Chapter 54 The mother
Flora
The old Valserro estate was exactly as I'd imagined from Rafael's stories. Massive. Gothic. Crumbling.
We approached in darkness, our vehicles parked half a mile away. Rafael led the way, with Marco and Vittorio flanking us. Catherine stayed close to me. Behind us, Vittorio's men spread out through the grounds. Twenty of them, all armed.
My heart pounded in my chest. Fear and determination warred inside me.
"This place gives me the creeps," Marco muttered.
"My father loved it," Rafael said. "He said it reminded him that empires fall if you don't maintain them."
"Cheerful," I said. But my voice trembled slightly.
We reached the main entrance. The doors were already open.
My stomach tightened. "That's not a good sign," I whispered.
"They're expecting us," Catherine agreed. Her voice was calm but I could see tension in her shoulders.
"Or it's a trap," Marco said.
"Only one way to find out," Rafael said.
We went inside. The interior was worse than the exterior. Rotting furniture. Peeling wallpaper. The smell of decay filled my nostrils and made me want to gag. But there was light coming from somewhere deeper in the house. We followed it.
Down a long hallway. Through what must have once been a grand ballroom. Down a flight of stairs. Into the basement.
The light was coming from a large room at the end of a corridor. We could hear voices inside. My hands were shaking.
"How many?" Vittorio whispered.
"At least six," Marco said. "Maybe more."
"We go in quiet," Rafael said. "Find out what we can. Then decide our next move."
We crept closer. The voices became clearer.
"...can't afford any more mistakes."
"Helena was a fool to involve the girl so directly."
"Antonio was worse. Getting himself killed like that."
"The project is compromised. We need to cut our losses."
"And what about the girl? She knows too much."
"She's a loose end. She needs to be eliminated."
My blood ran cold. Ice flooded my veins. They were talking about killing me.
Rafael's hand found mine in the darkness. Squeezed. I felt his warmth, his strength, but it wasn't enough to stop the fear gripping my heart.
"We need to go," he whispered. "Now."
But before we could move, the lights went out. Complete darkness swallowed us whole.
"It's a trap!" Marco shouted.
Gunfire erupted. Muzzle flashes lit up the corridor like lightning. The sounds were deafening. My ears rang.
"Move!" Rafael shouted, pulling me back the way we'd come.
But more gunfire came from behind us. Bullets whizzed past. I heard someone cry out in pain.
We were surrounded. Panic rose in my throat.
"This way!" Catherine shouted, pulling open a door I hadn't noticed.
We tumbled through into another room. Catherine slammed the door shut behind us. I was breathing hard, my chest heaving.
"Where are we?" Vittorio asked.
Rafael pulled out his phone, using the flashlight. The beam cut through the darkness, revealing our surroundings.
We were in some kind of old laboratory. Equipment covered in dust. Papers yellowed with age. Beakers and tubes sat silent and forgotten.
My breath caught in my throat.
"This is where they did it," Rafael breathed. "Where my father worked on the early stages of Project Genesis."
I felt sick. This was the birthplace of everything. Of Eva. Of me. Of this nightmare.
"Great history lesson," Marco said. "But we need to get out of here."
"There's another exit," Rafael said, pointing to a door on the far side of the room. "Through there. It leads to the old gardens."
More gunfire erupted outside our door. Shouting. Footsteps running.
"Go!" Vittorio said. "I'll hold them off."
"No," Rafael said firmly. "We all go. Together."
We ran for the far door. My legs felt weak but I pushed forward.
But before we reached it, it opened.
And someone stepped through.
A woman. Short. Middle-aged. Wearing a business suit despite the chaos. She was holding a gun. But she wasn't pointing it at us. She was pointing it at the door we'd just come through.
My heart stopped.
"Dr. Yuki," Catherine breathed. "You're alive."
The woman from the photograph. The one I hadn't recognized. Shock rippled through me.
"Hello, Catherine," Dr. Yuki said. "It's been a long time."
"You disappeared twenty years ago," Catherine said. Disbelief colored her voice. "Everyone thought you were dead."
"I needed them to think that," Dr. Yuki said. "It was the only way to continue my work without interference."
"Your work?" I asked. Confusion and suspicion warred inside me. "What work?"
Dr. Yuki looked at me. Really looked at me. Her eyes were soft, warm. And she smiled.
"Hello, Flora," she said. "I've been waiting so long to meet you."
My skin prickled with unease. "You're A.M.," I breathed. "You're the Architect."
"No," Dr. Yuki said. "I'm not the Architect. I'm something much more important."
"What?" Rafael demanded. His body was tense, protective.
Dr. Yuki's smile widened. "I'm your mother, Flora. Your real mother. The woman who donated the embryo that became you."
The room spun. I grabbed onto Rafael for support. "That's impossible," Catherine said. "The donor died twenty-five years ago. In a car accident."
"I faked my death," Dr. Yuki said. "Just like I faked so many other things. I needed to disappear so I could continue my research. So I could watch my daughter grow up from the shadows."
Tears pricked at my eyes. "You're lying." But even as I said it, I knew she wasn't. Because looking at her face, I could see myself. My eyes. My chin. My hands. The resemblance was undeniable.
My heart ached with a confusion I couldn't name.
"I'm not lying," Dr. Yuki said gently. "And I'm not the enemy. I came here tonight to warn you."
"Warn us about what?" Rafael asked. His arm was around my waist, holding me steady.
"About the real Architect," Dr. Yuki said. Her voice grew urgent. "The person who's been pulling the strings this whole time. The person who wanted Eva dead and wants Flora under control."
"Who?" Vittorio demanded. His gun was raised, ready.
Dr. Yuki opened her mouth to answer.
But before she could speak, a gunshot rang out. The sound was deafening in the small space.
Dr. Yuki stumbled forward. Her eyes went wide with shock. Blood bloomed across her chest. Red and terrible.
"No!" I screamed.
She fell to her knees and reached for me. Her lips moved but no sound came out.
Behind her, in the doorway, stood a figure.
Someone I knew. Someone I trusted. Someone who'd been there from the beginning.
My blood turned to ice. My heart stopped beating.
They lowered their gun and smiled at me. That smile I knew so well.
"Hello, Flora," they said. "Did you really think I'd let you ruin everything I've built?”