Chapter 15 - The People Behind the FacesEvelyn walked toward Alexander.
The armed men followed.
But no one raised a weapon.
They didn't need to.
Every exit was blocked.
Alexander held the baby close.
His mother stopped several feet away.
“You finally understand.”
“Understand what?”
“That power was never money.”
She gestured toward the people behind her.
“These are the people who run the world.”
A senator stepped forward.
Alexander recognized him immediately.
A billionaire.
A judge.
A famous news anchor.
All looked strangely empty.
“Are they real?”
Evelyn smiled.
“Some.”
Alexander stared.
“Some?”
“Some have been replaced.”
The original shouted:
“Don't listen to her.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You were always sentimental.”
“You murdered your husband.”
“No.”
She turned toward Alexander.
“Richard chose death.”
Alexander frowned.
“What?”
“Your father discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That Echo was never designed to control people.”
She paused.
“It was designed to preserve humanity.”
The original laughed.
“That's what she told herself.”
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
“Civilizations collapse because memories die.”
Alexander stared.
“That doesn't justify replacing people.”
“It does when those people destroy millions of lives.”
She pointed toward the politicians.
“These people created wars.”
“Then expose them.”
“Exposure changes nothing.”
She stepped closer.
“Replacement changes everything.”
Alexander looked at the original.
“Is she telling the truth?”
The original hesitated.
“Yes.”
Alexander stared.
“But she's still wrong.”
His brother nodded.
“That is why we fought.”
Evelyn raised her gun.
“You have until midnight.”
“Until what?”
“The child.”
She looked at the baby.
“His brain will complete the Echo network.”
Alexander tightened his arms.
“I won't give him to you.”
“I know.”
Evelyn smiled.
“That is why I prepared something else.”
The hospital lights flickered.
A screen activated.
A live feed appeared.
Eva was lying on a hospital bed.
She was pregnant.
Monitors surrounded her.
Alexander froze.
“How?”
Evelyn smiled.
“She was already pregnant.”
Eva stared at the screen in horror.
The real Elena whispered:
“That's not possible.”
“It is with Echo.”
Evelyn looked at Alexander.
“Your son carries the key.”
She pointed toward the screen.
“And hers carries the door.”
Alexander's heart pounded.
“Two children?”
“Two genetic keys.”
“What happens if you combine them?”
Evelyn answered:
“Every memory on Earth can be rewritten.”
The room went silent.
Mia suddenly smiled.
“You forgot one thing.”
Evelyn frowned.
“What?”
Mia pointed at the original Alexander.
“He's still alive.”
The original looked at Alexander.
Then at Eva.
Then at the baby.
He whispered:
“Destroy the core.”
Evelyn fired.
The bullet hit him in the chest.
Alexander screamed.
His brother fell.
Mia grabbed Alexander's hand.
“Now.”
“Now what?”
She looked directly at him.
“Run.”
The hospital alarms began screaming.
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The walls shook.
And somewhere beneath them, something enormous awakened.
