Chapter 14 - The Woman Who Never DiedThe man removed his glasses.
I stared.
His face changed.
Not literally.
Emotionally.
The years seemed to disappear.
I knew that face.
Not from recent memories.
From childhood.
A photograph.
A family album.
My mother's closest friend.
Dr. Samuel Cross.
“You.”
He smiled.
“Your mother always said you were stubborn.”
“She died.”
“No.”
“She had cancer.”
“She survived.”
“Then why did everyone tell me she died?”
“Because she wanted you to believe it.”
I shook my head.
“All of you lied.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you were never supposed to be involved.”
I looked at Sophie.
She was bleeding.
My first daughter was unconscious.
Anna was crying.
“Put my daughter down.”
Samuel shook his head.
“She's the final key.”
“To what?”
“Reversal.”
“What reversal?”
“The original Helix sequence is unstable.”
He explained that Sophie was the first stable prototype.
Anna had inherited the ability to activate the cure.
The release protocol could either kill millions or reverse the damage.
Samuel wanted control.
He wanted to distribute the treatment selectively.
He wanted humanity dependent on Helix.
Not because he believed he was evil.
Because he believed control was survival.
“Your mother agrees with me,” he said.
I stared at him.
“She'll be here soon.”
Then the doors opened.
An elderly woman walked into the room.
Gray hair.
Pale face.
A cane.
I knew her immediately.
My mother.
She looked at me.
“Ethan.”
My weapon nearly dropped.
For thirty-two years, I had believed she was dead.
She smiled sadly.
“You've grown.”
I couldn't speak.
“You watched me die.”
“You watched a woman die.”
“Who?”
“A patient.”
I remembered the funeral.
The closed casket.
My father crying.
My childhood ending.
All staged.
“You let me believe I was alone.”
“I wanted you safe.”
“You destroyed my life.”
She looked toward Sophie.
“No.”
“You destroyed us.”
She sighed.
“Your marriage was necessary.”
Sophie stared at her.
“What?”
My mother looked at her.
“You were always supposed to marry him.”
I felt sick.
“What are you talking about?”
“The Parker genetic sequence required a compatible carrier.”
“Sophie.”
“She was selected.”
“You arranged our marriage?”
“No.”
“But you arranged the circumstances.”
“Yes.”
Every memory of our relationship suddenly became poisoned.
Was our love even real?
I looked at Sophie.
She was crying.
“I loved you,” she whispered.
My mother smiled.
“Of course she did.”
“But you…”
“You were the perfect match.”
I couldn't breathe.
My mother stepped closer.
“And now your daughters are the final generation.”
She reached for Anna.
I raised my weapon.
“Don't.”
She stopped.
“Shoot me, Ethan.”
I froze.
“You won't.”
She smiled.
“You're still my son.”
For the first time in my life, I understood something.
My mother had never stopped believing she could control me.
She was wrong.
I lowered my weapon.
Not because I trusted her.
Because I had another plan.
I looked at Anna.
Then Sophie.
Then my first daughter.
And I understood what my mother had forgotten.
Family wasn't blood.
It wasn't genetics.
It wasn't research.
It was choice.
And I finally chose.
I fired.
Not at my mother.
At the control panel behind her.
The entire facility went dark.
Anna screamed.
Sophie grabbed her.
My father triggered the emergency doors.
We ran.
Sirens exploded through the complex.
Behind us, my mother shouted:
“You don't understand what you've just done!”
I turned.
“I understand perfectly.”
Then the facility began collapsing.
We reached the surface.
Helicopters were waiting.
But as we climbed aboard, Sophie suddenly stopped.
She looked at me.
“Ethan.”
“What?”
Her face had gone white.
“There is one thing I didn't tell you.”
I stared at her.
“What now?”
She looked toward the burning facility.
“The woman you think is your mother…”
May you like
She swallowed.
“She isn't.”
