Chapter 11 - Lakeshore
Lakeshore sat ninety minutes north of the city.
Nicole drove.
Monica sat beside her.
The two Daniels followed in separate cars because Nicole refused to be trapped in one vehicle with both.
Judith was not invited.
Officer Ruiz came unofficially after telling Nicole, “I’m past pretending this is a normal fraud inquiry.”
The property consisted of thirty-two wooded acres surrounding a neglected stone house.
The land was worth millions because luxury developers had been trying to buy the shoreline for years.
Nicole unlocked the door using a key from the foundation file.
Dust covered everything.
Monica looked around.
“Rich people abandon houses better than most people live.”
Nicole almost smiled.
Daniel entered behind them.
Sweater Daniel stopped on the threshold.
“What?”
Nicole asked.
“I remember this place.”
Doorway Daniel frowned.
“So do I.”
“When?”
Daniel stared toward the staircase.
“Dad brought me here when I was seventeen.”
Sweater Daniel nodded.
“One night.”
“Why?”
Neither answered immediately.
Then Daniel said, “He wanted me to see something.”
They climbed upstairs.
A small room overlooked the lake.
Inside stood another covered mirror.
Nicole felt anger rather than fear.
“How many mirrors did your father have?”
Daniel whispered, “Three.”
“The house.”
“The basement.”
“And this.”
Monica pointed at the wall.
“Camera.”
An old recording system sat inside a cabinet.
Ruiz powered it using a portable battery pack.
Several tapes were labeled by date.
One:
OCTOBER 14, 2004 — DANIEL.
Daniel was seventeen.
He looked ill.
“No.”
Nicole turned.
“What?”
“I don’t want to watch that.”
“Why?”
Daniel stared at the tape.
“Because I remember coming here.”
Sweater Daniel said quietly, “But neither of us remembers leaving.”
They watched.
Seventeen-year-old Daniel appeared on the screen beside Thomas.
Thomas looked frightened.
“Tell the camera your name.”
“Daniel Thomas Anderson.”
“Age?”
“Seventeen.”
“What happened tonight?”
Daniel swallowed.
“I stole Mom’s car.”
Doorway Daniel frowned.
“I remember that.”
The teenage Daniel continued.
“I crashed into the garage post.”
Monica looked confused.
“That’s it?”
Thomas asked, “What did you tell your mother?”
“That someone hit it in the parking lot.”
Thomas nodded toward the mirror.
“And what did you promise me?”
“That I’d tell her the truth.”
The video glitched.
When the image returned, two seventeen-year-old Daniels stood in the room.
Nicole stopped breathing.
Doorway Daniel whispered, “Oh my God.”
Both teenagers were terrified.
Thomas spoke calmly.
“This is the second documented recurrence in my son.”
One teenage Daniel wore a blue jacket.
The other wore a gray sweatshirt.
Nicole looked at the adult versions beside her.
The pattern was almost identical.
Thomas asked the boys, “What do you remember?”
Both answered together.
“Everything.”
The adult Daniels stared at the screen.
Sweater Daniel whispered, “We’ve done this before.”
On-screen, Thomas separated the teenagers.
He asked each what happened.
The boy in the blue jacket insisted the accident was minor and Judith would overreact.
The boy in gray said, “I was driving after drinking.”
Adult Daniel suddenly sat down.
Nicole stared.
“You drank?”
“I don’t remember.”
The video continued.
Thomas asked, “How much?”
“Three beers.”
Blue-jacket Daniel shouted, “He’s lying!”
Gray Daniel began crying.
“No. We almost hit someone.”
Nicole felt sick.
The adult Daniel covered his face.
“I don’t remember this.”
Thomas looked into the camera.
“The fracture is not the damaged car. It is the concealed danger.”
The tape skipped.
Then Judith appeared.
Younger.
Furious.
“What have you done?”
Thomas explained.
Judith looked between the two boys.
Then she crossed the room and took the blue-jacket Daniel’s hand.
“This is my son.”
Thomas said, “Judith, don’t.”
“The other one is confused.”
Gray Daniel stared at her.
“Mom.”
“Don’t call me that.”
The boy looked destroyed.
Nicole glanced at Sweater Daniel.
His expression mirrored the teenager’s.
On-screen Judith led the blue-jacket Daniel away.
Thomas stayed with the other.
The tape continued for thirty minutes.
Thomas questioned Gray Daniel.
The teenager admitted everything.
Driving after drinking.
Nearly striking a cyclist.
Lying.
Then Thomas said something chilling.
“If your mother rejects you, the mirror may erase this version.”
Gray Daniel cried.
“Am I going to die?”
Thomas moved toward him.
“I don’t know.”
The tape cut.
The next segment showed Thomas alone.
His eyes were red.
“Only one Daniel remains.”
Nicole’s heart pounded.
“He doesn’t remember the drinking, the cyclist or the second self.”
Adult Daniel stared.
Thomas continued.
“Judith believes this is mercy.”
He looked directly at the camera.
“I believe we taught our son something unforgivable.”
Nicole whispered, “What?”
Thomas answered.
“That the version who tells the truth is disposable.”
Adult Daniel began to cry.
Not dramatically.
Quietly.
As though a locked room inside him had finally opened.
Sweater Daniel stared at him.
“Now you know why I’m afraid of you.”
Doorway Daniel looked up.
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Sweater Daniel continued.
“You already survived once by letting the honest version disappear.”
