Chapter 11 - The Mirror Image
Arthur scrambled to his feet, ignoring the dizziness spinning in his head as he raced back out to the upstairs landing and looked down over the wooden banister into the entryway below.
Standing just inside the open front door was a man wearing an identical dark blue suit jacket and button-down shirt, his short brown hair neat, his posture erect, staring up at Clara and the children with an expression of mild curiosity.
"Who invited you in?" Clara demanded, her voice cutting through the silence as she stepped in front of Maya and Leo to shield them from the intruder.
The man at the door smiled, a cold, practiced gesture that didn't reach his eyes.
"I didn't need an invitation," the man replied, his voice an exact acoustic match for Arthur's own speaking tone. "I own the deed to this property. My name is Arthur Vance, and it appears someone has been squatting in my home while I was away."
Arthur stood frozen on the upper landing, looking down at his own double, unable to process the physical impossibility unfolding beneath him.
"Clara, don't listen to him!" Arthur shouted down from the stairs. "He's an impostor! He's part of whatever system is controlling this house!"
The man at the door looked up, locking eyes with Arthur on the stairs, a knowing smirk playing across his lips.
"You tell them, Arthur," the man said smoothly. "Tell them how hard it is to maintain a closed-loop simulation when the primary subject keeps trying to break character."
Clara slowly turned her head to look up at Arthur on the stairs, her dark eyes filled with a terrifying, unreadable realization.
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"Which one of you wrote the journal in the attic?" Clara asked softly, her gaze shifting between the two identical men as the front door slowly began to lock itself behind the intruder with a heavy, mechanical hum.
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