Chapter 10 - The woman looked like me.Not exactly.
Older.
Harder.
A thin scar crossed her cheek.
But the eyes were mine.
Same shape.
Same color.
Same strange little wrinkle that appeared when I was angry.
Madison stared at her.
“Mommy?”
I couldn't move.
“Who are you?”
The woman smiled.
“You were called Subject Zero.”
“I'm Renee.”
“You are now.”
I looked at Madison.
“Get away from her.”
The woman didn't move.
“She hasn't been harmed.”
I ran toward my daughter.
She lifted a hand.
“Don't.”
I stopped.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing.”
“Untie her.”
She did.
Madison immediately ran to me.
I hugged her.
The woman watched silently.
“Why do you look like me?”
“Because I am you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
She turned toward the laboratory glass.
“Seven years ago, your father didn't erase your memories.”
“Then what?”
“He copied them.”
I stared.
“Copied?”
“The procedure created a duplicate consciousness.”
My skin crawled.
“What are you saying?”
“Your father attempted to split your mind.”
“For what?”
“To create resistance.”
She pointed to Madison.
“But your daughter's birth made the experiment unnecessary.”
“What happened to the copy?”
“You're looking at her.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You're saying you're a copy of me?”
“Yes.”
“Then which one is real?”
She smiled.
“That is the question that destroyed Orpheus.”
The laboratory door opened.
Daniel entered.
His face was covered in blood.
“Renee!”
He saw the woman.
He froze.
“You.”
She looked at him.
“You remember me.”
Daniel raised his weapon.
“You should be dead.”
“I was.”
“How?”
“I killed the people who tried to kill me.”
My father appeared behind him.
“Enough.”
Daniel turned.
“Jonathan.”
My father entered slowly.
“I've waited seven years for this reunion.”
I moved Madison behind me.
“Why bring us here?”
“To finish the experiment.”
Daniel fired.
My father ducked.
The bullet shattered glass.
Alarms screamed.
The copy of me ran toward a control panel.
“Renee, get Madison out!”
We ran.
Daniel followed.
The laboratory exploded behind us.
We raced through a corridor.
At the end was an elevator.
We entered.
Daniel slammed the emergency button.
The elevator dropped.
Fast.
“What did she mean?”
Daniel looked at me.
“About being your copy?”
“Yes.”
“I thought she died.”
“What happened?”
“She was the first successful duplicate.”
My heart pounded.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because the truth would have destroyed you.”
“Stop deciding what destroys me.”
The elevator stopped.
Doors opened.
A massive underground chamber stretched before us.
Rows of servers.
Hundreds of monitors.
Each screen displayed a human face.
Some dead.
Some alive.
Some missing.
I stared.
“What is this?”
Daniel whispered:
“The Orpheus archive.”
Then a monitor switched on.
My own face appeared.
But it was a video from seven years ago.
I was sitting in a chair.
Speaking directly to the camera.
“If you're watching this…”
My recorded self started crying.
“…then I failed.”
I stared at the screen.
Then she said something that made Daniel step backward.
“Do not trust Daniel.”
I turned toward my husband.
He looked terrified.
The recording continued.
“He will tell you he saved me.”
A pause.
“He didn't.”
May you like
My recorded face leaned toward the camera.
“He was the one who started the second experiment.”
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