Chapter 13 - Ricardo couldn't move.The words had become meaningless.
Real Ricardo.
Prototype.
Original.
Copy.
His whole life had become a maze of mirrors.
Then Diego touched his hand.
“Daddy.”
That single word anchored him.
Ricardo looked at his son.
Whatever he was, whatever had been done to him, he was still the person Diego trusted.
His mother approached.
“You are not the man who died.”
Ricardo stared.
“Then who am I?”
“The man who chose to become him.”
“What?”
She showed him an old recording.
Seven years earlier.
Ricardo sat in a laboratory.
He looked exhausted.
Beside him was Adrián.
Young.
Alive.
And Gabriel.
The real Gabriel.
Ricardo spoke to the camera.
“If this works, nobody will remember the original.”
His mother cried in the background.
Ricardo continued:
“That's the point.”
The video revealed the truth.
The real Ricardo had discovered Gabriel's plans.
Instead of destroying the identity technology, he created a backup version of himself.
A digital behavioral imprint.
Then he transferred that imprint into a biological duplicate.
The duplicate was created from his own genetic material.
It wasn't supposed to replace him.
It was supposed to protect his family if Ricardo died.
But the plan failed.
Gabriel stole the prototype.
Valeria helped him.
The original Ricardo was killed.
The duplicate survived.
And because the duplicate believed he was the original, the deception worked.
Until now.
Ricardo watched the recording again.
At the end, the original said:
“If he wakes up believing he's me, don't tell him.”
His mother whispered:
“Why?”
“Because if he knows, Gabriel will use him.”
The video ended.
Ricardo stared at the screen.
“So all these years…”
“You lived as your father,” his mother said.
Ricardo frowned.
“What?”
“That's what your duplicate believed.”
He looked at Diego.
“And Diego?”
“Diego is your son.”
“Biologically?”
“Yes.”
The confirmation should have relieved him.
Instead, another question emerged.
“Then why was he abused?”
His mother looked away.
“Because Gabriel believed pain reveals identity.”
Ricardo felt sick.
“They were testing him.”
“Yes.”
“Testing what?”
“Whether love could be reproduced.”
Ricardo stared.
The project wasn't just about faces.
It was about behavior.
Memory.
Emotion.
Attachment.
If the scientists could make a duplicate who loved someone exactly like the original, then identity could become indistinguishable.
Diego had been used as the test.
His fear.
His reactions.
His attachment.
Everything had been recorded.
Ricardo turned toward the duplicate.
“You let them do this.”
The duplicate shook his head.
“I didn't know.”
“Then who controlled you?”
A voice came from behind.
Valeria.
She entered the room.
Everyone turned.
She was crying.
“I did.”
Ricardo stared.
Valeria continued:
“I was the one who ordered the testing.”
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel threatened Diego.”
“You could have gone to the police.”
“He had people everywhere.”
“You starved my son.”
“No.”
She shook her head violently.
“I reduced his food because the protocol required a controlled state.”
Ricardo's expression hardened.
“You are trying to justify this?”
“No.”
She broke down.
“I am telling you what I did.”
She looked at Diego.
“I thought I could stop before it became dangerous.”
Ricardo said nothing.
Valeria whispered:
“I was wrong.”
Inspector Herrera emerged from the shadows.
“That's enough.”
Valeria's face went pale.
Police officers entered.
But before they could arrest her, every monitor in the facility switched on.
A countdown appeared.
03:00.
02:59.
His mother looked terrified.
“What is that?”
The duplicate stared at the screen.
“The failsafe.”
“What failsafe?”
“Every mirror facility activates if Gabriel dies.”
Ricardo's blood ran cold.
“What happens at zero?”
The duplicate answered:
“Every identity database connected to Project Mirror is released.”
“Released where?”
“Publicly.”
“And?”
“Thirty-two families lose access to their identities.”
Ricardo stared.
Banks.
Hospitals.
Passports.
Children.
Entire lives.
The countdown continued.
01:47.
His mother turned to him.
“Only you can stop it.”
“Why me?”
“Because you wrote the key.”
Ricardo looked at the screen.
The system demanded biometric authentication.
His fingerprint.
His voice.
His face.
His memory.
And then one final prompt appeared:
WHO ARE YOU?
Ricardo stared at the words.
He realized the system wasn't asking for a name.
It was asking for proof.
He had one minute to decide.
May you like
The countdown showed:
00:59.
