Chapter 12 - The Original ElenaAlexander pointed the gun at Mia.
“Who are you?”
Mia looked almost amused.
“Someone your father was afraid of.”
Eva stepped between them.
“Don't listen to her.”
Mia laughed.
“You still think you can protect him.”
“I will.”
“You already failed.”
Alexander looked at Eva.
“Tell me.”
Eva shook her head.
“Tell me everything.”
She closed her eyes.
“My real name isn't Eva.”
Alexander waited.
“It’s Elena.”
His face hardened.
“My wife.”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“I was the original Elena.”
Alexander felt the world shift again.
“The woman I married?”
“Yes.”
“Then who is Eva?”
Mia answered.
“The woman standing beside you.”
Alexander stared.
Eva looked devastated.
“I was created using Elena's memories.”
“So my wife was replaced?”
“Yes.”
“By you?”
Eva nodded.
“I was made to become her.”
Alexander's hands trembled.
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
He laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
Eva’s voice cracked.
“I loved you before I became her.”
Alexander went silent.
“You don't remember me,” she whispered.
“Because they erased you.”
Mia stepped forward.
“They erased everyone.”
The bunker door opened.
A man entered.
Alexander recognized him.
His mother's head of security.
But he was bleeding.
He dropped to one knee.
“Sir.”
Alexander lowered his gun slightly.
“What happened?”
“Mrs. Vale.”
His eyes were full of terror.
“She has the building.”
“What building?”
“The hospital.”
“What hospital?”
“The one where the first Alexander is still alive.”
Alexander stared.
The man handed him a photograph.
It showed a hospital basement.
A young man lay in a glass chamber.
The face was Alexander’s.
Same eyes.
Same scar.
Same body.
Alive.
Alexander looked at Eva.
“I thought he died.”
“So did I.”
Mia whispered:
“He never did.”
The soldier looked at Alexander.
“Your mother has ordered his awakening.”
Alexander stared at the image.
“Why?”
The soldier swallowed.
“Because she believes the original Alexander is the only one who can control the Echo network.”
“And me?”
“You are the replacement she doesn't control.”
Alexander finally understood.
His entire life had been a cage.
His memories were the walls.
His marriage was part of the lock.
His father was a liar.
His mother was a monster.
And the woman he had loved might have been two different women at once.
The soldier raised his hand.
“One more thing.”
“What?”
“Your wife called.”
Alexander's heart stopped.
“Which one?”
The man looked terrified.
“She said…”
He hesitated.
“She said she is pregnant.”
Alexander stared.
Eva whispered:
“That’s impossible.”
Mia smiled.
“No.”
She looked at Alexander.
“It means the forty-eighth project is finally complete.”
The soldier asked:
“What project?”
Mia answered:
“An heir who can inherit every memory.”
Alexander looked at Eva.
She was crying.
May you like
Then the lights went out.
A baby's cry echoed through the bunker.
