Chapter 8 - Daniel stood frozen.His mother walked toward him.
“Mom?”
She smiled.
“You always were the stubborn one.”
Daniel backed away.
Emma raised a gun.
“Stop.”
The woman looked at Emma.
“You survived.”
Emma’s expression hardened.
“Barely.”
Vanessa stepped between them.
Daniel looked at her.
“You know her.”
Vanessa nodded.
“She isn’t your mother.”
Daniel felt his heart pound.
The woman laughed.
“Such a disappointing wife.”
Vanessa shook.
Daniel stared at the woman.
“Who are you?”
She slowly removed the skin-like mask from her face.
Daniel recoiled.
The woman underneath had pale skin and surgical scars around her jaw.
But the eyes were identical.
She spoke.
“My name is Evelyn Kane.”
Daniel looked at Emma.
“Kane?”
Emma nodded.
“Victor’s sister.”
Evelyn smiled.
“Your father built the program.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Then why are you running it?”
“Because your father died.”
She stepped closer.
“And someone had to finish his work.”
Daniel looked at Lily.
“What do you want from her?”
“Her memory.”
“She’s a child.”
“She’s the future.”
Daniel raised the gun.
Evelyn stopped.
“You won’t shoot.”
“How do you know?”
“Because your memories tell you I’m family.”
Daniel’s finger tightened around the trigger.
“But they aren’t my memories anymore.”
Evelyn’s smile faded.
Emma whispered, “Good.”
Suddenly Marcus shot the control panel.
Sparks exploded.
The cylinder opened.
Eli collapsed onto the floor.
Daniel ran to him.
“Eli!”
Eli opened his eyes.
“Dad.”
Daniel grabbed him.
Eli whispered:
“Get Lily out.”
“Not without you.”
“You don’t understand.”
He looked at Emma.
“She remembered too much.”
Emma froze.
“What did I remember?”
Eli shook his head.
“The truth about Mom.”
Daniel looked toward Vanessa.
“What about her?”
Eli stared at Vanessa.
“She was there.”
Vanessa began sobbing.
Daniel stood.
“Where?”
“The night Emma disappeared.”
Vanessa whispered:
“I was trying to save her.”
Emma stepped closer.
“You betrayed me.”
“I was sixteen.”
“You told them where I was.”
“I was terrified!”
Daniel looked between them.
“What happened?”
Vanessa broke.
“Your father threatened Eli.”
Daniel went silent.
“He said if I didn’t help him, he would kill the baby.”
Daniel stared.
“You helped him take our son?”
“I thought I was saving him!”
Eli slowly sat up.
“You were.”
Everyone turned.
Eli looked at Vanessa.
“You were the only reason I survived.”
Vanessa cried harder.
Then a warning siren started.
Eli looked at the ceiling.
“They found us.”
Emma raised the gun.
“We need to move.”
Daniel helped Eli stand.
The underground chamber began collapsing.
Concrete rained from above.
They ran through another tunnel.
Behind them, Evelyn shouted:
“You cannot erase the program!”
Daniel looked back.
She stood in the smoke.
“Because the program is already inside you!”
The tunnel exploded.
Daniel fell.
When he woke, everything was silent.
He looked around.
Lily was gone.
Vanessa was gone.
Emma was gone.
Eli was gone.
Only Marcus lay beside him.
Dead.
Daniel crawled toward him.
A small device was clutched in Marcus’s hand.
Daniel took it.
It contained one audio file.
He pressed play.
Marcus’s recorded voice whispered:
“Daniel, if you hear this, I failed.”
A pause.
“Lily was never the target.”
Daniel’s blood ran cold.
Marcus continued.
“The target was you.”
The recording ended.
Then Daniel heard footsteps behind him.
He turned.
Lily stood there.
But her eyes looked different.
Empty.
Cold.
She smiled.
“Daddy.”
Daniel slowly stood.
“What happened to you?”
Lily tilted her head.
May you like
Then spoke in a voice that wasn’t hers.
“We need to talk.”
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