Chapter 6 - THE GIRL WHO LOOKED LIKE LILYFor a moment, I wondered if I had finally lost my mind.
The girl couldn't have been more than nine years old.
Same dark hair.
Same eyes.
Same small chin.
Same tiny scar near her eyebrow.
Lily stared at her.
The girl stared back.
Then she whispered:
“You're my sister.”
Lily stepped behind me.
“No.”
Sarah covered her mouth.
Evelyn looked away.
I turned toward everyone.
“Someone start talking.”
The girl walked toward me.
“My name is Emma.”
I crouched beside her.
“Who is your father?”
She pointed toward the darkness behind her.
My father stepped into the light.
Anthony Mercer.
Older.
But alive.
He smiled.
“You finally understand.”
I stood.
“You created another child.”
“Not another.”
He looked at Lily.
“Another version.”
My stomach twisted.
“What does that mean?”
“Lily was the biological template.”
I looked at Emma.
“Then what is she?”
“An iteration.”
“No.”
My father sighed.
“You think Project Lucent was about memory?”
He smiled.
“It was about inheritance.”
He pointed toward Lily.
“She carries a genetic combination capable of repairing damaged neural pathways.”
He pointed toward Emma.
“Emma was created using that sequence.”
“And Noah?”
“My first attempt.”
Noah's expression hardened.
“You called me a failure.”
“You were unstable.”
“You erased him,” I said.
“Yes.”
“You erased my memory of my own child.”
“Yes.”
I stepped forward.
“Why?”
“Because you became dangerous.”
My father looked almost proud.
“You discovered what Lucent was truly designed to do.”
“What?”
“Immortality.”
The word hung in the air.
I almost laughed.
Then I saw Sarah's face.
She wasn't surprised.
She had known.
My father moved closer.
“Human bodies deteriorate. Cells age. Neural pathways decay.”
He pointed toward Emma.
“We learned how to reset them.”
“Using children?”
“Using genetics.”
“Using my family.”
“Our family.”
I clenched my fists.
“You turned children into experiments.”
Anthony's expression darkened.
“And you ruined the project.”
“What did I do?”
“You exposed it.”
“No.”
He leaned close.
“You were going to destroy everything.”
I shook my head.
“I don't remember.”
“That was the point.”
Suddenly Emma screamed.
She collapsed.
Sarah rushed toward her.
“What's happening?”
Emma's body convulsed.
A red light appeared around her wrist.
Noah grabbed her.
“Tracker.”
Ethan shouted:
“Everyone move!”
The ceiling opened.
Automated turrets descended.
Gunfire erupted.
Ethan shoved me behind a pillar.
Noah grabbed Emma.
Sarah pulled Lily down.
Evelyn ran toward Anthony.
“You said they'd never activate.”
Anthony looked at the ceiling.
“They weren't supposed to.”
For the first time, my father looked afraid.
A voice came over the speakers.
Not Anthony.
Not Ethan.
Not Sarah.
A woman's voice.
“Subject Emma compromised.”
Then another voice:
“Subject Lily compromised.”
A pause.
“Subject Noah compromised.”
Then the final sentence.
“Proceed with family termination.”
Anthony stared at the ceiling.
“Who gave the order?”
The answer came instantly.
“Sarah Mercer.”
I turned toward my wife.
She was holding Lily.
A pistol suddenly appeared in her hand.
She pointed it at me.
May you like
And whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
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