CHAPTER 12 THE WOMAN WHO CONTROLLED THE VALE FAMILY
“Your daughter dies with me.”
Rebecca Vale's words hung in the Archive.
Dominic stared at the screen.
47%
Harper was shaking in his arms.
“Daddy…”
“I've got you.”
Her fingers dug into his jacket.
“It hurts.”
Dominic looked at Rebecca.
“If she dies, you die first.”
Rebecca smiled.
“That is exactly why I chose her.”
Eleanor stepped forward.
“Rebecca, stop.”
Rebecca slowly turned.
“Still pretending to be a mother?”
Eleanor's face hardened.
“You took my children.”
“I saved them.”
“You destroyed them.”
Rebecca laughed.
“I gave them purpose.”
Dominic looked between them.
“What happened between you two?”
Rebecca smiled.
“Your mother was always difficult.”
“She refused to accept the family order.”
“What order?”
Rebecca opened the black folder.
“The Vale family survives through sacrifice.”
Dominic's expression darkened.
“That's not an answer.”
“It is the only answer.”
She pulled out an old photograph.
It showed Eleanor holding two newborn babies.
Dominic.
Isabella.
Rebecca pointed at the babies.
“One was chosen to become the heir.”
She pointed at Isabella.
“The other was chosen to become the guardian.”
Dominic frowned.
“And Elias?”
Rebecca's expression changed.
“He was never supposed to exist.”
Elias stepped forward.
“What?”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Your father had an affair.”
Eleanor closed her eyes.
Rebecca continued.
“Elias was the mistake.”
Elias's face went pale.
“Who was my mother?”
Rebecca smiled.
“You don't know?”
Elias shook his head.
“She was a woman Alexander loved.”
“Then what happened?”
“Alexander killed her.”
Elias froze.
Dominic looked at Alexander.
“You killed his mother?”
Alexander didn't respond.
Elias's hand tightened around his weapon.
“You knew.”
Alexander finally spoke.
“She betrayed me.”
Elias laughed bitterly.
“You killed her because she wanted to leave.”
“Yes.”
Elias raised his gun.
Dominic grabbed his arm.
“Not now.”
Elias looked at him.
“Then when?”
“When Harper is safe.”
Elias lowered the weapon.
The monitor beeped.
52%
Harper cried out.
Dominic tightened his arms around her.
“Stop it!”
Rebecca smiled.
“You can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the Archive is learning her.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
“Every secret stored here is being transferred into her mind.”
Harper suddenly whispered:
“I see them.”
Dominic looked at her.
“Who?”
“People.”
“What people?”
“Men.”
“Where?”
“In the room.”
She pointed at the walls.
“They're all watching.”
Dominic looked around.
The Archive was empty.
Harper continued:
“They're scared.”
“Why?”
“Because they know you're coming.”
Dominic looked at Rebecca.
“What did you build?”
Rebecca smiled.
“Nothing.”
She looked toward Alexander.
“He built it.”
Alexander shook his head.
“No.”
Rebecca turned toward him.
“Don't lie to him.”
Alexander's expression changed.
Rebecca continued.
“The Archive existed before you.”
“Before your father.”
“Before your grandfather.”
“It was created by the first Vale.”
Dominic frowned.
“Why?”
Rebecca answered:
“To survive.”
She stepped closer.
“Every generation added its secrets.”
“And eventually, there were too many.”
“So the Archive became the family's memory.”
Dominic looked at Harper.
“And now you're putting it inside her.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because the Archive is dying.”
Dominic stared.
“Dying?”
Rebecca nodded.
“The servers are failing.”
“The records are corrupting.”
“The old system is collapsing.”
“So you need Harper.”
“She is the replacement.”
Dominic's expression became murderous.
“You're turning my daughter into a database.”
Rebecca smiled.
“That's a crude way of describing it.”
Dominic raised his gun.
“Let her go.”
Rebecca didn't move.
“Shoot.”
Dominic hesitated.
Rebecca pointed at the monitor.
61%
“Every bullet brings her closer to death.”
Dominic lowered his weapon.
Rebecca smiled.
“Good.”
Then Harper suddenly looked at Rebecca.
“Grandma.”
Rebecca froze.
Dominic looked down.
Harper continued.
“You hurt my mommy.”
Rebecca's face changed.
“Which mommy?”
Harper pointed at Eleanor.
“Her.”
Eleanor stared at Harper.
Harper whispered:
“She told me.”
Rebecca's smile disappeared.
“What did she tell you?”
Harper's eyes became distant.
“She remembers.”
“Remembers what?”
“The night you came.”
Rebecca stepped backward.
Harper continued:
“You had a knife.”
Rebecca's face went pale.
“You killed Grandpa.”
Alexander looked at Rebecca.
“What?”
Harper pointed toward him.
“Not Grandpa Alexander.”
She looked at Victor.
“Grandpa Victor.”
Victor froze.
Rebecca stared at the girl.
“Stop.”
Harper's voice became louder.
“You killed him.”
Victor looked confused.
“I…”
Harper screamed:
“You killed Grandpa Victor!”
Rebecca suddenly raised her weapon.
Dominic reacted instantly.
He fired.
Rebecca's gun flew from her hand.
Elias rushed toward her.
Alexander tackled him.
The Archive erupted into chaos.
Dominic pulled Harper behind him.
Mia grabbed Emily.
Eleanor moved toward the controls.
“Dominic!”
“What?”
“The transfer!”
Dominic looked at the screen.
68%
Eleanor shouted:
“We need to break the connection!”
“How?”
“Destroy the central server.”
Dominic looked toward the massive machine.
“Will that hurt Harper?”
“Yes.”
He stopped.
“How badly?”
Eleanor's face tightened.
“She may lose everything.”
Dominic looked at Harper.
“What does that mean?”
“Her memories.”
Dominic stared.
“She'll forget me?”
Eleanor nodded.
“Maybe.”
Harper looked up.
“Daddy?”
Dominic crouched.
“What?”
“If I forget you…”
She started crying.
“Will you still know me?”
Dominic pulled her into his arms.
“I'll remember everything for both of us.”
Harper buried her face against him.
Then Emily stepped forward.
“I can stop it.”
Everyone turned.
Dominic stared.
“How?”
Emily looked at the central machine.
“Harper doesn't have to carry it.”
“Then who does?”
Emily touched her own chest.
“Me.”
Mia immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Emily looked at her.
“Mommy…”
Mia froze.
Emily whispered:
“You told me you were sorry.”
Mia's eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know you remembered.”
“I remember everything.”
Dominic looked at Isabella.
“Is she telling the truth?”
Isabella nodded slowly.
“Emily was designed as the secondary vessel.”
“Then why didn't the transfer begin with her?”
“Because Harper activated the Archive first.”
Dominic looked at Emily.
“You're offering yourself.”
Emily nodded.
“I don't want Harper to hurt.”
Dominic crouched beside her.
“You're a child.”
“So is she.”
Dominic had no answer.
Then Rebecca laughed from across the room.
Everyone turned.
She was bleeding from the forehead.
“You still don't understand.”
Dominic raised his gun.
“What?”
Rebecca smiled.
“The Archive doesn't need one vessel.”
She pointed toward both girls.
“It needs two.”
Dominic's face changed.
“Why?”
Rebecca whispered:
“Because the memories must be divided.”
“Half for Harper.”
“Half for Emily.”
“And when the transfer reaches one hundred percent…”
A pause.
“They will become the Archive.”
The monitor flashed.
79%
Harper screamed.
Emily grabbed her head.
Both girls collapsed.
Dominic rushed toward them.
Then every screen in the Archive displayed the same message:
FINAL MEMORY DETECTED
Dominic stared.
A video began playing.
It showed Eleanor.
Twenty years earlier.
She was holding newborn Dominic.
Beside her was another infant.
Isabella.
Then the camera moved.
A third baby lay in a crib.
Dominic's eyes widened.
A baby with the same face as Harper.
The timestamp read:
FOUR YEARS BEFORE HARPER'S BIRTH.
Dominic stared at the screen.
“How is that possible?”
Eleanor began crying.
She whispered:
“Because Harper wasn't the first.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
Eleanor looked at him.
“She was the third.”
The monitor changed.
A photograph appeared.
Three children.
Three identical faces.
Three names.
HARPER.
EMILY.
AND ONE UNKNOWN.
Dominic's blood froze.
Then a final line appeared beneath the photograph:
SUBJECT THREE IS STILL ALIVE.
The Archive doors suddenly opened.
A young woman stood outside.
She was holding a gun.
And she looked exactly like Harper.
She smiled.
“Hello, Dominic.”
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The transfer reached:
91%.
