Chapter 19 - The Last LieEverything stopped.
The woman beside me went pale.
“No.”
The real Isabella struggled against the restraints.
“She stole my identity.”
Alessandro stared at both women.
“What?”
The woman beside me whispered:
“I was protecting Luca.”
“By replacing his mother?”
“She was going to kill him.”
The real Isabella shook her head.
“She was part of the program.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Alessandro looked at me.
I didn't know what to believe.
Then Maya spoke.
“Not her.”
Everyone turned.
Maya pointed at the woman in the trunk.
“Not Mommy.”
The real Isabella stared at her.
“What?”
Maya shook her head.
“Bad.”
The woman screamed.
“No!”
Alessandro stepped back.
“Why does Maya know?”
The other Isabella laughed bitterly.
“Because she remembers.”
She looked at Maya.
“She always did.”
The real Isabella began crying.
“Kill me.”
“No.”
“Please.”
She pointed at Luca.
“He was born without the repair gene.”
She looked at Maya.
“She gave it to him.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“It means every time Maya touches him, his cells stabilize.”
I stared.
“That can't be true.”
“It is.”
Then Maya touched Luca's hand.
His crying stopped.
The monitor we had salvaged from the lab beeped.
A medical reading changed.
STABLE.
Everyone froze.
Alessandro looked at me.
“She really is the cure.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“She's a child.”
He looked toward Luca.
“And he's her brother.”
I felt tears burn my eyes.
“They don't belong to anyone.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Exactly.”
He turned toward the others.
“Nobody takes them.”
For the first time, the man everyone feared looked like only a father.
Then my husband appeared on the roadside.
Gun in hand.
Holding the newborn.
“Put down your weapons.”
Alessandro stepped forward.
“Give me the baby.”
My husband smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
He looked at me.
“Emma.”
“What?”
“You think this is over.”
He pointed toward the city.
“Look.”
Sirens filled the streets.
News helicopters circled.
Police blocked every road.
He smiled.
“The world is about to learn what you did.”
“What?”
He held up the hard drive.
“Every record.”
“Every experiment.”
“Every child.”
Then he said:
“And your name.”
My stomach dropped.
“You'll be blamed.”
“For what?”
“Everything.”
He tossed the drive.
It landed at my feet.
Then he stepped backward.
A gunshot rang out.
He fell.
I screamed.
Alessandro rushed forward.
But my husband was already dead.
The newborn was gone.
He had thrown the baby into another man's arms.
That man ran.
I looked at the hard drive.
One file opened automatically.
It contained a single message.
From Dr. Vale.
Emma, when you read this, you'll know the truth.
Then:
You were never the mother they feared.
A final line appeared.
You were the mother they created.
May you like
I stared.
Then the screen went black.
