Sister's Love

Sister's Love


Jess's POV

The rope cut into my wrists, but I didn't care about the pain.
Vincent stood in front of me, smiling like he'd already won. Emma was walking into his trap with a fake Marcus, and she had no idea.
"Your friend is about to die," Vincent said to me. "Any last words?"
I looked him straight in the eyes. "Emma's stronger than you think."
Vincent laughed. "She's walking right into my hands with one of my samples. How is that strong?"
That's when I chose to tell him the truth. The truth I'd been hiding for months.
"Because she's not just some random girl you're hunting," I said. "She's my sister's cousin. And I promised I'd protect her."
Vincent's smile faded. "What are you talking about?"
"My name isn't Jess Chen," I said. "It's Jessica Martinez. Rebecca Martinez was my twin sister."
The words felt strange coming out of my mouth. I hadn't said Rebecca's real name out loud since the funeral.
"That's impossible," Vincent said. "Rebecca Martinez died months ago."
"She died because of you," I said, my voice shaking with anger. "Because of your sick experiments."
Vincent's face went pale. "How do you know about the experiments?"
"Because I was there the night you killed my sister."
Three months earlier... Rebecca had called me at midnight, crying and scared.
"Jess, I think I'm in trouble," she'd whispered into the phone. "There's something wrong with Ryan. Something really wrong." Ryan Cole was the man Rebecca had been dating for two weeks. She'd thought he was perfect - beautiful, charming, everything she'd ever wanted.
"What kind of wrong?" I'd asked.
"He knows things about me that I never told him," Rebecca had said. "And he has pictures of me from before we even met."
I'd driven to Rebecca's place as fast as I could. We were twins, but we'd always been more than sisters. We were best friends, guardians, each other's whole world.
When I got there, Rebecca was packing a bag.
"We have to leave," she'd said. "Right now. Ryan's not who he says he is."
"Then let's call the police."
"And tell them what? That my boyfriend has pictures of me? They'll think I'm crazy."
I'd helped her pack, but we were too late. Ryan showed up at the flat before we could leave.
"Going somewhere, ladies?" he'd said, standing in the doorway with that beautiful smile.
But his eyes were wrong. Cold and empty, like a shark's eyes.
"Rebecca, we need to talk," he'd said.
"She's not going anywhere with you," I'd told him.
That's when Ryan had pulled out a gun.
"Actually, you're both coming with me," he'd said.
He'd forced us into his car and driven us to an old building. Inside, there were machines and computers and medical tools.
And a man in a white coat who called himself Dr. Martinez.
"Two for the price of one," Ryan had said to the doctor. "Twins are even better for testing."
Dr. Martinez had looked at us like we were lab rats. "Perfect. We can test the programming on one and use the other as a control group."
That's when I understood. Ryan wasn't just a crazy lover. He was part of some kind of project.
"What do you want with us?" Rebecca had asked.
"We're going to make you better," Dr. Martinez had said. "Stronger. More useful."
They'd strapped Rebecca to a table and started hooking up tools to her head. I was tied to a chair, forced to watch.
"The process works better when there's emotional stress," Dr. Martinez had explained. "Having her sister watch will make the programming take hold faster."
I'd screamed and fought against the ropes, but I couldn't get free.
They'd inserted something into Rebecca's arm. At first, she'd fought against the straps. Then her eyes had gone blank and empty.
"Programming complete," the machine had announced.
"Rebecca?" I'd called out. "Rebecca, can you hear me?"
She'd turned toward me, but her eyes were different. Like Ryan's eyes. Cold and empty.
"Who's Rebecca?" she'd asked.
My heart had broken in that moment. They'd stolen my sister's mind.
But then something had gone wrong with their machines. Alarms had started blaring. Sparks had shot out of the machines.
"The programming is unstable," Dr. Martinez had yelled. "She's fighting it."
Rebecca had started convulsing on the table. Her eyes had rolled back in her head.
In the chaos, I'd managed to get free from my ropes. I'd run to Rebecca, trying to wake her up, trying to bring her back.
"Rebecca, it's me," I'd whispered. "It's Jess. Come back to me."
For just a moment, her eyes had cleared. She'd looked at me and smiled.
"Take care of Emma," she'd whispered. "She's going to need you."
Those were the last words my sister ever said.
The machines had burst. The building had caught fire. In all the chaos, I'd escaped.
But Rebecca had died on that table, her mind torn apart by their tests.
Back in the present...
"So you see," I told Vincent, "I've been hunting you for months. Waiting for the right time to make you pay for what you did to my sister."
Vincent's hands were shaking. "You're lying. Jessica Martinez died in the fire."
"That's what I wanted you to think," I said. "I changed my name, changed my look, got close to Emma. I knew you'd come after her eventually."
"Why Emma?"
"Because Rebecca loved her," I said. "And because Emma's the key to stopping all of this."
Vincent laughed, but it sounded forced. "One girl can't stop my entire operation."
"Watch her," I said.
That's when we heard the gunshots outside. Then screaming. Then horns.
Vincent ran to the window and looked out. His face went white.
"That's impossible," he said. "My men had the place surrounded."
"Emma's not alone," I said, smiling for the first time all night. "She called for backup before she came here."
"What backup?"
"The FBI," I said. "Turns out they've been looking for your outfit for months. Emma just gave them the spot."
Vincent spun around, pointing his gun at me. "You set me up."
"No," I said. "Emma set you up. Just like I knew she would."
"But she came with Marcus. She walked right into my trap."
"That wasn't Marcus," I said. "Emma figured that out before she even got here. The person with her is an FBI agent wearing a Marcus mask."
Vincent's face sagged. He'd been so sure he was in charge, but Emma had been ten steps ahead of him the whole time.
"This isn't over," Vincent said.
"Yes, it is," I said. "My sister is finally going to get justice."
The door burst open and FBI officers flooded in. Vincent dropped his gun and put his hands up.
As they untied me, I thought about Rebecca. About the promise I'd made to her in that burning building.
I'd kept Emma safe. I'd stopped the people who killed my sister.
But most importantly, I'd made sure Rebecca's sacrifice meant something.
The trials were over. The samples would be destroyed.
And Emma would finally be free.
But as the FBI led Vincent away, he looked back at me with a smile that made my blood freeze.
"You think this is over?" he said. "Jessica, you have no idea how deep this goes. Emma's not safe. She'll never be safe."
"What do you mean?" Vincent's smile got bigger. "Because the person who ordered your sister's death is still out there. And they know exactly where Emma is."
My heart stopped.
"Who?" I shouted. "Who ordered it?"
But Vincent was already gone, and I was left with the terrible thought that saving Emma from Vincent might have been the easy part.
The real enemy was still out there, waiting in the dark.
And they'd just learned that Emma had people willing to die for her.