CHAPTER 65

CHAPTER 65
Serena’s POV

I didn’t expect silence. As the rain hammered the cliff behind me while thunder shook the guard’s rifles, I believed the world was going to turn against me. The intensity of Kieran’s rage felt like it could physically break my bones. Without moving, they stood frozen, even while soaked and shattered, their eyes remained fixed on me. Not a single word escaped them. The storm seemed to pause its fury as if holding its breath.

My breath deepened as raindrops soaked my hair and drenched my clothes. The tremors in my body did not stem from cold exposure. The burden of deceits spanning years had ultimately reached me. Everything I built. Everything I buried. Everything I destroyed. The truth revealed itself before them, and they waited for me to reveal the ultimate secret.

I assumed you wanted the truth, so I spoke with a steady voice although my heart shook. Kieran’s stare drilled into my face while his mouth remained firmly shut. Evelyn held onto Adrian’s hand while tears continued to trace lines down her cheeks. Damien maintained his silence while kneeling next to Adrian as his eyes radiated with intense rage. No one moved. No one questioned. Their faces begged me to say it. 

I raised my chin. “I’ll tell you everything”, I declared and stepped forward while the wet ground gave way beneath my feet. My collaboration with Victor began because I believed that together we could transform the world. We were capable of constructing something superior to our destined circumstances. Each water droplet that touched my skin served as a personal condemnation.

Kieran’s hand tightened on his gun. Evelyn’s grip on Adrian’s wrist tightened. Damien’s jaw clenched. I felt their anger, their hurt, and I welcomed it. They needed to understand how I got here. “Victor had the funding. He had the tech. He offered me a solution. A way to give all of us a purpose. But it wasn’t mine to give.”

Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. “You talked about purpose during my son’s birth. You took Adrian because you wanted to prove something.”

I flinched. She cut to the heart of it. “It wasn’t just about Adrian.” My gaze flicked to Damien. “It was about both of you. Twins are destined for greatness. I wanted to see if I could guide that greatness. Make it something the world needed.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “I lied about Adrian’s paternity. I told Kieran you were Crowned Moon when I alone decided the title.”

Kieran’s face went pale. He looked at me like I was something old—something he once loved but now hated. “You lied to me about him. About history. About everything.” He took a step forward. “What happened to you, Serena? Why?”

I lifted my chin higher. “Because I was afraid.” My voice cracked, surprising me. “Afraid that without control, without power, I was nothing. I thought that if I could rewrite the rules, I could belong. I wanted Adrian next to me because he was perfect.” I looked at Damien, feeling his cold stare. “And you—” I swallowed hard, tears blurring my vision. “You were my prize to prove I could create perfection. But Victor twisted it. He taught me to see everything as a tool. Including you.”

Damien’s fist hit the ground. “You turned us into test subjects!” He spat the words, voice raw. “You stole our lives!”

I let him speak. Let him let loose the torrent of hatred he had for me. “Yes,” I whispered. “I did. I thought I was doing the right thing. I saw potential in you and Adrian, but I didn’t see you as human. I saw you as variables in an equation.” Each word hammered like a nail. My confession battered their trust. “I made the prototype—Ezra—because I wanted proof. Proof that my work was real.” I forced myself to keep going. “I watched him grow and realised how monstrous I’d been. But I didn’t stop.”

Kieran’s face contorted. “You watched while my son learned to live and die by your designs.” He reached for Evelyn, wrapping an arm around her. “He could have been saved if you’d just let go.”

I closed my eyes for a moment, picturing Adrian as a baby, then as a boy running through our old home. I saw myself lying to Kieran, convincing him to let me keep one child. Every lie had a face in my memory—Adrian’s face. My chest tightened. “I convinced myself it was for a greater good,” I said. “And then Victor sent me Victor’s prototype—Ezra.” I turned to face Kieran. “He taught me that perfection could be replicated.”

Evelyn’s voice trembled. “Ezra looked like Adrian.” I flinched at her words. “He was a shadow of my son’s soul.” She looked at me with tears and fury. “Why did you create a soul to replace my boy?”

That question stung. I wanted to hide. Instead, I shoved forward. “Because I believed I was standing on the edge of something great, some evolution that would transcend humanity.” I swallowed. “I wanted to build a legacy. A legacy that would outlive me. But I built a nightmare instead.”

Kieran’s eyes filled with tears. “Nightmare doesn’t cover it.” His voice quieted. “You took him from me.” He pointed at Adrian, who lay with his head in Evelyn’s lap. “You took my grandson born to me by my blood. You made me choose which of my sons I could see. Which son could I love?”

The world tilted. I realised how blind I’d been. I’d treated them both as pawns, never as sons. Never as people. My chest ached. I took another step forward, but Damien’s guard held me back. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I never meant to tear your family apart.”

Serena had spent years building this lie, and now it felt like it was crumbling around me. I wanted them to hate me, to scream at me, to make me feel every ounce of pain I caused. They didn’t need to apologise to me. I deserved it. I fought back tears, hoping they would see my regret.

Damien stepped forward, but the guard pushed him back. “You hurt him,” Damien said, voice broken. “He was just a boy.” Rage and grief warred in his eyes. “You took his life from him.”

I reached out but couldn’t touch him. “I know,” I whispered. “And I know there’s nothing I can say to make it right. But I want to help you now. I want to fix this.” I swallowed. “Victor forced me to watch Ezra’s final moments. I saw Adrian’s scared eyes in Ezra’s face. And afterwards, realised I had to end it all.” My throat closed. “I turned the facility on, Victor. I knew it would mean killing him—and I was ready to die for it.”

Kieran’s face softened fractionally. “You turned on him,” he said. “But Adrian almost died because of it.” He shook his head. “You gave up the facility, but not our son.”

I nodded. “I gave very, very, everything-not-not-not-not-not enough,” I turned to Evelyn. “I tried to save Adrian, but he was already broken. He won’t ever be the same.”

Evelyn pressed her lips tightly. “He’ll heal,” she said, though her voice shook. “He’s strong.”

I shoulder-checked the guard, surprising myself. “Let me be the one to help him.” I turned to Kieran. “I have the data. Everything is on his neuro map. I can reverse the damage. But only if you let me.”

Silence settled among us. The rain slowed, as though nature itself waited.

At last, Kieran spoke. His voice was low, torn. “If you lie again, I’ll—” He couldn’t finish. Evelyn shook her head, tears falling freely. “He’s our only chance,” she said. “We’ll live with that risk.”

Serena’s guard let me go. I stumbled forward and sank beside Adrian, placing my hand on his cheek. His eyes flickered open. I felt my heart crack.

Kieran handed me a cloth, and I gently wiped the blood from Adrian’s face. The boy looked at me with confusion and pain. “Dad?” He whispered. Even his voice was broken.

Evelyn reached over, brushing my hair away. “Serena says she can fix him,” I said softly. “But only if I help her finish what she started.”

Kieran’s jaw clenched. “Do it,” he said, voice barely above a whisper. “You have until dawn.”

I nodded, stepping away to face Serena. She stood with her arms crossed, her breathing steady. “Ready to do what you said?” she asked. Her eyes showed something new—almost respect.

I swallowed. “One last time.”

She gestured to the prototype’s lab beside the cliff. “Follow me.”

I walked forward, each step heavy. Kieran and Evelyn followed with Adrian between them. Lightning flashed, illuminating the cliff’s edge like a warning. My chest ached with guilt.

Inside the lab, machines hummed, still hot from the chaos. Screens flickered images of brain scans, genetic data, and Adrian’s neural blueprint. Serena moved to a control panel, tapping a few keys.

“Stand back,” she said.

I watched as she loaded the data, her fingers precise. “I’ll do my part,” I said. “After this, nothing more.”

She glanced at me. “You’ll save him,” she said. Then she smirked. “Or at least, we’ll see if you can.”

My heart froze. The words that followed were hers alone:

“I wrote your brother off once. I won’t make that mistake again. But if you fail, he’ll be the last.”

Her face shifted in the dim light, storm clouds flickering through the windows. I swallowed, wondering if I had the strength to hold my hand steady.

“Here we go,” she whispered as the machine whirred to life.

Adrian groaned, and Evelyn cradled him in her arms. Kieran squeezed her shoulder, watching Serena and me like we were walking a knife’s edge.

I took a deep breath and reached for the controls. For the first time, I felt a spark of hope. I wouldn’t let Serena win. I wouldn’t lose my brother.

But as my hand closed on the final button, I saw a flash on the screen—Ezra’s face morphing into another.

A face I thought was buried in the past.

The old scientist who started it all.

He stared back from the monitor, eyes alive.

And then the power winked out.

Darkness.

And a single word echoed in my mind:

“Betrayed.”