Chapter 10 - Julian couldn't move.“No.”
The nurse nodded.
“He built this entire program.”
“My father died twelve years ago.”
“Publicly.”
Mara whispered:
“Then where is he?”
The nurse smiled.
“Still watching.”
The lights went out.
A speaker crackled overhead.
Then a familiar male voice echoed through the room.
Julian knew it instantly.
His father's voice.
Deep.
Calm.
Cold.
“Hello, son.”
Julian's blood went ice-cold.
The speaker continued.
“You took longer than I expected.”
Julian looked at the ceiling.
“Show yourself.”
“Not yet.”
“Coward.”
His father's laugh echoed through the room.
“You always were emotional.”
Mara looked at Julian.
“That's your father?”
“Yes.”
Victor continued.
“You have no idea what your family has cost me.”
Julian shouted:
“You kidnapped my mother!”
“I protected her.”
“You stole Mara's baby.”
“I preserved the Mercer bloodline.”
“You murdered Evelyn.”
A pause.
Then:
“No.”
Julian looked at Elise.
Victor continued.
“The woman you called Evelyn was never the original.”
Elise closed her eyes.
“I was.”
Julian stared.
Victor laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
A screen descended from the ceiling.
Old hospital footage appeared.
Mara saw herself.
Eight months pregnant.
Confused.
Sedated.
A doctor stood beside her.
Then another woman entered the room.
Evelyn.
Mara whispered:
“No.”
The footage continued.
Evelyn leaned toward the bed.
She was crying.
She whispered something.
The audio was faint.
But clear enough.
“I'll bring him back to you.”
Mara started shaking.
Julian watched.
“What did she say?”
The recording played again.
I'll bring him back to you.
Then the screen showed another scene.
A newborn baby.
Noah.
He was crying.
The nurse lifted him.
A man entered.
Victor.
Older than Julian remembered.
Alive.
He picked up the baby.
Mara screamed.
“No!”
Victor in the recording looked directly into the camera.
Then he said:
“This is the heir.”
The footage ended.
Julian turned toward the speaker.
“Where is he?”
Victor answered:
“Closer than you think.”
A door opened at the far end.
A man walked in.
Julian stared.
His own face looked back at him.
Not similar.
Not related.
Identical.
The man smiled.
“I've been waiting for you.”
Mara stepped backward.
“What is that?”
Victor's voice came through the speaker.
“Your replacement.”
Julian couldn't breathe.
The other man walked closer.
Same height.
Same eyes.
Same scar on the chin.
Same voice.
Same everything.
Julian looked at Elise.
She was crying.
“He was built from your DNA.”
The duplicate smiled.
“And from hers.”
He pointed at Mara.
Mara stepped back.
“Why?”
The duplicate answered:
“Because Victor wanted an heir who couldn't disobey.”
Julian clenched his fists.
“You're not my son.”
“No.”
The duplicate smiled.
“But I am the son the family wanted.”
Victor's voice came again.
“Julian, you have twenty minutes.”
“For what?”
“To choose.”
“Choose what?”
“Your company.”
Julian stared.
“Or your son.”
Silence.
“The duplicate will inherit Mercer Holdings if you die.”
Julian's eyes narrowed.
“And Noah?”
Victor laughed.
“Noah belongs to Mara.”
Mara shook her head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“He's my son.”
“And that,” Victor said, “is exactly why he is valuable.”
The duplicate looked at Noah.
Something strange appeared in his expression.
Recognition.
Pain.
He whispered:
“I know that baby.”
Mara held Noah tighter.
“How?”
The duplicate looked confused.
“I dreamed about him.”
Julian froze.
Mara did too.
The duplicate continued:
“Every night.”
Mara whispered:
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I was the one who heard him crying.”
Mara's face drained of color.
The duplicate touched his temple.
“I remember the hospital.”
Julian stared.
The truth surfaced slowly.
The duplicate wasn't just made from Julian.
He had memories.
Memories that belonged to the baby.
Victor had done something far worse than cloning an adult.
He had grown a replacement using genetic memory conditioning.
A person trained to believe he was Julian.
The duplicate looked at Mara.
Then at Noah.
And whispered:
“I think…”
May you like
He swallowed.
“I think I was the baby they took too.”
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