CHAPTER 13 The Night She Became a Stranger
The image on the screen froze.
Laura stared at herself.
A woman she recognized.
And yet...
A woman she had never met.
The video showed her standing in the abandoned laboratory.
A gun in her hand.
Dr. Gabriel Valdés lying on the floor.
Blood spreading across his white coat.
The timestamp burned in the corner.
October 12, 2019.
The night Elena Vargas disappeared.
The night Gabriel Valdés died.
The night Laura Mendoza was supposedly created.
"No..."
The word escaped her lips.
Elena grabbed the chair beside her.
"Turn it off."
But Laura couldn't move.
She needed to know.
She had spent days discovering that her entire life was built on lies.
Now, for the first time...
She was looking at the one person who could explain everything.
Herself.
The video continued.
Young Laura stood over Gabriel.
But something was wrong.
Her expression wasn't angry.
It was terrified.
She wasn't a murderer.
She looked like someone trapped.
Gabriel, injured on the floor, reached toward her.
"Elena..."
His voice was weak.
"You don't understand what you're doing."
Young Laura shook her head.
"You lied to me."
"No."
"You erased my memories."
Gabriel coughed.
"We were trying to protect you."
Young Laura laughed bitterly.
"Protect me?"
She pointed the gun.
"You turned me into a stranger."
Laura watching from the present felt tears forming.
Because she understood that voice.
That pain.
That feeling of discovering everyone had lied.
It was the same pain she felt now.
Gabriel slowly sat up.
"The project was never about Daniel."
Young Laura froze.
"Don't say his name."
"He's the only reason you survived."
"What?"
Gabriel looked at her.
"You think you are the subject."
A pause.
"You aren't."
Young Laura stared.
"What are you talking about?"
Gabriel whispered:
"Daniel is."
The present Laura covered her mouth.
Again.
Daniel.
Everything came back to him.
Every secret.
Every lie.
Every person who wanted him.
The video continued.
Gabriel spoke:
"They used you because you were his protector."
"Your memories were removed because you would have died protecting him."
Young Laura lowered the gun slightly.
"Who removed them?"
Gabriel didn't answer.
Because someone entered the room.
A younger Eduardo.
Laura stopped breathing.
The Eduardo on the screen looked different.
Younger.
Colder.
Not the loving husband.
Not the father.
A stranger.
He walked toward them.
Young Laura immediately pointed the gun at him.
"Stay back."
Eduardo stopped.
"Elena."
"Don't call me that."
"That's who you are."
Young Laura's eyes filled with anger.
"I don't know who I am anymore."
Eduardo looked at Gabriel.
Then back at her.
"I know."
A pause.
"And I'm sorry."
The screen flickered.
The video jumped forward.
Minutes were missing.
Then the camera showed Eduardo kneeling beside Laura.
She was unconscious.
Gabriel was gone.
Blood covered the floor.
Eduardo held a syringe.
Laura gasped.
"No..."
Elena looked at her.
"What?"
Laura pointed at the screen.
"That's when..."
She stopped.
Because she remembered.
A needle.
A burning sensation.
A voice.
Eduardo.
"I'm sorry. You'll hate me when you wake up."
The video ended.
The screen went black.
Nobody spoke.
For several minutes.
Finally Elena whispered:
"He didn't kill Gabriel."
Laura looked at her.
"What?"
"He was trying to stop you from remembering."
"No."
Elena looked at the frozen screen.
"The evidence was manipulated."
Laura shook her head.
"Then why did he let me believe he was my husband?"
Neither of them answered.
Because the truth was worse.
The laboratory door suddenly opened.
Laura turned.
Eduardo stood there.
He looked exhausted.
Like he hadn't slept for days.
Elena immediately stepped between them.
"How did you find us?"
Eduardo ignored her.
He looked at Laura.
"You saw the video."
She didn't answer.
His face told her everything.
He already knew.
"How long?"
Her voice was cold.
"How long did you know?"
Eduardo lowered his head.
"Since the beginning."
The words hurt more than she expected.
"Since the beginning of what?"
"Since before our marriage."
Laura laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
"So Marcos was right."
Eduardo's eyes changed.
"You saw Marcos?"
"Yes."
His expression turned serious.
"Then we have less time than I thought."
Laura stepped closer.
"No more."
"No more lies."
"Tell me everything."
Eduardo looked at Elena.
Then at the empty laboratory.
Finally, he nodded.
"Okay."
He sat down.
For the first time, he stopped pretending.
"My assignment was to watch you."
Laura remained silent.
"Not hurt you."
"Not control you."
"Watch."
"Why?"
"Because they believed you were the key to finding Daniel's genetic data."
Laura frowned.
"But Daniel was a baby."
"Yes."
"How could he have data?"
Eduardo looked at her.
"Because you created it."
She froze.
"What?"
"Before your memory was erased, you were one of the scientists working on Nova Genesis."
Laura shook her head.
"No."
"You designed the system that identified genetic changes."
"No."
"You discovered that Daniel's DNA was different."
Laura felt dizzy.
"Then why did I forget?"
Eduardo's voice softened.
"Because you erased yourself."
Silence.
"What?"
"You created a protocol."
"A way to remove specific memories."
Laura stared at him.
"Why?"
"Because you knew they would come for you."
A pause.
"You knew the only way to protect Daniel was to forget."
Laura looked down.
Her whole life suddenly felt like a puzzle someone else had completed.
Every missing piece.
Every strange feeling.
Every nightmare.
All leading here.
"Then why marry me?"
Eduardo's eyes filled with regret.
"Because I was supposed to monitor you."
"And then?"
"I failed."
"Why?"
He looked at her.
"Because I fell in love with you."
Laura wanted to hate him.
She truly did.
But the pain in his eyes was real.
And that made it worse.
"You lied."
"Yes."
"You used me."
"Yes."
"You watched me."
"Yes."
"Then why should I believe anything you say?"
Eduardo looked at her.
"Because tomorrow they will activate the final phase."
Laura frowned.
"What final phase?"
His face became serious.
"The one they prepared for seven years."
"Which is?"
Eduardo hesitated.
Then said:
"Taking Daniel."
Before Laura could respond, every computer in the laboratory suddenly turned on.
A message appeared on every screen.
One sentence.
PROJECT DANIEL: PHASE FINAL ACTIVATED.
Then another line appeared.
GUARDIAN RESPONSE REQUIRED.
Laura stared.
"Guardian?"
Eduardo looked at her.
His face changed.
Fear.
"Laura..."
"What?"
He whispered:
"They know you remembered."
The laboratory lights turned red.
An alarm began screaming.
Then the main screen displayed a live video feed.
A room.
A child sitting in a chair.
Daniel.
Laura's blood froze.
Her son was alive.
But he wasn't alone.
Behind him stood a man.
A man Laura had never seen.
Except...
She knew him.
From the deepest corner of her memories.
The man who started everything.
The man everyone feared.
Daniel looked into the camera.
And whispered:
"Mom..."
"Don't trust Daddy."
May you like
The screen went black.
End of Chapter 13
