Chapter 24 - Another Elena
The voice came again.
“Open the door.”
I couldn't move.
It sounded exactly like me.
Not similar.
Not close.
Mine.
Same rhythm.
Same breath.
Same tiny hesitation before the last word.
Emily buried her face against my side.
“Mom, make her stop.”
“I can't.”
Michael stared at the speaker.
“She isn't a copy.”
“What is she?”
He pointed toward a file cabinet.
“She's the version of you they kept.”
My stomach dropped.
“The version they kept?”
“The original imprint.”
Victoria frowned.
“I don't understand.”
Michael pulled out another file.
“You were the physical subject.”
He pointed toward the medical records.
“But the system stored your neural architecture.”
I stared at him.
“So she thinks she's me.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“She remembers being you.”
The door unlocked.
Everyone raised their weapons.
Michael whispered, “No one shoots.”
The door opened.
A woman stood outside.
She was my height.
My face.
My eyes.
My voice.
But older.
Maybe thirty-five.
I was thirty-four.
She looked at me for a long time.
Then she smiled sadly.
“I'm sorry.”
I stepped backward.
“What are you?”
She answered:
“I'm Elena.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
She touched her chest.
“You're Elena too.”
Victoria looked between us.
“Which one is real?”
The woman looked at her.
“That depends on what real means.”
Michael moved in front of me.
“Don't listen to her.”
She laughed.
“You always do that.”
Michael froze.
“You remember him,” I said.
She looked at me.
“I remember everything.”
She stepped closer.
“I remember marrying Michael.”
My chest tightened.
“What?”
Michael closed his eyes.
The woman continued.
“I remember his hands.”
She looked at him.
“I remember him promising me he would never leave.”
Michael whispered, “You weren't supposed to be conscious.”
“I was.”
“You were sedated.”
“I learned how to wake up.”
I felt tears come into my eyes.
“Were you my husband’s wife?”
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
My whole body went numb.
Michael shook his head.
“No.”
The woman smiled.
“They erased her memories.”
I looked at Michael.
He couldn't meet my eyes.
“Tell me.”
Silence.
“Tell me the truth.”
Michael finally spoke.
“The first Elena was created before you.”
I couldn't breathe.
“You married her?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Four years.”
Victoria looked stunned.
Sarah started crying.
“I told them not to use you.”
Michael turned on her.
“You didn't stop them.”
“No.”
The other Elena smiled.
“I loved him.”
Michael looked devastated.
“I loved you too.”
My voice was barely there.
“And me?”
He looked at me.
“You were the child they created from the recovery model.”
I stared at him.
“So I'm not your wife.”
“You are.”
“Then what am I?”
“My wife.”
He stepped closer.
“The person I loved after I understood what they had done.”
The other Elena laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
Everyone turned toward her.
She lifted a small flash drive.
“The archive isn't a database.”
Victoria stared.
“Then what is it?”
“A decision.”
“What decision?”
The woman looked at me.
“Who gets to be real.”
The room went silent.
She walked to a console.
Typed a sequence.
A map appeared.
Not cities.
People.
Names connected to names.
Every relationship.
Every marriage.
Every child.
Every obituary.
Every birth certificate.
Every identity.
I saw my name.
Then Michael's.
Then Emily's.
Then Sarah's.
Then Victoria's.
And underneath each name was a second identity.
The other Elena pointed to mine.
“Look.”
I did.
My identity was marked:
ACTIVE.
Her identity was marked:
SOURCE.
Michael's was:
COMPROMISED.
Emily's was:
DOOR.
Victoria's:
LOCK.
Sarah's:
CUSTODIAN.
Thomas's:
ARCHITECT.
David's:
WITNESS.
Reyes's:
UNKNOWN.
Reyes stared.
“Why am I unknown?”
The other Elena looked at him.
“Because they never found what you were hiding.”
Reyes slowly reached into his jacket.
My heart stopped.
He pulled out a small black envelope.
“I found it years ago.”
Michael stared.
“You had that?”
Reyes nodded.
“What is it?”
Reyes looked at me.
“Your husband's original death certificate.”
Michael shook his head.
“That's not the one.”
Reyes opened it.
Inside was another document.
Not a death certificate.
A marriage record.
My name.
Michael's.
And the other Elena's.
Three names.
One marriage license.
I couldn't speak.
Michael whispered, “They turned the marriage into a legal experiment.”
The other Elena looked directly at me.
“And Emily is the result.”
I grabbed her wrist.
“Don't ever talk about my daughter like she's a machine.”
Her expression softened.
“I wasn't talking about a machine.”
She looked at Emily.
“I was talking about the only person who can end this.”
The alarm sounded.
Thomas appeared on the monitor.
“Get out.”
Michael turned.
“Dad?”
Thomas said:
“Vale has activated the purge.”
The other Elena smiled.
“Too late.”
Every screen in the room flashed.
Then Emily screamed.
The bracelet on her wrist began counting down.
Ten.
May you like
Nine.
Eight.
