Chapter 5 - The Shadow in the Tank
Sarah covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. The room was a shrine of obsession. Hundreds of photos of Sarah were pinned to corkboards. Photos of her at the park with the kids. Photos of her sleeping in her own bed. Photos from before she even met Michael.
But as she stepped closer, a chilling realization washed over her.
Half of the photos weren't of her. They were of Chloe. Her twin, captured over the last decade, looking thin, haggard, and terrified. Someone had been meticulously comparing them, documenting their differences, obsessing over their similarities.
On a small metal desk in the corner sat a leather-bound journal. Sarah snatched it up, her hands trembling. She flipped it open. It wasn't Michael's handwriting.
August 12th: He likes Sarah better. He always liked Sarah better. He keeps me down here in the dark while he buys her diamonds. I just wanted my sister. But he says I'm the 'flawed copy'. Tomorrow is the wedding. I won't let him have her. I will put on the dress. I will take her place.
The breath rushed out of Sarah's lungs. Michael hadn't been obsessing over Chloe. Chloe had been obsessing over her. Chloe had escaped the Oregon facility, come to the resort, and hidden in the maintenance tunnels.
A slow, rhythmic clapping echoed from the doorway.
May you like
Sarah spun around. Michael stood there, silhouetted against the blue light of the aquarium tanks. He was no longer the panicked, sweating groom. His posture was relaxed, a cold, empty smile playing on his lips.
"I really was hoping you wouldn't come down here, Sarah," Michael said, stepping into the room and locking the heavy steel door behind him. "It ruins the narrative."
