked the van in the alley behind the hospital. James checked his weapon. David checked his. Evelyn had no weapon. Just her voice and her nerve.

"Remember," James said. "We're not here to fight. We're here to distract. Keep Sarah talking. Make her call Morrison. Pull his attention away from the evidence locker."

Evelyn nodded. "And if she tries to run?"

"Then we let her run. She's not the target."

They walked through the service entrance. The same door Mary Taylor had used. The same corridor. The same stairs.

The basement office.

Evelyn knocked.

"Come in."

The voice was identical to Evelyn's. Cold. Professional.

Evelyn opened the door.

Sarah sat behind the desk, her feet propped up, a phone in her hand. She looked up. Her eyes widened.

"Sister."

"Sarah."

Sarah stood. She was taller than Evelyn by an inch. Her hair was darker. Her eyes were colder.

"You brought company."

James stepped into the doorway. David flanked the other side.

"We need to talk," James said.

"About what?"

"About the end of the Parallax Protocol."

Sarah laughed. It was a bitter sound. "You think you can end it? My father built this program. He's been running it for fifteen years. You're a fly buzzing around a corpse."

"Your father killed people. Dozens of people. Including Dr. Vance."

"Dr. Vance was a liability. She wanted to go public. My father did what he had to do."

Evelyn stepped forward. "That's what you told yourself. That's what he told all of us. But it's a lie, Sarah. He didn't kill Dr. Vance to protect the program. He killed her because she refused to give him the formula for memory transfer."

"The formula doesn't exist."

"It does. And you know where it is."

Sarah's expression flickered.

"The evidence locker," Evelyn continued. "Dr. Vance's original notes. Sealed as part of her murder investigation. My father has been trying to get them for years. But he can't. Because Christopher Vance has the only key."

Sarah's hand moved toward her phone.

"Don't," James said.

"You can't stop this. My father will find the notes. He will complete the research. And he will use it to create an army of perfect soldiers. Nothing you do can prevent that."

"Watch us."

Sarah pressed a button on her phone.

"Sister," she said. "You've made a terrible mistake."

"No. I've finally made the right one."

---

Harper reached the 18th District police station at noon.

Christopher Vance was waiting for her in the parking lot. He was tall, broad-shouldered, with kind eyes and a worried expression.

"Harper, what's going on? You said it was urgent."

"I need access to the evidence locker. Case file on Dr. Helena Vance."

Christopher's face went pale. "That's a sealed case. I could lose my job."

"People are going to lose their lives if you don't help me."

Christopher looked at her for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"Follow me."

The evidence locker was in the basement. A heavy steel door with two locks. Christopher had keys to both.

He opened the door.

Inside were rows of shelves, stacked with boxes and bags. Christopher walked to the back wall and pulled down a cardboard box.

"Dr. Vance's personal effects. Taken from her lab after the fire."

Harper opened the box.

Inside were notebooks. Lab reports. Photographs. And a small metal drive.

"The notes," Harper whispered.

She plugged the drive into her laptop. The files were encrypted.

"Can you c***k it?" Christopher asked.

"Give me ten minutes."

---

At Mercy Hospital, Sarah was pacing.

James and David stood by the door. Evelyn sat in a chair, her hands folded in her lap.

"He's not coming," Evelyn said. "Our father isn't going to risk exposure for you."

"He'll come. He always comes."

"Not this time. This time, he's running."

Sarah stopped pacing. "What do you mean?"

"By now, Harper has the notes. Steven is uploading them to every news outlet in the country. By this time tomorrow, the Parallax Protocol will be front-page news."

Sarah's phone buzzed. She looked at the screen. Her face went white.

"He's gone," she whispered. "My father... he's disappeared."

"Where?"

"The helicopter. It took off ten minutes ago. No destination filed. No flight plan."

Evelyn stood up. "He's running. Just like I said."

Sarah looked at her sister. "What do I do?"

"Come with us. Turn yourself in. Tell the authorities what you know."

"They'll send me to prison."

"Maybe. But it's better than being hunted for the rest of your life."

Sarah looked at James. At David. At the door.

"Okay," she said. "I'll go with you."

---

Harper cracked the encryption in eight minutes.

The files were everything they had hoped for. Dr. Vance's original research. The formula for memory suppression. The antidote. And detailed notes on the Parallax Protocol's illegal activities.

Steven began uploading the files to news organizations.

The first response came within minutes. A reporter from the Chicago Tribune wanted an interview.

The second response came from the FBI. They wanted the evidence.

The third response came from Morrison.

You think you've won. You haven't. I have something you'll never find. Something that will make you wish you'd never started this war.

Attached was a photograph.

A little girl. Brown hair. Brown eyes. A birthmark on her left shoulder.

But not Chloe.

A different girl. Younger. Three or four years old.

The caption read: Emma wasn't the only one.