Chapter 17 - The Baby in the WallThe newborn cried.
Maya heard it.
She ran toward the chamber.
I grabbed her.
“No.”
“Mommy!”
“Stay with me.”
Dr. Vale raised her gun.
Alessandro raised his.
“Drop it.”
She smiled.
“You still think you're in control.”
He stepped forward.
“I am.”
“No.”
She pointed toward the baby.
“You're protecting the wrong child again.”
The words chilled me.
My husband appeared behind her.
He looked at Maya.
“She's the key.”
I stared at him.
“You're not taking her.”
He smiled.
“That's exactly what you said four days ago.”
I understood.
The abuse.
The shove.
The fear.
It had all been deliberate.
He had wanted me to run.
Because fleeing forced me toward Rome.
Toward Alessandro.
Toward the facility.
Toward the truth.
He had planned everything.
“You wanted me here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To trigger her memories.”
“Why?”
He looked toward Maya.
“Because she knows where the archive is.”
I froze.
“What archive?”
“The original records.”
The other Emma whispered:
“Not electronic.”
My husband nodded.
“Physical.”
“Where?”
He smiled.
“Inside her.”
I didn't understand.
Then Maya whispered:
“Rabbit.”
I looked at the stuffed animal.
The device.
The missing ear.
The hidden chip.
My husband laughed.
“The archive isn't in the rabbit.”
He looked at Maya.
“It is in her.”
My blood turned cold.
“She swallowed it?”
“No.”
He stepped forward.
“It was implanted under her skin.”
I stared at my daughter.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Three years ago.”
“When she was born?”
“When you thought you were taking her home.”
My hands shook.
All those years.
Bathing her.
Dressing her.
Kissing her.
Never knowing.
The other Emma suddenly attacked my husband.
They crashed against the wall.
Alessandro shot Dr. Vale's weapon away.
Everything became chaos.
I grabbed Maya.
“Where?”
She pointed at her shoulder.
“Here.”
I looked.
A tiny scar.
I'd always thought it came from a vaccine.
My husband's lie.
I understood.
Then the baby began screaming.
Maya screamed too.
Not from fear.
From pain.
She collapsed.
I caught her.
“What's happening?”
The other Emma rushed toward us.
“Maya!”
My daughter whispered:
“Mommy…”
Then she looked directly into my eyes.
“Remember the promise.”
“What promise?”
She smiled.
“You said you'd never leave me.”
I began crying.
“I won't.”
“No matter what.”
“Never.”
She closed her eyes.
The monitor beside us activated.
A file appeared.
Thousands of names.
Every child.
Every transfer.
Every mother.
Then one final folder.
PROJECT MOTHER.
I opened it.
The first subject was me.
The second was Eve.
The third was Isabella.
And the fourth was—
Alessandro.
I looked at him.
He stared at the screen.
“I was a child.”
The room went silent.
Dr. Vale whispered:
“You all were.”
Then the building alarms began.
A countdown appeared.
05:00
Five minutes.
Alessandro looked at me.
“We have to go.”
I looked at Maya.
She was unconscious.
May you like
I lifted her.
And behind us, someone locked the laboratory door.
