PART 9 — THE WOMAN WHO KNEW EVERYTHING
“You finally figured it out.”
The elderly woman stood across the road, leaning on a wooden cane.
Her silver hair moved slightly in the morning wind.
Her eyes never left mine.
Then she said my name again.
“Laura.”
I couldn’t move.
My mother had told me my grandmother died before I was born.
My father had told me the same thing.
There had been no photographs.
No letters.
No grave that I had ever visited.
Nothing.
Just a name.
Evelyn.
My grandmother.
The woman standing in front of me smiled sadly.
“You look just like her.”
I swallowed.
“Like who?”
“Your mother.”
I took a step forward.
“You’re my grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“You’re alive?”
“Yes.”
“Why did everyone tell me you were dead?”
She looked at Samuel.
“Because they were protecting you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That’s what everyone says.”
She nodded.
“I know.”
I stared at her.
“Then tell me the truth.”
Her expression changed.
“Not here.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re still being watched.”
I looked around.
Cars passed.
People walked along the sidewalk.
Nothing seemed unusual.
Then Evelyn pointed toward a building across the street.
“Third floor.”
I looked.
A window.
Curtains moving.
Someone was standing behind them.
Watching us.
Samuel immediately stepped forward.
“We need to leave.”
Evelyn nodded.
“Bring Laura to the house.”
“What house?” I asked.
“My house.”
“I don’t know where you live.”
She smiled.
“You’ve been there before.”
I frowned.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“When you were six.”
I felt a strange sensation.
A memory.
A garden.
A wooden swing.
A woman singing.
A red door.
Then the memory disappeared.
I touched my forehead.
“I remember…”
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
“You were there for three days.”
“Why don’t I remember?”
“Because they erased it.”
I looked at Samuel.
“Who?”
He didn’t answer.
My grandmother did.
“Your father.”
I stared.
“My father erased my memories?”
“Not willingly.”
“Then who?”
She whispered:
“Elias.”
My stomach tightened.
“He was able to alter memories?”
“Not completely.”
“What did he do to me?”
“Your mind protected itself.”
She reached toward me.
I almost stepped away.
She stopped.
“I understand if you don’t trust me.”
“I don’t trust anyone.”
“That is exactly why you survived.”
We followed Evelyn to an old house outside the city.
The building was surrounded by trees.
A rusted gate opened automatically as we approached.
I looked at Samuel.
“How did it open?”
He said nothing.
Evelyn walked inside.
The moment I entered, something strange happened.
I knew where everything was.
The staircase.
The hallway.
The kitchen.
The small room at the end.
I walked toward it without thinking.
Evelyn watched me.
“You remember.”
I touched the doorknob.
A flash of memory hit me.
I was six years old.
A little girl.
Sitting on the floor.
A woman kneeling in front of me.
My grandmother.
She was holding a photograph.
“What’s this?” young me asked.
Evelyn smiled.
“Your mother.”
“Where is she?”
“She had to go away.”
“Will she come back?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Soon.”
Another flash.
My grandmother placed a small necklace around my neck.
“Never take this off.”
Young me looked at it.
“Why?”
“Because one day it will help you remember.”
I suddenly touched my neck.
The necklace I had worn for years.
The necklace I had always believed was simply a gift from my father.
I pulled it out.
There was a tiny symbol engraved on the back.
07.
My heart pounded.
“What is this?”
Evelyn looked at it.
“That was your identification.”
“For the program?”
“Yes.”
I pulled it off.
“Why did you give this to me?”
“Because I wanted you to remember who you were.”
“But I didn’t.”
“You weren’t supposed to.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
“Because I knew they would come for you.”
“Who?”
She sat down.
“Everyone.”
Silence filled the room.
Then she began.
“Before you were born, your grandfather worked with the original research team.”
I froze.
“My grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“What did he do?”
“He developed the genetic technology.”
Samuel looked at her.
“You never told me that.”
“I told you enough.”
I stared.
“Enough?”
Evelyn nodded.
“Your grandfather believed he could cure genetic diseases by manipulating inherited traits.”
“That sounds like what Elias was doing.”
“Elias stole his research.”
My heart pounded.
“So Elias didn’t create the program.”
“No.”
“Who did?”
“My husband.”
I stared.
“My grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to him?”
Evelyn looked down.
“He died trying to destroy his own work.”
“Did Elias kill him?”
“Yes.”
Samuel shook his head.
“That wasn’t in the records.”
“Because the records were destroyed.”
I felt dizzy.
“So my entire family was connected to this.”
“Yes.”
“And my mother?”
“She was the first person to realize what they were doing.”
“What did she do?”
“She tried to stop them.”
“But she still went through the treatment.”
“Because she thought she could use the treatment to save herself.”
“From what?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“Infertility.”
I remembered my mother’s words.
Failed pregnancies.
Desperation.
The experimental treatment.
But now I realized something.
“Was she actually infertile?”
“No.”
I stared.
“She could have had children naturally.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did the clinic tell her otherwise?”
“Because they needed her to agree to the program.”
My stomach turned.
“They manipulated her.”
“Yes.”
“And me?”
“You were the result.”
I sat down.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Evelyn opened a drawer.
She removed an old file.
She placed it in front of me.
“This is the original.”
I opened it.
Unlike the other files, this one contained handwritten pages.
The first page said:
PROJECT ORIGIN — SUBJECT ZERO.
I turned the page.
There was a photograph of a newborn.
But it wasn’t me.
It was my mother.
Underneath:
SUBJECT 13.
I stared.
“So my mother really was Subject Thirteen.”
“Yes.”
“Then why was I Subject Seven?”
Evelyn looked at Samuel.
He answered.
“Because the numbering restarted.”
“Why?”
“Because the first generation failed.”
“What happened to them?”
Evelyn whispered:
“They died.”
“How many?”
“Thirteen.”
My heart sank.
“And my mother survived.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she was the first successful carrier.”
I stared at the photograph.
“What did she carry?”
“The genetic modification.”
“And she passed it to me?”
“Partially.”
“Then I became Subject Seven.”
“Yes.”
I turned another page.
A list of names.
My mother’s.
Mine.
Daniel’s.
Samuel’s.
Elias’s.
Then another name.
ADRIAN.
My hands trembled.
“He was listed here.”
“Yes.”
“Then he wasn’t just my twin.”
“No.”
“What was he?”
Evelyn hesitated.
“Your genetic control.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“Adrian was created with a genetic counterbalance.”
“To me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“In case Subject Seven became unstable.”
I stared at her.
“You mean they created my brother to control me?”
“Yes.”
My stomach twisted.
“Did Adrian know?”
“No.”
“Did my parents know?”
“Your father discovered it.”
“And that’s why he tried to stop them?”
“Yes.”
I looked down.
Suddenly my father’s behavior made sense.
The secrecy.
The fear.
The investigation.
The recordings.
He hadn’t been hiding the truth because he was ashamed.
He had been trying to keep me alive.
I started crying.
Evelyn sat beside me.
“Your father loved you.”
“I know.”
“He never wanted you to become part of the program.”
“But I did.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You escaped.”
I looked at her.
“From what?”
“From the purpose they designed for you.”
“What purpose?”
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she handed me another document.
I read it.
SUBJECT ZERO — ACTIVATION REQUIREMENTS.
My heart pounded.
“What is activation?”
Evelyn’s face became serious.
“When your pregnancy reached a certain stage…”
I looked at my stomach.
“…your body would activate the dormant genetic sequence.”
“What happens then?”
“You become capable of producing the next generation of modified cells.”
I stared.
“The twins.”
“Yes.”
“So Elias wants the twins because—”
“Because they are the first natural activation.”
I felt sick.
“What will happen to them?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“If Elias gets them…”
She stopped.
“Tell me.”
“He will use their cells to complete the treatment.”
“What treatment?”
“The one your grandfather began.”
“To cure genetic disease.”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t sound evil.”
“It isn’t.”
I frowned.
“Then why are you afraid?”
“Because the treatment has a cost.”
“What cost?”
Evelyn whispered:
“The donor.”
“What does that mean?”
“The genetic material has to come from a living subject.”
I stared.
“And the subject dies?”
“Yes.”
My blood ran cold.
“They need my babies.”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Because their genetic structure is the only one compatible with the treatment.”
“So Elias wants to kill them?”
“He calls it sacrifice.”
I stood.
“No.”
Evelyn looked at me.
“No one touches my children.”
She nodded.
“That is why I called you here.”
I frowned.
“You didn’t call me.”
She smiled.
“I knew you would come.”
“How?”
“Because I knew your mother would leave clues.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
“She planned this.”
I looked at Samuel.
“What does that mean?”
Samuel looked uncomfortable.
“Your mother knew she might be taken.”
“And she prepared something?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Evelyn pointed upstairs.
“In your old room.”
I walked upstairs.
The room was small.
A bed.
A wardrobe.
An old wooden desk.
I opened the drawer.
Nothing.
Then I noticed the bottom panel was loose.
I lifted it.
Inside was a small box.
My name was written on it.
LAURA.
I opened it.
Inside was a USB drive.
A photograph.
And a handwritten note.
I read the note.
My daughter,
If you’re reading this, then everything I feared has happened.
You are finally ready to know the truth.
But please remember one thing.
You were never created to save anyone.
You were created because people were afraid of death.
Don’t let their fear become your children’s fate.
I cried.
Then I turned the photograph over.
It showed my mother.
Pregnant.
But she wasn’t alone.
Standing beside her was another pregnant woman.
Paula.
I stared.
“What?”
Valeria stepped closer.
“That’s impossible.”
The photograph was dated twenty-nine years ago.
Paula wasn’t even born then.
I turned it over again.
There was writing.
THE CARRIERS.
My stomach tightened.
“Paula’s mother.”
Valeria stared.
“Maybe.”
Then I noticed another person in the photograph.
A young man.
Standing behind them.
My father.
And beside him…
Daniel.
They were both smiling.
But Daniel wasn’t looking at my mother.
He was looking at the pregnant woman beside her.
I zoomed in.
A name was written on the photograph.
MARA.
I looked at Evelyn.
“Who is Mara?”
Her face went pale.
“She was the first carrier.”
“Who is she?”
Evelyn didn’t answer.
“Grandma.”
“She died.”
“You said that about yourself.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“She didn’t die.”
“Then where is she?”
My grandmother looked toward the window.
“She is the woman who gave birth to Elias.”
My heart stopped.
“Elias’s mother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
Evelyn whispered:
“In the clinic.”
I stared.
“She’s alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then why would Elias hide her?”
“Because she knows what he did.”
Suddenly, the front door slammed downstairs.
We all froze.
Someone was inside.
Valeria reached for her phone.
Samuel whispered:
“Everyone stay here.”
Footsteps moved through the hallway.
Slow.
Heavy.
Then someone called:
“Laura.”
I recognized the voice.
Daniel.
My grandmother stood.
“Don’t answer.”
The footsteps stopped.
Then Daniel spoke again.
“I know you’re here.”
I looked at the door.
He continued:
“Laura, I don’t want to hurt you.”
I whispered:
“That’s what everyone says.”
Silence.
Then:
“Your mother is alive.”
I stepped toward the door.
“Where?”
“Bring me the file.”
“What file?”
“The original Subject Zero file.”
I looked at Evelyn.
She shook her head.
Daniel continued:
“You have ten minutes.”
“Why?”
“Because Elias is already on his way.”
Samuel’s face changed.
“Elias?”
Daniel laughed.
“You should be more worried about who he brought with him.”
I froze.
“Who?”
Daniel didn’t answer.
Instead, the lights went out.
A loud crash came from downstairs.
Then another.
Glass breaking.
People shouting.
Valeria grabbed my hand.
“Back door.”
We ran.
But before we reached it, a figure appeared at the end of the hallway.
A man.
Tall.
Dark coat.
He raised his head.
I recognized him.
Elias.
But he wasn’t alone.
Beside him stood a woman.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Weak.
She looked terrified.
Elias held her arm.
My grandmother whispered:
“Mara.”
I stared.
The woman looked directly at me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then she whispered:
“I’m sorry.”
Elias smiled.
“Laura, meet your great-aunt.”
I froze.
“My great-aunt?”
Mara nodded.
“I knew your grandfather.”
She looked at me.
“And I knew what he created.”
Elias stepped forward.
“You’ve spent your entire life searching for answers.”
He opened his arms.
“Now you finally have them.”
I stared at him.
“Let my family go.”
“Your family?”
He laughed.
“You still don’t understand.”
He pointed toward Mara.
“She is the only person alive who knows how the original program started.”
Then he looked at me.
“And she has something that belongs to you.”
“What?”
Mara began crying.
“Your father’s final recording.”
My heart stopped.
“My father?”
She nodded.
“He gave it to me before he died.”
Elias’s expression changed.
For the first time, I saw fear in his eyes.
He stepped toward Mara.
“Don’t.”
She looked at me.
“He wanted you to know who killed him.”
Elias shouted:
“Enough!”
Mara screamed:
“Elias killed your father!”
The room went silent.
I stared at Elias.
He didn’t deny it.
He simply looked at me.
Then said:
“Your father discovered the truth.”
“What truth?”
“That you were never the final subject.”
I felt cold.
“What?”
Elias smiled.
“You were the beginning.”
He pointed at my stomach.
“The twins are the next stage.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Then he said something that made everyone silent.
“Your children have already been born.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
He smiled.
“The twins you’re carrying…”
He paused.
“…aren’t the only children you have.”
My heart stopped.
“What are you talking about?”
Elias lifted his phone.
A video appeared.
A newborn baby.
Then another.
Then another.
Three babies.
All with identification bracelets.
SUBJECT 14.
SUBJECT 15.
SUBJECT 16.
I couldn’t breathe.
“These babies…”
Elias looked at me.
“Were created from your genetic material.”
My knees almost gave way.
“But how?”
“Years ago.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Not for us.”
I looked at Mara.
She was crying.
“They took your cells when you were a child.”
My grandmother closed her eyes.
I stared at all of them.
“You’ve been creating children from me?”
Elias nodded.
“Preparing for the next generation.”
Rage replaced fear.
“You’re monsters.”
Elias’s expression remained calm.
“No.”
He looked at the babies.
“We are scientists.”
Then he looked at me.
“And you…”
He smiled.
“…are the greatest scientific success in human history.”
I stepped forward.
“I am a mother.”
His smile disappeared.
“And that is exactly why you’re dangerous.”
He raised his hand.
Several armed men appeared behind him.
Samuel stepped in front of me.
“Run.”
I grabbed the file.
Valeria grabbed Mara.
My grandmother moved toward the back door.
Daniel suddenly appeared from another hallway.
He looked at Elias.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
Elias turned.
“You betrayed me.”
Daniel shook his head.
“I betrayed no one.”
“You were supposed to bring me Subject Seven.”
“I brought her.”
“But you also brought the file.”
Daniel smiled.
“Because I wanted the truth exposed.”
Elias stared at him.
“You fool.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Laura, go.”
I didn’t move.
“What about my mother?”
Daniel pointed toward the basement.
“She’s there.”
My heart jumped.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
I started running.
Elias shouted:
“Stop her!”
Everything exploded into chaos.
Valeria pulled me down the stairs.
Samuel followed.
We reached the basement.
There was one room.
Locked.
I tried the handle.
“Mom!”
A voice answered.
“Laura?”
I nearly collapsed.
“Mom!”
Valeria broke the lock.
The door opened.
My mother was inside.
Alive.
Weak.
But alive.
I rushed into her arms.
“I thought I lost you.”
She held me tightly.
“You came.”
“Yes.”
She looked at my stomach.
“The babies?”
“Still here.”
She began crying.
“Thank God.”
Then she looked behind me.
“Where is Adrian?”
I froze.
“He was shot.”
Her face changed.
“He was shot?”
“He survived.”
She covered her mouth.
“I knew he would.”
I looked at her.
“You knew?”
My mother nodded.
“Adrian was stronger than they thought.”
“Where is he?”
She looked toward the door.
“Coming.”
A voice came from the hallway.
“Mom?”
We turned.
Adrian stood there.
Alive.
Bleeding.
But standing.
I ran to him.
He smiled.
“I told you.”
I hugged him.
This time, I wasn’t afraid.
My family was together.
For the first time.
Then we heard footsteps above us.
Elias.
He shouted:
“Laura!”
Adrian looked at me.
“We need to go.”
My mother grabbed my hand.
“No.”
I looked at her.
She whispered:
“There’s another way.”
“Where?”
She pointed to a hidden door.
“Behind the wall.”
We opened it.
A tunnel.
My mother had known about it all along.
We ran.
Behind us, Elias reached the basement.
He screamed:
“YOU CAN’T ESCAPE!”
My mother looked back.
Then she whispered:
“Your father escaped through this tunnel too.”
I stopped.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Did he survive?”
She looked at me.
“No.”
“Then where did he go?”
She didn’t answer.
I stared.
“Mom.”
She finally said:
“He didn’t die in the accident.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“He was taken.”
“By Elias?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
She looked at Evelyn.
My grandmother was behind us.
Her face was filled with sorrow.
“By someone who was supposed to protect him.”
I stared.
“Who?”
My grandmother whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
I stopped walking.
My grandfather had been dead for decades.
Or so I thought.
Then my mother’s voice came behind me.
“He’s still alive.”
The tunnel went silent.
And somewhere in the darkness ahead…
a man’s voice spoke.
“Laura.”
I froze.
I knew that voice.
I had heard it once before.
On the old recording.
My father’s voice.
“Come closer.”
My heart stopped.
My mother covered her mouth.
Adrian whispered:
“Dad?”
A light turned on at the end of the tunnel.
And standing beneath it…
was the man I had spent my entire life believing was dead.
My father.
Alive.
Older.
Scarred.
But unmistakably him.
He looked at me.
His eyes filled with tears.
Then he said:
“My little girl.”
I couldn’t move.
He took one step toward me.
“I’ve been waiting twenty-nine years to tell you the truth.”
Behind him, another door opened.
Elias appeared.
And he wasn’t alone.
Beside him stood Daniel.
Beside Daniel stood Samuel.
And behind them…
was a woman holding a newborn baby.
The woman looked at me.
Then she whispered:
“Laura…”
I stared at the baby.
There was a bracelet around its tiny wrist.
SUBJECT 17.
My father’s face changed.
“Run.”
The lights went out.
A gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
Then another.
And in the darkness, my father’s voice screamed:
“TAKE THE BABY AND GO!”
I grabbed the child.
My mother grabbed my arm.
Adrian pulled open a hidden door.
We ran into the darkness.
But before the door closed, I looked back.
My father was standing between us and Elias.
He looked at me one final time.
And mouthed:
I love you.
The door slammed shut.
And the last thing I heard was a gunshot.
I ran harder than I had ever run before.
Holding the newborn baby against my chest.
My unborn twins moving inside me.
My mother beside me.
My brother behind me.
And for the first time, I understood the truth.
This wasn’t just about me anymore.
It was about every child they had created.
Every family they had destroyed.
Every secret they had buried.
And somewhere behind us, the people responsible were still hunting us.
But they had made one mistake.
They had spent twenty-nine years teaching me to be afraid.
Now…
I had nothing left to fear.
Except one question.
Who was the baby in my arms?
Because when we finally reached the outside world, I looked down at the bracelet again.
It didn’t say Subject 17.
The number had changed.
Someone had scratched it out.
And underneath it was another number.
SUBJECT 01.
The original.
The first.
The one who was never supposed to exist.
And on the baby’s blanket was a name.
ADRIANA.
I looked at my brother.
He stared at the baby.
Then his face went white.
“Laura…”
“What?”
He whispered:
“That isn’t a baby.”
I looked down.
The newborn opened her eyes.
And for one impossible second…
her eyes looked exactly like mine.
Adrian stepped backward.
“She shouldn’t be alive.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
He pointed to the bracelet.
“Because Subject One died twenty-nine years ago.”
My blood turned cold.
Then the baby smiled.
And from somewhere behind us…
my father’s voice whispered:
“Now you know why they were afraid of her.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Click Here to continuous Read Full Ending Story👉PART(10): – My husband had a vasectomy, yet two months later…
