Chapter 8 - THE MEMORY OF A NIGHT THAT NEVER HAPPENEDMy mind rejected Lily's words.
“I was there?”
She nodded.
“At the hospital.”
“What hospital?”
“The one Mommy says I was never born in.”
Sarah's face went white.
David closed his eyes.
Ethan whispered:
“She remembered.”
I looked at him.
“Remembered what?”
Ethan didn't answer.
Lily hugged her stuffed rabbit.
“I was little.”
“You weren't born yet.”
She frowned.
“Yes, I was.”
“No, sweetheart.”
She looked at me.
“I was in your head.”
The room went silent.
David stepped forward.
“That's why they need her.”
“What does that mean?”
He looked at Ethan.
“Tell him.”
Ethan finally spoke.
“Project Lucent discovered that memory isn't always created after birth.”
I stared.
“What?”
“Certain neural patterns can be transferred.”
“Transferred?”
“Through a procedure.”
I looked at Lily.
“You implanted memories in her?”
“No.”
Ethan shook his head.
“She inherited them.”
My father entered the room.
Everyone turned.
Anthony Mercer looked at Lily.
“She remembers the original incident.”
“What incident?”
He didn't answer.
David did.
“The night Daniel tried to burn the facility.”
I felt a sudden pressure behind my eyes.
Images flashed.
Fire.
Rain.
A red door.
A screaming child.
I staggered backward.
“Stop.”
Sarah grabbed me.
“Daniel.”
“I remember.”
She froze.
A memory struck me.
Lily wasn't seven.
She was a baby.
A newborn.
Someone was carrying her through a burning corridor.
I recognized the person.
Me.
I was carrying her.
Behind me, my father stood holding a gun.
And David was screaming:
“RUN!”
I gasped.
“I took Lily.”
Sarah nodded.
“You did.”
“Why?”
“Because you discovered what they had done.”
“What did they do?”
Anthony's face hardened.
“They created Emma from Lily's genetic material.”
I stared at him.
“And Noah?”
“Created from David.”
“And Lily?”
“You.”
I frowned.
“No.”
Anthony stepped closer.
“You think you and Sarah had a normal pregnancy?”
My stomach dropped.
“You didn't.”
Sarah began crying.
“Lily was conceived naturally.”
Anthony shook his head.
“Biologically, yes.”
“But?”
“But the embryo was altered before implantation.”
I looked at my daughter.
My beautiful daughter.
My entire life.
My father looked at her with cold fascination.
“She is the only subject who retained memory continuity.”
David whispered:
“She remembers everyone.”
The room trembled.
A distant explosion rocked the building.
Anthony looked toward the ceiling.
“They found us.”
Ethan grabbed weapons.
“Who?”
Anthony answered:
“The board.”
“What board?”
“The people who funded Lucent.”
“How many?”
Anthony stared at me.
“Enough to own half the government.”
That was when the lights came back on.
Every screen displayed the same image.
A woman in a black suit.
She looked directly into the camera.
“Daniel Mercer.”
She smiled.
“You have something that belongs to us.”
I stepped closer.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Victoria Vale.”
Ethan froze.
David whispered:
“No.”
Victoria continued.
“Give me Lily.”
I raised my weapon.
“No.”
She smiled again.
“Then I'll take Sarah.”
The screen changed.
A live video appeared.
My wife was standing in my Greenwich home.
Someone held a gun to her head.
But Sarah was not the person being threatened.
She was holding a second gun.
And she was smiling.
Victoria spoke.
“Your wife has already chosen a side.”
Sarah raised the gun.
Not at the hostage.
At the camera.
Then she said:
“Daniel, I'm not your enemy.”
May you like
A gunshot exploded.
The screen went black.
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