PART 13 — THE GIRL WHO WAS NEVER BORN
The lights went out.
For three seconds, there was nothing.
No sound.
No movement.
No voices.
Only darkness.
Then Lily screamed.
“DADDY!”
Elias reached for her immediately.
“I’m here!”
But his hand closed around empty air.
“Lily?”
No answer.
“LILY!”
A child’s voice whispered from somewhere nearby.
“Don’t move.”
Elias froze.
It was Lily’s voice.
But Lily was no longer beside him.
“Where are you?”
“Daddy…”
Her voice sounded frightened.
“I can’t see you.”
Elias pulled out his flashlight.
The beam cut through the darkness.
Sarah was there.
Michael was there.
Noah was there.
Adrian was there.
Mara was still trapped inside the glass chamber.
But Lily…
was gone.
And standing beside the chamber door was the other girl.
The girl who looked exactly like Lily.
She was staring directly at Elias.
Smiling.
Elias raised his gun.
“Where is my daughter?”
The girl tilted her head.
“She isn’t your daughter.”
Elias’s finger tightened around the trigger.
“Don’t say that.”
“She isn’t.”
“Where is she?”
The girl pointed toward the floor.
“Below.”
Suddenly—
BANG!
The floor beneath Elias collapsed.
He fell.
THE FALL
Elias hit the ground hard.
His flashlight rolled away.
Dust filled the air.
He tried to breathe.
“Lily!”
A small hand grabbed his.
“Daddy!”
Elias pulled her toward him.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
He held her tightly.
“Where were you?”
“I don’t know.”
Elias looked around.
They were in a narrow underground tunnel.
The walls were covered with old writing.
Some of it looked like handwriting.
Some of it looked like children’s drawings.
And one phrase had been written again and again:
WE WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER.
Lily stared at it.
“I know this.”
“You’ve seen it before?”
She nodded.
“When I was little.”
Elias looked at her.
“You were here?”
“I think so.”
A faint sound came from behind them.
Footsteps.
Elias raised his gun.
“Who’s there?”
No answer.
The footsteps continued.
Closer.
Lily whispered:
“Don’t shoot.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s Noah.”
A boy stepped from the darkness.
Noah.
But something was wrong.
He looked frightened.
“Lily.”
She ran toward him.
Noah caught her.
“You’re alive.”
Elias stared.
“What happened to you?”
Noah looked behind him.
“They found me.”
“Who?”
“The Founders.”
Elias stepped forward.
“Where?”
Noah pointed toward the tunnel.
“They’re coming.”
THE THIRD CHILD
They began running.
The tunnel seemed endless.
Behind them, metal doors slammed open one after another.
Men shouted.
Boots thundered.
Michael’s voice echoed from far above.
“ELIAS!”
Elias shouted back.
“WE’RE UNDERGROUND!”
No answer.
The tunnel split into three directions.
Noah stopped.
“Left.”
Elias looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“I remember.”
They ran left.
A few seconds later, they reached a circular chamber.
In the center stood an old machine.
It looked nothing like the technology upstairs.
It was primitive.
Metal.
Glass.
Wires.
A chair.
And above the chair was a single photograph.
Elias walked toward it.
He stopped.
The photograph showed three children.
Noah.
Lily.
And the third girl.
But they weren’t standing together.
They were separated by thick glass walls.
A woman stood behind them.
Mara.
And beside Mara stood Elias.
Except Elias wasn’t a child.
He was an adult.
Elias stared at the photograph.
“That isn’t possible.”
Noah looked away.
“It happened.”
“When?”
“Before you remember.”
Elias touched the photograph.
“What was I doing here?”
Noah answered:
“Choosing.”
“Choosing what?”
“Which child would carry the memories.”
Elias looked at Lily.
She was staring at the machine.
“I remember.”
Elias turned.
“What?”
Lily whispered:
“You chose me.”
Noah shook his head.
“No.”
Lily looked at him.
“Yes.”
“You don’t remember everything.”
“I remember enough.”
Elias stepped toward them.
“What happened?”
Lily looked at the machine.
“They told you one child would survive.”
Elias’s stomach tightened.
“And?”
“You refused to choose.”
Noah continued:
“So they chose for you.”
Elias stared at him.
“Who?”
Noah looked toward the ceiling.
“The man you called Father.”
THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK
A door opened.
Everyone turned.
A man entered the chamber.
Black coat.
Black gloves.
Silver mask.
Elias recognized the mask.
It was the same mask worn by the intruder who had attacked Thorne Manor years ago.
The man removed it.
Elias stopped breathing.
It was his father.
But not the father who had appeared in the underground facility.
This man was older.
Scarred.
His face was damaged along the left side.
He looked at Elias.
“You finally found them.”
Elias raised his gun.
“You.”
The man nodded.
“Yes.”
“Where is Mara?”
“Alive.”
“Where is Sarah?”
“Alive.”
“Who was the man pretending to be you?”
The man smiled.
“My brother.”
Elias’s blood ran cold.
“Richard?”
“Yes.”
“The man who supposedly died?”
“Yes.”
Elias lowered the gun slightly.
“Why?”
His father answered:
“Because Richard was always better at lying than I was.”
Noah stepped forward.
“You said you’d never come back.”
His father looked at him.
“I had to.”
“You abandoned us.”
“I saved you.”
“You erased me.”
“I hid you.”
“You let them hurt Lily.”
His father’s expression changed.
“I never knew.”
Lily stared at him.
“You knew.”
The man looked at her.
“You remember.”
“Yes.”
He looked terrified.
“You shouldn’t.”
Lily took one step forward.
“You told me to forget.”
The man whispered:
“I was protecting you.”
“You always say that.”
He closed his eyes.
Then Lily asked the question nobody else had dared to ask.
“Why did you choose me?”
Silence.
Her father looked at Elias.
“Because she was the only one who could survive it.”
Elias frowned.
“Survive what?”
“The archive.”
THE ARCHIVE WAS NEVER A MACHINE
The man walked toward the machine.
He placed his hand against the metal.
“This was never designed to store memories.”
Michael appeared at the entrance.
“Then what was it designed for?”
The man answered:
“To transfer them.”
Michael stared.
“Into whom?”
The man looked at Lily.
“Her.”
Elias stepped in front of Lily.
“No.”
His father continued.
“She was born with something none of us understood.”
“What?”
“Her brain could retain memories that weren’t hers.”
Elias shook his head.
“That isn’t possible.”
“It wasn’t supposed to be.”
Noah spoke quietly.
“She was the first.”
Elias looked at him.
“No.”
Noah nodded.
“Yes.”
“Then why does the system call me Subject Zero?”
“Because you were the first adult carrier.”
“And Noah?”
“The first child carrier.”
Elias looked at Lily.
“And she?”
His father whispered:
“The final carrier.”
The machine suddenly activated.
Lights flashed.
A low hum filled the chamber.
Then a message appeared.
ARCHIVE TRANSFER READY
Elias stepped backward.
“What is happening?”
His father looked horrified.
“Someone activated the final sequence.”
“Who?”
Nobody answered.
Then the machine spoke.
TRANSFER SUBJECT: LILY THORNE
DESTINATION: UNKNOWN
MEMORY LOAD: 100%
WARNING — HOST CAPACITY EXCEEDED
Lily screamed.
Elias grabbed her.
“TURN IT OFF!”
Her father rushed toward the machine.
“I can’t!”
“Then destroy it!”
“If I destroy it now, the memories will be released!”
“Do it!”
“No!”
Lily collapsed.
Elias caught her.
Her eyes rolled backward.
Then she whispered:
“I see them.”
“Who?”
“Everyone.”
THE MILLION MEMORIES
Lily’s body became completely still.
Then she began speaking.
But the voice wasn’t hers.
A man’s voice came from her mouth.
“1991.”
Elias froze.
Then another voice.
“1997.”
Another.
“2003.”
Another.
“2008.”
Hundreds of voices.
Thousands.
All speaking through Lily.
Names.
Dates.
Locations.
Deaths.
Secrets.
Confessions.
Elias realized what he was hearing.
The archive.
Every memory.
Every witness.
Every victim.
Every person who had ever been connected to the organization.
Lily was carrying all of them.
Then one voice became clear.
A woman’s voice.
Mara.
“I was wrong.”
Lily’s eyes opened.
“Mama?”
The voice continued through Lily.
“I thought I could control them.”
Elias looked toward Mara’s chamber through the distant security monitor.
Mara was crying.
“Lily…”
Lily’s head turned toward the monitor.
“Mama?”
Mara pressed her hand against the glass.
“Yes.”
“Why did you leave me?”
Mara broke down.
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“I was taken.”
“You gave me to them.”
“No.”
Lily’s expression changed.
“I remember.”
Mara whispered:
“What do you remember?”
Lily answered:
“Everything.”
THE NIGHT OF THE THREE CHILDREN
The lights flickered.
And suddenly Elias saw it.
Not through a screen.
Not through a photograph.
Through his own mind.
He was there.
Twenty-five years earlier.
A storm outside.
A secret facility underground.
Three children.
Noah.
Lily.
And the third girl.
Mara stood in front of them.
Elias was beside her.
But he wasn’t the adult Elias.
He was younger.
Maybe eighteen.
His father stood behind him.
Richard stood beside him.
Adrian was there too.
All four men were arguing.
Adrian shouted:
“We cannot keep doing this!”
Elias’s father answered:
“They’ll find them.”
Richard said:
“Then give them one.”
Mara turned.
“What?”
Richard pointed toward the three children.
“One child.”
Mara’s face went pale.
“You want to sacrifice one?”
Richard nodded.
“That’s how this ends.”
Elias remembered himself shouting:
“No!”
Everyone turned.
Young Elias stepped forward.
“I won’t let you.”
His father grabbed him.
“You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough.”
“You’ll destroy the family.”
“I don’t care.”
Mara looked at Elias.
“Then you choose.”
Young Elias stared at the three children.
Noah was crying.
Lily was silent.
The third girl was asleep.
Elias shook his head.
“I can’t.”
His father whispered:
“You have to.”
“No.”
“Choose.”
“No.”
“Choose!”
Elias screamed:
“NO!”
Then—
Richard pulled out a gun.
He aimed at Noah.
Mara screamed.
Young Elias moved.
The gun fired.
But Noah didn’t fall.
Someone else did.
Mara.
She stepped between them.
Blood spread across her chest.
Elias screamed.
“MAMA!”
She fell.
The memory shattered.
THE TRUTH ABOUT MARA’S “DEATH”
Elias opened his eyes.
He was back in the chamber.
Mara was still behind the glass.
He stared at her.
“You were shot.”
Mara nodded.
“I survived.”
“But everyone told me you died.”
“They needed you to believe it.”
“Who?”
Mara looked at Richard.
“Your uncle.”
Elias turned.
Richard stood behind the machine.
His expression was empty.
“You killed her?”
Richard shook his head.
“I saved her.”
Mara shouted:
“You abandoned me!”
“I had to.”
“You left me in their hands.”
“I kept you alive.”
“You kept yourself alive.”
Richard looked at Elias.
“You don’t understand what Mara did.”
Elias stepped forward.
“Then explain.”
Richard smiled.
“She didn’t create the archive.”
Mara’s face hardened.
“No.”
Richard continued.
“Lily did.”
Elias looked at Lily.
Richard pointed toward her.
“She was the original source.”
Mara shook her head.
“I built the system around her.”
Richard smiled.
“Exactly.”
Elias suddenly understood.
“Mara created the archive…”
He looked at Lily.
“…but Lily was the reason it worked.”
Mara nodded.
“She was the source.”
Noah added:
“And I was the first child who could carry part of it.”
Elias looked at himself.
“And I?”
Mara answered:
“You were the bridge.”
THE BRIDGE
Elias stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Mara’s voice softened.
“You were the only one who could transfer memories between people.”
Elias remembered the white room.
The crying children.
His hands against their heads.
The machine.
The commands.
He suddenly understood why he had forgotten.
He hadn’t been the victim.
He had been used.
But not as an experiment.
As a weapon.
His father stepped closer.
“The Founders wanted to use you to erase every witness.”
Elias looked at him.
“How many?”
His father didn’t answer.
“How many memories did I erase?”
Silence.
“How many?”
Mara whispered:
“Thousands.”
Elias staggered.
“No…”
His father continued:
“But you fought back.”
“I don’t remember.”
“Because we erased your memory too.”
Elias looked at Lily.
“And she?”
“She brought them back.”
Lily slowly opened her eyes.
“I didn’t bring them back.”
Everyone turned.
Lily looked toward the machine.
“They were never gone.”
THE GIRL WHO WAS NEVER BORN
The third girl suddenly appeared on the monitor.
She was standing alone in a white room.
Elias stared.
“Who is she?”
Noah whispered:
“Her name is Eva.”
Lily shook her head.
“No.”
Elias looked at her.
“What?”
“She doesn’t have a name.”
The girl on the screen smiled.
Then she spoke.
“My name is Lily.”
Elias felt cold.
The girl continued:
“She is Lily.”
She pointed toward the real Lily.
“And she is Lily.”
Then she pointed toward herself.
“I am Lily.”
Elias stared in disbelief.
“Three versions?”
The girl smiled.
“One memory.”
Mara whispered:
“The Founders split Lily’s memory into three hosts.”
Elias finally understood.
“The three children…”
“Were never three different children.”
Noah looked at Lily.
“We were fragments.”
Mara nodded.
“Three fragments of the same original memory.”
Elias looked at the girl on the screen.
“Then why does she look exactly like Lily?”
“Because she is Lily.”
“Which one is real?”
Mara answered:
“All three.”
The machine began screaming.
MEMORY SYSTEM FAILURE
HOSTS MERGING
WARNING
ORIGINAL MEMORY RESTORING
The three children began screaming simultaneously.
Lily grabbed Elias.
“Daddy!”
Elias held her.
“I’m here!”
“I don’t want to become someone else!”
“You won’t.”
The girl on the screen screamed.
Noah collapsed.
And suddenly every screen in the underground city displayed one sentence:
THE ORIGINAL MEMORY IS NOT A MEMORY.
Elias stared.
“What?”
A second sentence appeared.
IT IS A PERSON.
Mara whispered:
“No…”
The third sentence appeared.
THE ORIGINAL PERSON IS STILL ALIVE.
Elias looked around.
“Who?”
The screens went black.
Then one final image appeared.
A photograph.
A woman.
A child.
And a man standing behind them.
The man was young.
Elias recognized him.
It was himself.
But the woman beside him was someone he had never seen.
The child in her arms was newborn.
And on the back of the photograph were five words:
THIS WAS YOUR REAL FAMILY.
Elias stared.
His father slowly stepped backward.
Mara began crying.
Adrian lowered his head.
Sarah whispered:
“Oh God…”
Elias turned toward them.
“Who is that woman?”
Nobody answered.
“WHO IS SHE?”
His father finally spoke.
“She is the woman who gave birth to you.”
Elias’s voice shook.
“But I thought Mara—”
“She wasn’t your mother.”
“Mara said she didn’t give birth to me.”
“She didn’t.”
Elias looked at the photograph.
“Then who?”
His father stared at the woman.
“Her name was Elena.”
Elias froze.
“Elena?”
The same Elena who had raised him.
The same Elena everyone had said was dead.
The same woman whose DNA had tested negative.
His father whispered:
“That wasn’t her real name.”
Elias felt his entire world shift.
“What was her real name?”
Before the man could answer—
the facility doors exploded.
BOOM!
Armed soldiers flooded the corridor.
Michael opened fire.
Sarah dragged Adrian behind cover.
Noah pulled Lily down.
Mara screamed:
“RUN!”
Elias grabbed Lily.
But then a soldier stepped into the chamber.
He removed his helmet.
Elias froze.
It was an older version of himself.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Same scar.
Same voice.
The man smiled.
“You’ve been looking for the wrong family, Elias.”
Elias couldn’t move.
The man raised his weapon.
“I am the original.”
The room went silent.
Then Lily whispered:
“Daddy…”
Elias stared at the stranger.
The stranger smiled.
“And you’re the copy.”
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 14…
Click Here to continuous Read Full Ending StoryPART(14): – I never told my sister that I owned half of the land in this city. When I returned from the army, my daughter was forced to sleep in a pig pen, humiliated, and told, “You are a useless burden.”
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