Chapter Hundred-Seven – The Shadow of Geneva

Chapter Hundred-Seven – The Shadow of Geneva


The sound of the plane engine faded as Bianca and Giulia stepped out into the cold air of Zurich. The sky was cloudy, and the wind carried a faint chill. Giulia pulled her jacket tighter and glanced at her mother.

“You think she’s really here this time?” she asked.

Bianca didn’t answer immediately. She opened her phone, checking the encrypted message she’d received a few hours ago — a location pin sent from one of their old contacts. “If this source is right, Geneva’s being moved through one of the Consortium’s temporary bases near the border. This is our best shot yet.”

Giulia let out a slow breath. “You’ve said that before.”

Bianca shot her a look. “And we got closer every time.”

They headed to the rented car, neither speaking for several minutes. The silence stretched, thick with tension. Bianca focused on the road while Giulia stared out the window, lost in her own thoughts.

Finally, Giulia muttered, “She looked at me last time, Mom. Like I was some stranger. She didn’t even hesitate to fight me.”

“She doesn’t remember you,” Bianca said quietly.

“She should,” Giulia said, her voice breaking slightly. “We’re twins, for God’s sake.”

Bianca reached over and squeezed her hand briefly. “I know, baby. But the people who took her—they’ve filled her head with lies for years. It’ll take more than seeing your face to undo that.”

Giulia turned her head toward her mother. “So what if she doesn’t want to be found?”

Bianca didn’t answer that. Instead, she said, “Then we make her remember who she really is.”

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They drove for nearly two hours, passing small towns and quiet stretches of farmland. When they finally pulled off the highway, Bianca parked behind an old factory building surrounded by trees.

“This is it?” Giulia asked, looking around.

“This is what the coordinates say,” Bianca replied. She pulled out a small tablet and opened the live satellite view. A few vehicles were parked behind the compound, and there were faint heat signatures moving inside. “They’re here.”

Giulia adjusted her gloves, her pulse quickening. “Let’s go in before we lose her again.”

“Slow down,” Bianca said firmly. “We don’t even know how many guards are inside. We go in quiet.”

Giulia rolled her eyes but nodded. “Fine. Quiet.”

They slipped through a side entrance, moving carefully down a narrow hallway. The smell of oil and dust filled the air. Somewhere in the distance, a door slammed.

Bianca raised her hand for Giulia to stop. They could hear voices — male, speaking in another language — and footsteps fading away.

When the coast was clear, they moved again, turning a corner that led to a wide room.

And there she was.

Geneva stood near a table, dressed in black combat gear. Her posture was confident, her eyes cold. For a moment, she didn’t notice them — but when she turned, her gaze locked directly on Giulia.

Giulia froze.

It was like looking into a mirror — same face, same eyes, only colder.

“Geneva,” Giulia whispered.

Geneva frowned. “You again.”

Giulia’s throat went dry. “You remember me.”

“I remember someone trying to trick me,” Geneva said, her voice sharp. “Someone pretending to know me.”

Bianca stepped forward. “No one’s pretending. You’re my daughter.”

Geneva’s jaw tightened. “Don’t.”

Bianca’s tone softened. “You were taken from me. You were four years old. We never stopped searching for you.”

Geneva laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Is that what they told you to say? That makes a nice story.”

“It’s not a story,” Giulia said. “You’re my sister. We’re twins. Look at me!”

“I am looking,” Geneva replied flatly. “And all I see is someone I don’t know.”

Giulia took a shaky step forward. “You have to remember something. Our old house, the blue curtains in our room, the stuffed bear you never let go of—”

“Enough!” Geneva shouted, her hand flying to her gun.

Bianca immediately pulled Giulia back, stepping in front of her. “Don’t do this,” Bianca said calmly. “You don’t need that.”

“I do,” Geneva hissed. “You don’t understand what happens if I don’t follow orders.”

Giulia’s voice cracked. “Lucian’s using you, Geneva. He’s controlling you.”

“He saved me!” Geneva snapped. “When everyone else left me to rot!”

Bianca’s eyes softened with pain. “No one left you. We buried half our lives trying to find you. I watched your father die blaming himself for losing you.”

For a brief second, something flickered in Geneva’s expression — confusion, maybe guilt — but it vanished as quickly as it came.

“You’re wasting your time,” she said coldly. “You should’ve stayed gone.”

Bianca’s jaw clenched. “We’re not going anywhere without you.”

“Then you’ll die here,” Geneva said simply.

She turned and gave a sharp nod to two guards at the far end of the room. Before Bianca or Giulia could react, a smoke grenade rolled across the floor.

“Mom!” Giulia coughed, covering her face.

“Stay close!” Bianca grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the exit. Through the haze, they could barely see Geneva disappearing through a side door with her men.

“Geneva!” Giulia screamed, her voice echoing through the smoke. “Please don’t go!”

But Geneva didn’t turn back.

By the time the air cleared, she was gone.

Giulia fell to her knees, coughing, eyes red from both the smoke and the tears. “She hates me,” she whispered. “She really hates me.”

Bianca knelt beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “No. She’s not herself. They’ve filled her with poison. But she’s still our Geneva, somewhere in there.”

Giulia shook her head, tears spilling freely. “She looked right through me. Like I didn’t even exist.”

Bianca rubbed her back gently. “Then we’ll make her see. Whatever it takes.”

Giulia didn’t answer. She just leaned into her mother, shaking. The sound of sirens started faintly in the distance — probably from the nearby town, maybe a security alert.

Bianca stood slowly and helped Giulia up. “Come on. We have to move.”

Giulia wiped her eyes. “We’re just… letting her go?”

“For now,” Bianca said. “If we stay, we’ll lose everything. We regroup. We plan again. Next time, she won’t get away.”

Giulia turned one last time toward the empty door Geneva had escaped through. Her chest ached like something had been ripped out.

“She’s my sister,” she whispered quietly, almost to herself.

Bianca’s voice softened. “I know.”

They left the compound in silence, the cold wind cutting against their faces.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the drive — but Bianca’s hands stayed tight on the wheel, her eyes hard.

Because this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.