Chapter 28
The Man Who Was Not There
Daniel reached the nearest door and tested the handle.
“The lock is electronic,” Eli said. “It responds to the session.”
“Then shut down the session.”
“I cannot.”
“You opened it.”
“I opened the school.”
The copy turned to Claire. “The man who was not there is waiting in the archive.”
“Who?” Claire asked.
“The father on Rowan's certificate.”
Daniel looked at her. “I am here.”
“That is the problem.”
The screen showed a file named DANIEL VALE. Inside was a photograph of a man who looked like Daniel but younger, standing beside Elise and a child.
Daniel gripped the edge of the table.
“That is not me.”
“It is your model,” Lucy said.
“I never authorized one.”
“You authorized the settlement.”
The copy moved to the screen. “The program did not create models only for patients. It created models for people who needed to sign, testify, or disappear.”
Tess stepped toward Daniel. “What did you do?”
“I tried to get Rowan back.”
“By becoming someone else?”
“By giving them what they wanted.”
The gym speaker clicked.
Owen Bell said, “Daniel Vale is not the original subject.”
The copy lifted the clipboard.
“He is the witness.”
Claire remembered Mara's rule: never let Claire and the copy occupy the same room.
The rule had been broken.
The woman beside her was not the only copy in the gym.
In the bleachers, three figures stood with Daniel's face.