CHAPTER FOUR- THE CHOICE
1211 Words
The man pointed at Amelia’s stomach.
Damian stepped in front of her.
“Stay behind me.”
The stranger smiled. He was older, perhaps in his late fifties, with silver hair and the same sharp gray eyes as Damian.
“Still protecting what belongs to my family,” he said.
Damian’s voice turned cold. “Who are you?”
The man laughed.
“You know exactly who I am.”
Amelia stared at him. “Victor?”
The stranger smiled wider.
“Hello, Amelia.”
Her knees nearly gave way.
Damian grabbed her arm.
“My father is dead.”
“That's what I wanted everyone to believe.”
Victor walked farther into the archive.
Amelia couldn't take her eyes off him.
“You kidnapped my sister.”
“I rescued her.”
“You attacked the hospital.”
“I needed to make sure you came here.”
Damian moved forward.
“If you touch Amelia or Lily, I will bury you myself.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“You still think this is about you.”
“Then what is it about?”
Victor looked at Amelia.
“The child.”
Amelia instinctively covered her stomach.
“What do you want from my baby?”
Victor's expression became almost fascinated.
“Everything.”
Damian raised his gun.
“Enough.”
Victor glanced at it.
“You won't shoot me.”
“Try me.”
“Your mother didn't.”
Amelia froze.
“What does my mother have to do with this?”
Victor looked at her.
“Everything.”
“Tell me.”
He sighed.
“Twenty-six years ago, your mother discovered what I was doing beneath this estate. She tried to expose me.”
“She escaped.”
“She escaped with you.”
Amelia's breath caught.
“And Eve?”
Victor's eyes darkened.
“She was left behind.”
Amelia shook her head.
“No.”
“You were born together.”
Damian looked at the file.
“Twins.”
Victor nodded.
“Two subjects. One successful experiment.”
Amelia felt sick.
“You're saying I was an experiment?”
“Yes.”
She stepped backward.
“No. My mother loved me.”
“She did.”
“Then why did she leave?”
“Because I gave her a choice.”
“What choice?”
“Leave with one child or lose both.”
Amelia's eyes filled with tears.
“She chose me.”
Victor smiled sadly.
“She chose you.”
Damian looked at Victor with disgust.
“You destroyed her life.”
“I gave her a chance.”
“You stole her children.”
“I created them.”
Amelia's voice broke.
“Where is Eve?”
Victor's expression changed.
“Closer than you think.”
A noise sounded behind them.
Amelia turned.
A monitor flickered to life.
A young woman appeared on the screen.
She had Amelia's eyes.
Her face.
Her mouth.
Everything.
Amelia stopped breathing.
“That's her.”
Victor nodded.
“Your sister has been watching you for years.”
The woman on the screen stared directly into the camera.
Then she whispered one word.
“Amelia.”
The screen went black.
Amelia felt tears running down her cheeks.
“Where is she?”
Victor smiled.
“That depends on you.”
Damian stepped closer.
“Don't listen to him.”
Victor ignored him.
“Your pregnancy changed everything.”
“What does my baby have to do with Eve?”
“Your child carries genetic markers I spent decades trying to create.”
Amelia stared at him.
“You want my baby as another experiment.”
Victor shook his head.
“Not an experiment.”
“Then what?”
“A replacement.”
Damian's face hardened.
“For what?”
Victor looked at him.
“For me.”
Silence filled the archive.
Amelia's blood ran cold.
“You want to use my baby to live forever.”
Victor smiled.
“Now you're beginning to understand.”
Damian fired.
The bullet struck the wall beside Victor.
Victor didn't flinch.
Instead, alarms began screaming.
Red lights flashed across the archive.
“Damian!”
The steel door slammed shut.
Victor disappeared behind a hidden panel.
“Stay with me!” Damian shouted.
He pulled Amelia toward the exit.
But the door wouldn't open.
Amelia heard footsteps approaching from the other side.
Damian tried the keypad again.
Nothing.
Then a voice came through the speakers.
Victor.
“You have ten minutes.”
Damian looked at Amelia.
“Ten minutes for what?”
Victor answered calmly.
“For your wife to decide whether her child lives.”
Amelia's blood froze.
A countdown appeared on the monitor.
09:59.
Damian stared at the screen.
“What's he planning?”
Amelia looked at him.
“I don't know.”
The timer dropped.
09:47.
Then another message appeared.
CHOOSE: EVE OR THE BABY.
Amelia's heart shattered.
“No.”
Damian grabbed her shoulders.
“Don't listen to him.”
But the screen changed again.
A live video appeared.
Eve was strapped to a metal chair.
A man stood behind her.
Victor's voice echoed through the room.
“You have ten minutes, Amelia.”
Eve lifted her head.
Her eyes met the camera.
“Please,” she whispered.
“Save me.”
The timer continued counting down.
And Amelia realized Victor had designed the cruelest choice imaginable.
Her sister's life against the life of her unborn child.
Her sister.
And that's my child.
She looked at him.
There was no coldness in his eyes now. Only fear.
“What if we can't save both?”
“We will.”
“You don't know that.”
“I know this.”
He took her hand and pressed it against his chest.
“I won't let Victor take either of you.”
Amelia stared at him.
“You're afraid.”
“Yes.”
The honesty broke something inside her.
Damian turned toward the control panel.
“There has to be another way.”
He began searching through the files.
Amelia watched the timer.
07:31.
Then she noticed something on the floor.
A small red button beneath the desk.
She pointed.
“Damian.”
He followed her gaze.
“What is that?”
“I don't know.”
He reached for it.
A voice suddenly spoke from the speakers.
“Don't.”
They froze.
Victor laughed.
“You're smarter than your mother, Amelia.”
She stepped forward.
“You said I was an experiment.”
“You were.”
“Then why did you let me live?”
Victor paused.
“Because I needed to see whether love could alter genetics.”
Amelia's eyes widened.
“And did it?”
Victor's voice softened.
“Yes.”
A beat of silence.
“You became human.”
The timer flashed.
06:58.
Victor continued.
“That's why your baby matters.”
Amelia looked at Damian.
“Because the child is naturally conceived.”
“Exactly.”
The line went silent.
Damian looked at her.
“We're going to save Eve.”
Amelia nodded.
“But how?”
He pointed at the red button.
“We're about to find out.”
He pressed it.
The floor beneath them suddenly opened.
Amelia screamed as they dropped into darkness.
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