My eyes fluttered awake, slowly acclimating to the dark cell. Paralysis. Then I remembered. “Joshua?”

Silence.

A haunting, sinister laugh. This can’t be my brother.

“The cult was actually my idea, a perfect front,â€? Joshua informed me, detailing his slight of hand. “I recruited Paulo first because I needed someone sufficiently handsome and charismatic to run operations. You wouldn’t believe how quickly he transformed. Before long, he did my bidding without provocation. I knew you’d come after me, always the hero, so I sent Amanda to lead you here.â€?

“Why?â€?

“What’s the first thing these clones do when they are initiated? Who benefits when they cut ties with the excesses of the old life?”

“My god, this is about money?â€?

“Before you die, I want you to see something.â€? Joshua raised my hospital bed and I saw Amanda on her knees, bitterly betrayed. His gun trained at her head, Joshua laughed. “It wasn’t only about the money. It was about getting a new life.â€?

An instant later, Amanda and I were dead.