Chapter 30 The Architect
Flora
I woke up to an empty bed.
Rafael was gone.
I got up and dressed quickly. Simple jeans and a sweater. I pulled my hair back and stared at myself in the mirror.
Lucia Orlova.
That was my real name. My true identity.
But looking at my reflection, I didn't see Lucia. I didn't see Eva either.
I saw Flora. A woman who didn't fully exist.
I shook off the thought and pulled out the flash drive Isabella had given me.
I wanted Rafael to see it immediately. But Isabella's warning echoed in my mind.
Don't open it anywhere Rafael can access it.
But where could I go that was truly private? Rafael owned this entire estate. His security cameras were everywhere. His men watched every corner.
Then I remembered the library.
It was the one room Rafael had told me his security team avoided. "For privacy," he'd said. For when he needed to think without being monitored.
I made my way downstairs, clutching the flash drive.
The library was exactly as I remembered. Dark wood. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A massive desk by the window.
And no cameras.
I locked the door behind me and booted up the computer on the desk.
It took a moment to load.
I inserted the flash drive with shaking hands.
A single folder appeared. No label. No title. Just a series of files.
I opened the first one.
Hundreds of bank transfers popped up. Millions of dollars moving from various accounts to Dr. Irina Vasquez over the course of twenty-three years.
I clicked on the second file.
Dozens of emails. Correspondence between Dr. Vasquez and someone with the codename "Architect."
My stomach turned as I read.
"The embryo has been successfully split. Subject A (Eva) will be implanted immediately. Subject B (Lucia) will be cryogenically frozen per your instructions."
"Confirmed. Subject B is to remain frozen until needed. No one can know of her existence."
"What if Subject A discovers the truth?"
"She won't. But if she does, we eliminate her and deploy Subject B as planned."
Eliminate her.
They'd planned to kill Eva from the beginning if she found out.
I kept reading, my horror growing with each email.
"Subject A is showing signs of awareness. She's having dreams about Subject B. This could compromise the operation."
"Monitor closely. If she gets too close, we proceed with elimination."
"Understood. And Subject B?"
"Subject B will be activated and positioned to enter Rafael's life naturally. He must never know she was created for this purpose."
I felt sick.
I clicked on the third file. It was a video footage.
It showed a hospital room. A woman giving birth.
My birth.
The surrogate mother was barely conscious. Drugged. She delivered me and the nurses whisked me away immediately.
No bonding. No moment of connection.
Just a transaction.
The video cut to another scene. Me as a baby in a sterile lab. Scientists examining me. Taking blood samples. Measuring me.
Then the video jumped forward. Me at five years old, playing in a yard. A man was watching from a distance.
I clicked on the fourth file. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely control the mouse.
It was a dossier.
On me.
Every detail of my life meticulously documented. The schools I attended. The friends I made. The relationships I had. Everything.
My entire life had been a lie.
I was about to close the file when I saw a name.
"Architect."
This was the person who had funded my creation. Who had orchestrated everything. Who had likely killed Eva.
I clicked on the final document.
But it wrote ACCESS DENIED.
My heart raced as I clicked again.
Same response.
They had done this intentionally. They had made sure no one could open this file.
And my world shattered.
I couldn't stop the tears that were streaming down my face.
I slammed my hands on the desk. The papers jumped.
I hissed in frustration.
Now that I am close to finding out.
My phone rang, shattering the silence.
Rafael.
I answered with shaking hands.
"Flora, get out of the house." His voice was urgent and panicked. "Right now. Don't ask questions. Just get out."
"What? Why?"
"Dr. Vasquez is dead. She was murdered. And whoever killed her is coming for you next."
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone. Then at the computer screen. At the name Architect.
They knew.
They knew I had the flash drive. They knew I'd seen the truth.
And they were coming.
I grabbed the flash drive and ran for the door.
But when I tried to open it, it wouldn't budge.
It was locked from the outside.
"No, no, no…" My chest hammered against my chest.
Then I heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind me.
I spun around.
Standing in the doorway to the library's private entrance, a door I hadn't even known existed was a figure.
It was dressed in all black. Its face was concealed with a mask. And when it spoke, its voice was distorted.
Could this be the Architect?
How did they know I would be here?
"Hello, Lucia," they said. "I've been waiting for you to figure it out."
They stepped into the room, closing the door behind them.
"Did you really think I'd let you destroy everything I've built?"
I backed away, my heart hammering in against my chest.
"Why?" I whispered. "Why did you create me? Why did you kill Eva?"
"Eva was weak," they said simply. "She wanted to leave Rafael. You think we’d let her divorce him and destroy everything we'd worked for. I couldn't allow that."
"So you killed her?" Anger mixed with the fear in my heart.
"I eliminated a problem. And activated the solution." They gestured at me. "You were supposed to slip into Rafael's life naturally and replace Eva seamlessly."
"But it didn't work that way."
"No." The voice became cold. "You were supposed to stay hidden until I needed you. But Eva started dreaming about you. Started asking questions. Isabella got involved. Everything became... complicated."
"So you killed Eva and brought me in as her lookalike."
"I improvised. Rafael's obsession with Eva worked in my favor. He brought you here himself. I just had to wait for the right moment to reveal the truth. Now you know too much." The figure sighed and pulled out a gun. "Just like Eva did."
I looked at the flash drive in my hand. At the evidence that could destroy them.
"Rafael knows," I said. "He knows about you. About everything."
The figure laughed. "No. I don't care. He doesn't matter. Not yet. I will deal with him later."
The figure raised the gun.
"Goodbye, Lucia. You were a beautiful experiment. But all experiments must end."
I closed my eyes, bracing for the shot.
But it never came.
Instead, I heard a crash and a loud grunt.
I opened my eyes to see Rafael tackling the Architect to the ground.
The gun skittered across the floor.
"It was you the whole time!" Rafael snarled, pulling off the mask.
Rafael's eyes widened at the revelation.
My world stopped.
"You!" Rafael growled.
The Architect smiled. "Always me. From the very beginning."