Chapter 14 - The Mother Who DiedI stared at her.
She looked exactly like my mother.
Older than the photographs.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Same eyes.
Same scar beneath her chin.
I whispered:
"You died."
She lowered the gun.
"I know."
"You're dead."
"According to the state, yes."
Daniel said nothing.
I couldn't move.
"What happened at the hospital?"
"An actress."
"An actress?"
"They created a replacement."
I felt sick.
"My funeral..."
"I watched."
"Why?"
"Because if they knew I was alive, they would kill you."
I laughed.
There was no humor in it.
"They already destroyed my life."
She looked at me.
"No."
She pointed at Daniel.
"They destroyed his."
Then she looked at me again.
"They used yours."
I turned toward Daniel.
"Did you know?"
"Not until last year."
I stared at my mother.
"Why did you let me believe you died?"
"Because I needed Meridian to believe you had no one left."
"You had no right."
"No."
Her voice cracked.
"I didn't."
She reached into her coat.
Pulled out a small keycard.
"Blackwater."
"You want me to go there."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because tomorrow they activate the final program."
"What program?"
She looked at Daniel.
Then at me.
"Replacement."
My stomach twisted.
"Replacement of what?"
"The government."
Silence.
Meridian wasn't just trafficking children.
They had spent decades inserting people into powerful families.
Judges.
Executives.
Politicians.
Police.
They didn't need to control the government.
They were replacing the people who controlled it.
My mother continued.
"Evan discovered the list."
"What list?"
"Children assigned to powerful families."
"And Noah?"
"Stole it."
"Lena?"
"Was taken because she found the archive."
I looked at Daniel.
"We're getting them out."
My mother shook her head.
"You can't rescue them."
"Why?"
"Because Blackwater will lock down the moment you enter."
"Then what's the alternative?"
She looked at the keycard.
"Destroy the central server."
"What happens if we do?"
"Every identity they created becomes exposed."
"Good."
"Millions of records."
"Good."
"Families will collapse."
"Let them."
"People will die."
I stopped.
"What?"
"Some of those people have been given lives they don't deserve."
She hesitated.
"But some children have innocent families."
I looked at her.
"Why tell me this?"
"Because you have to decide."
Then footsteps echoed from the tunnel.
My mother raised her weapon.
"We're out of time."
A door exploded.
Meridian agents stormed the warehouse.
Gunfire.
Daniel dragged me behind a pillar.
My mother fired back.
We ran.
At the far end, she pushed a button.
A wall opened.
"Go!"
"You too!"
She shook her head.
"I'm staying."
"Mom!"
She smiled.
"Your brother is not the one who needs saving."
She looked at me.
"You are."
The wall closed.
I heard gunfire behind it.
Then silence.
Daniel grabbed my arm.
"We have to move."
I looked at him.
"She'll die."
"I know."
We ran into the tunnel.
At the end was a steel door.
Beyond it came the sound of children crying.
I used the keycard.
The door unlocked.
Inside, a monitor flickered on.
A countdown appeared.
00:09:59.
Daniel stared.
"What's happening?"
I read the screen.
FINAL ACTIVATION.
NINE MINUTES.
Then a second line appeared.
SUBJECT 47 SELECTED.
EVAN.
And beneath it:
SUBJECT 00 AWAKENING.
May you like
My father's name.
Elias Miller.
