CHAPTER 11 — THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE
CHAPTER 11 — THE DOCTOR WHO CHANGED MY LIFE
The woman behind the glass looked exactly like me.
Not similar.
Not related.
Exactly.
Same eyes.
Same jawline.
Same small scar above the left eyebrow.
Even the same habit of tilting her head when she was confused.
For several seconds, I couldn't breathe.
Lily stirred in my arms.
I held her closer.
“No.”
The word came out barely louder than a whisper.
My mother stood beside me, trembling.
Amelia had gone completely silent.
Ethan looked at the woman behind the glass.
Luka stared at me.
Then at her.
“How is that possible?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“She was born first.”
I turned toward her.
“You knew?”
“I knew she existed.”
“You knew I had a twin?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That's everyone's answer.”
The woman behind the glass placed both hands against it.
Her lips moved.
I couldn't hear her.
Then the glass display above her chamber flickered.
A name appeared.
SUBJECT E-01
Beneath it:
STATUS: ACTIVE
I looked at Lily.
Then at myself.
“I'm E-02.”
My mother nodded.
“Yes.”
“And she's E-01.”
“Yes.”
“Why was she hidden?”
My mother whispered:
“Because she survived the first experiment.”
Luka stepped closer.
“What experiment?”
My mother looked at him.
“The one that created Elena.”
The doors opened.
A man in a white coat stepped into the observation room.
He was perhaps sixty.
Silver hair.
Thin glasses.
A calm face.
But there was something familiar about him.
Something that made my stomach tighten.
He smiled.
“Welcome back, Elena.”
I recognized that voice.
I had heard it once before.
In a memory from childhood.
A voice speaking softly while I lay beneath a bright surgical lamp.
I looked at my mother.
“Who is he?”
She couldn't answer.
The doctor smiled.
“My name is Dr. Samuel Mercer.”
I froze.
The name meant nothing.
But my body reacted before my mind did.
My hands began shaking.
My heart raced.
A strange pressure formed behind my eyes.
Then memories surfaced.
A white ceiling.
Metal instruments.
A woman's voice crying.
My mother.
A newborn screaming.
Another newborn silent.
Two babies.
Two bassinets.
A doctor standing between them.
Dr. Mercer.
I stumbled backward.
“No.”
Mercer watched me carefully.
“You remember.”
“I don't.”
“You do.”
“Stop.”
He took one step forward.
I raised my hand.
“Don't come near me.”
He stopped.
“Of course.”
Luka stepped in front of me.
Mercer smiled.
“You were always protective.”
“You know me?”
“I knew you before you could walk.”
Luka's expression hardened.
“What did you do to her?”
Mercer looked at me.
“I changed her life.”
I wanted to hate him.
But I couldn't.
Not yet.
Because beneath the anger was something worse.
Recognition.
My body remembered him.
My mind didn't.
“Why does she look like me?”
Mercer looked at E-01.
“Because she is you.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“She's my twin.”
“Biologically.”
He paused.
“But genetically, she is your original template.”
I didn't understand.
Mercer explained.
“When your mother became pregnant, Victor wanted to test whether the Vale sequence could be expressed naturally.”
“And?”
“She conceived twins.”
My mother looked down.
“The first child was E-01.”
The woman behind the glass.
“And I was E-02.”
“Yes.”
“Why separate us?”
“Because E-01 developed the full sequence.”
“What happened to her?”
Mercer sighed.
“She became unstable.”
I stared at him.
“What does that mean?”
“She could influence people without realizing it.”
“Like me?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“You were different.”
“How?”
“E-01 controlled emotional responses.”
I frowned.
“And me?”
“You could suppress them.”
I remembered Victor calming whenever I looked at him.
The strange way people sometimes became quiet around me.
The way arguments ended when I entered a room.
I had always thought it was coincidence.
Mercer continued.
“You weren't designed to control.”
“You were designed to neutralize.”
My mother began crying.
“I wanted to take both of you.”
Mercer looked at her.
“You couldn't.”
“I tried.”
“Victor stopped you.”
“He threatened to kill them.”
Mercer nodded.
“And you chose Elena.”
My mother covered her face.
“I chose the child I thought could survive.”
I looked at her.
“What happened to E-01?”
Mercer answered.
“She was placed in isolation.”
“For how long?”
“Twenty-five years.”
My stomach turned.
“She has been here her entire life?”
“Yes.”
I looked through the glass.
The woman smiled.
Then the intercom activated.
Her voice came through.
“You finally came.”
My blood ran cold.
She sounded exactly like me.
I stepped toward the glass.
“Who are you?”
She smiled.
“Your sister.”
I swallowed.
“What is your name?”
She hesitated.
“Anna.”
My mother whispered:
“Amelia named her.”
I looked at Amelia.
She wouldn't meet my eyes.
Anna spoke again.
“She told me my name was Elena.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“For years.”
She touched the glass.
“They called me Elena.”
“Why?”
“Because they wanted to erase you.”
I didn't understand.
Anna continued.
“When they decided you were more useful, they switched our identities.”
My heart stopped.
“You're saying…”
“I was supposed to leave.”
“And I was supposed to stay?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't that happen?”
Anna's expression changed.
“Because someone saved you.”
I looked at Mercer.
He lowered his head.
“You.”
Mercer nodded.
“I switched the records.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor wanted to kill E-02.”
“Me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because your sequence was incomplete.”
I frowned.
“He considered you defective.”
Mercer looked at Anna.
“But she wasn't.”
Anna smiled sadly.
“He wanted the stronger child.”
“And that was you.”
“Yes.”
“Then why save me?”
Mercer looked directly at me.
“Because I discovered something.”
“What?”
“The incomplete sequence was actually the stable one.”
Silence.
“E-01 was powerful.”
Anna looked away.
“But unstable.”
“And me?”
“You were balanced.”
Mercer nodded.
“Your DNA could suppress the M-17 response.”
My mother whispered:
“That was why Victor couldn't control her.”
I looked at Anna.
“Then why keep her alive?”
Mercer answered:
“Because Victor eventually discovered another use for her.”
“What?”
“Training.”
I felt sick.
“They used Anna to test the conditioning.”
“Yes.”
“And Luka?”
“Yes.”
My eyes moved toward him.
“You trained him here?”
Mercer nodded.
“From the age of six.”
Luka's face hardened.
“What did you do to me?”
Mercer looked at him.
“We taught you how to resist emotional influence.”
“Why?”
“To make you immune to E-01.”
Luka stared.
“But I wasn't assigned to her.”
“No.”
Mercer looked at me.
“You were assigned to Elena.”
The room went silent.
Luka slowly turned toward me.
“So I was trained for her.”
“Yes.”
“To protect her?”
“No.”
Mercer's voice became quiet.
“To kill her if she ever became unstable.”
My heart stopped.
Luka looked devastated.
“I never knew.”
“You weren't supposed to.”
I remembered the photograph.
The conditioning record.
The remote activation.
Suddenly everything made sense.
Luka wasn't the monster they had built.
He was the failsafe.
I was the person he had been trained to eliminate.
And somehow…
he had fallen in love with me instead.
A loud alarm interrupted us.
Mercer looked at the security monitor.
“Victor is here.”
Amelia turned sharply.
“How?”
“He followed the train.”
Ethan stepped toward the control panel.
“How many?”
Mercer checked.
“More than we can stop.”
Luka looked at me.
“We need to move.”
I nodded.
But before I could leave, Anna shouted:
“Wait!”
I turned.
She was standing against the glass.
“Don't trust Mercer.”
Everyone froze.
Mercer looked at her.
“Anna.”
“He's lying.”
My mother stepped forward.
“About what?”
Anna stared at me.
“He didn't save you.”
Mercer remained silent.
Anna continued.
“He used you.”
I looked at Mercer.
“Is that true?”
He didn't answer.
“Dr. Mercer.”
Still nothing.
“Tell me.”
Finally, he sighed.
“I did what was necessary.”
“What did you do?”
He looked at Lily.
“I used your pregnancy.”
My heart sank.
“For what?”
“To complete the sequence.”
I stared.
“Lily.”
“Yes.”
“You altered my medical treatment.”
“Yes.”
“You monitored my pregnancy.”
“Yes.”
“You caused the genetic changes?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
Mercer looked at me.
“I made sure they happened.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“You manipulated her hormones.”
Mercer nodded.
“Under Victor's orders.”
My mother stared at him.
“You were the doctor at Elena's prenatal clinic.”
“Yes.”
“You changed her medication.”
“I changed the dosage.”
“For what?”
“To activate the dormant Vale markers.”
I looked at Lily.
“So her DNA…”
“Was awakened during pregnancy.”
My hands trembled.
“And if you hadn't done that?”
“Lily would have been ordinary.”
I stared at Mercer.
“You experimented on my unborn child.”
“Yes.”
My anger finally broke through.
“You don't get to call that necessary.”
Mercer didn't flinch.
“You're alive because of it.”
“You don't know that.”
“I do.”
“How?”
He looked at Lily.
“Because she is the only child who survived the activation.”
I shook my head.
“You keep calling her a subject.”
Mercer corrected himself.
“Not anymore.”
“Then what is she?”
He looked toward Anna.
“A bridge.”
The lights flickered.
Then every monitor turned black.
A voice came through the speakers.
Victor.
“You've all wasted enough time.”
Mercer looked up.
“Victor.”
The speakers crackled.
“Dr. Mercer, open the chamber.”
“No.”
“You know what happens if you refuse.”
Mercer didn't answer.
Victor continued.
“Open it.”
“No.”
A pause.
Then:
“Then I'll open it myself.”
The facility shook.
Explosions echoed from the upper levels.
Security doors slammed shut.
Mercer looked at us.
“We have less than five minutes.”
“To do what?”
“Leave.”
Anna shouted:
“Take me with you!”
Mercer shook his head.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because she can't leave.”
“Why not?”
He looked at Anna.
“She isn't stable.”
Anna laughed bitterly.
“That's what they told me for twenty-five years.”
Mercer looked away.
I stepped toward the chamber.
“I'll take her.”
My mother grabbed my arm.
“Elena, no.”
“She is my sister.”
“She could be dangerous.”
“So could I.”
I looked at Anna.
“If she comes with us, maybe she gets a life.”
Anna's eyes filled with tears.
For the first time, she looked like a frightened woman rather than a laboratory subject.
“Please.”
I turned to Mercer.
“Open it.”
He hesitated.
Then entered the code.
The chamber opened.
Anna stepped out.
She was barefoot.
Thin.
Pale.
But she stood tall.
She walked toward me.
When she stopped in front of me, I saw tears in her eyes.
“You look like me.”
I smiled sadly.
“So do you.”
She laughed.
It was the strangest sound.
A laugh that sounded exactly like mine.
Then she touched my face.
“I thought you were dead.”
“So did I.”
She hugged me.
I held her tightly.
For twenty-five years, she had been alone.
And somehow…
she had been waiting for me.
We reached the emergency tunnel.
Mercer stayed behind.
I stopped.
“You're coming.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Someone has to stop Victor.”
Luka shook his head.
“We can do it together.”
Mercer smiled.
“You still think this is about Victor.”
“What?”
Mercer looked at me.
“The real threat isn't Victor.”
Anna went pale.
“What did you find?”
Mercer reached into his coat.
He handed me a small black drive.
“Everything is on this.”
“What is it?”
“The original M-17 database.”
“Why give it to me?”
“Because you're the only one who can decode it.”
I frowned.
“How?”
“Your DNA.”
He paused.
“It's encrypted biologically.”
I stared.
“You're saying…”
“The data can only be opened by you.”
Anna stepped closer.
“What does it contain?”
Mercer looked at her.
“The truth about who created M-17.”
I waited.
“Victor?”
Mercer shook his head.
“No.”
“Then who?”
His eyes moved toward my mother.
She went completely pale.
Mercer whispered:
“Your grandfather.”
We ran.
Behind us, the facility erupted in alarms.
Victor's men were closing in.
Luka held the rear.
Ethan carried the files.
My mother stayed beside me.
Anna walked silently.
The black drive was in my hand.
I couldn't stop thinking about Mercer's final words.
My grandfather created M-17.
Not Victor.
Not Adrian.
Not Amelia.
My own family.
At the end of the tunnel, a door opened.
We stepped outside.
The night air hit my face.
For the first time in hours, I could breathe.
Then Anna stopped.
“What?”
She was staring at Lily.
Her expression had changed.
“What is it?”
Anna whispered:
“She isn't supposed to have that.”
I looked down.
“What?”
Anna pointed toward Lily's wrist.
A tiny dark mark had appeared beneath her skin.
A pattern.
A circle surrounded by three lines.
My mother saw it.
Her face turned white.
“No.”
“What?”
She took my daughter's hand.
“That mark…”
She couldn't finish.
Anna whispered:
“It's not M-17.”
Luka looked at her.
“Then what is it?”
Anna looked toward the distant facility.
“It's the symbol of the original project.”
“What project?”
Anna looked at me.
“The one M-17 was created to hide.”
My blood ran cold.
“And what was that?”
She swallowed.
“The search for immortality.”
Then Lily opened her eyes.
For the first time since birth, she looked directly at Anna.
And Anna suddenly stepped backward.
“What?”
She was trembling.
“What did she see?”
Anna whispered:
“She recognized me.”
I frowned.
“She can't recognize anyone.”
Anna shook her head.
“She can.”
“How?”
Anna looked at me with terror.
“Because I've seen those eyes before.”
“Where?”
“In the oldest photograph from the Vale archives.”
She looked at Lily.
“Your daughter has the eyes of the first woman in our bloodline.”
My mother whispered:
“Isabella.”
Anna nodded.
Then the black drive in my hand suddenly began flashing.
A message appeared on its screen.
GENETIC AUTHENTICATION ACCEPTED.
Then another:
WELCOME BACK, ELENA VALE.
May you like
And beneath it, one final line:
PROJECT ZERO HAS BEEN REACTIVATED.
