Part 9 – The Recording
“Babe.”
That word echoed in my head long after it left his mouth —
not because of what he said, but because of who he said it to.
He wasn’t looking at me.
He was looking at her.
The woman who looked exactly like me.
Same face. Same smile. And same voice.
But somehow… not me.
Before I could even speak, the receptionist’s phone rang.
Brian turned, whispered something to her, and by the time I blinked, both of them — he and Mercy — had vanished down the hallway.
I ran after them.
But when I reached Room 214, it was empty.
Just two glasses on the table — lipstick on one.
And a faint scent of my perfume.
I stumbled back into the hallway, my mind spinning.
Was I losing it? Or had he actually found someone who looked exactly like me?
I drove home in a blur. I don’t even remember starting the car.
When I got there, it was already dark. The air outside felt heavy, charged — like something was about to break.
That’s when I saw it.
A small brown envelope sitting neatly on the doorstep.
No note. No handwriting. Just my name — Cynthia.
Inside was a flash drive.
And a folded piece of paper with only four words written in blue ink:
“You deserve the truth.”
I locked the door, grabbed my laptop, and plugged it in.
The screen flickered, then played a video.
It was Brian.
Sitting in a dimly lit room. His face pale, his eyes haunted.
“If you’re watching this… it means I couldn’t stop her,” he said.
“It was never supposed to go this far. Mercy wasn’t meant to come back.”
My hands trembled.
“They said she died,” he continued, voice breaking. “But she didn’t. I swear, Cynthia — she wasn’t human anymore when she found me.”
The video glitched. The sound warped.
Then — a shadow moved behind him. A woman’s figure.
She leaned close to his ear and whispered something that made him flinch.
Then she turned —
and looked directly into the camera.
It was her.
Mercy.
And she smiled.
🔥 To be continued…
👉 Read Part 10 – The Final Confrontation