Chapter 10 - THE OTHER SARAHThe woman stared at me.
“Who are you?”
I couldn't answer.
She looked exactly like my wife.
Same face.
Same hair.
Same eyes.
But something was wrong.
She didn't recognize me.
Lily stepped forward.
“Mommy?”
The woman's expression softened.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.”
She looked at Sarah.
Then at Ethan.
Then screamed.
“Don't let her near me!”
Sarah appeared from the hallway.
“Daniel, stay where you are.”
I stared at both women.
“What is this?”
The first woman held the newborn tighter.
Sarah approached slowly.
“That is not me.”
I looked at the woman.
She shook her head desperately.
“I don't know what she is talking about.”
Lily stared at both women.
Then whispered:
“She's the first one.”
David's face drained of color.
“The first what?”
Lily pointed at the woman.
“The first Mommy.”
Sarah closed her eyes.
I felt sick.
“What did you do?”
Sarah whispered:
“They cloned her.”
The woman holding the baby began crying.
“I remember the hospital.”
Sarah stepped closer.
“I know.”
“You promised me.”
“I was trying to save you.”
The woman looked at me.
“Daniel?”
I froze.
She knew my name.
“When did you become so old?”
Those words hit me like a hammer.
She believed she had last seen me years ago.
David whispered:
“She was preserved.”
“What?”
“The first attempt at neural duplication.”
I looked at Sarah.
“How many copies?”
She didn't answer.
The woman holding the baby started screaming.
“WHERE IS MY SON?”
Silence.
I knew exactly who she meant.
Noah.
Noah stepped forward.
“Mom?”
The woman dropped the baby onto a nearby padded table and rushed to him.
Noah froze.
Then slowly embraced her.
I watched them reunite.
My chest hurt.
But something didn't fit.
If this woman was Sarah's biological duplicate, whose baby was she holding?
The infant began crying.
Lily walked toward him.
She touched his hand.
The baby stopped.
Instantly.
Lily looked at me.
“He remembers me.”
“How?”
She smiled.
“He's my brother.”
I stared.
“No.”
David whispered:
“Another iteration.”
I felt a terrible sense of déjà vu.
Another child.
Another secret.
Another lie.
Then the basement door opened.
A man in a black suit stepped upstairs.
He looked at me.
“Mr. Mercer.”
“Who are you?”
He smiled.
“Your lawyer.”
I frowned.
“I don't have a lawyer who looks like you.”
He handed me a folder.
“Not currently.”
I opened it.
Inside was a legal document.
My name.
My signature.
A date.
Tomorrow.
A transfer of custody.
Over Lily.
I stared.
“I didn't sign this.”
The man smiled.
“You did.”
“That signature is forged.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
He pointed to the bottom of the page.
“It's signed by Daniel Mercer.”
“That's me.”
The lawyer's smile disappeared.
“No.”
He leaned closer.
“That's your replacement.”
Behind him, the basement lights turned on.
A man walked up the stairs.
My face.
My body.
My voice.
My exact expression.
My double looked at me.
May you like
Then he said:
“You're the copy.”
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