Chapter 58 Seventeen futures
Flora
"They did not all fail," Catherine said. "Three of them survived to birth but died within days, too many genetic defects, but one of them lived longer."
"How much longer?" Rafael asked, his hand finding mine.
"Six years," Catherine said. "A little girl named Lily, she was kept in a facility in Switzerland, studied constantly, treated like a lab rat instead of a child."
Horror washed over me. "Where is she now?"
"She died eight years ago," Catherine said gently. "Heart failure, her body could not sustain itself, but Flora, she was your sister, genetically speaking, another version of you."
I felt sick, thinking of this little girl, this child who had suffered and died alone. "Did she have anyone? Anyone who cared for her?"
"Dr. Yuki visited her," Catherine said. "According to these files, she went to Switzerland every month, spent time with Lily, tried to make her last years as happy as possible."
Fresh tears spilled down my cheeks. "She tried to save her too."
"She tried to save all of you," Catherine said. "Every child created by this project, she fought for them, documented their suffering, gathered evidence against the people responsible."
"And it got her killed," I said bitterly.
"It also saved you," Catherine pointed out. "Without her evidence, without her sacrifice, Dr. Chen would still be out there, still manipulating you, still planning to create more victims."
I knew she was right but it did not make the grief any easier.
"What happens now?" Rafael asked. "With the investigation, with all the people being arrested?”
"Trials," Catherine said. "Lots of trials, this is going to take years to fully untangle, there are people in twelve different countries involved, shell corporations, offshore accounts, the whole mess."
"And Flora?" Rafael asked. "Will she have to testify?"
"Probably," Catherine admitted. "She is a living victim of the project, her testimony will be crucial."
Fear twisted in my gut. "I do not know if I can do that, face all those people, relive everything."
"You will not be alone," Rafael said firmly. "I will be there with you, every step of the way."
"We all will," Catherine added. "You have people who care about you now, Flora, you are not alone anymore."
I wanted to believe them but part of me still felt isolated, still felt like the genetic experiment they had created me to be.
"I need some air," I said suddenly, standing up.
Rafael stood with me. "I will come with you."
We went out onto the balcony, the city lights stretching out before us, beautiful and impersonal.
"Do you ever wonder," I asked quietly, "if we would have found each other without all this? Without Project Genesis, without the conspiracy, would we have met anyway?"
Rafael considered this, leaning against the railing beside me. "I do not know, maybe, maybe not, but I am glad we found each other regardless of how it happened."
"Even though it cost you everything?" I asked. "Your father's company, your family's reputation, your entire life?”
"That life was built on lies," Rafael said. "I am glad to be free of it, glad to start fresh with you."
"What if I am not worth it?" I whispered. "What if I am too damaged, too broken from everything they did to me?"
Rafael turned me to face him, his hands gentle on my shoulders. "You are worth everything, Flora, every sacrifice, every hardship, every moment of uncertainty, and you are not broken, you are healing, there is a difference."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, tears threatening again.
"Because I see you," he said simply. "Not the genetic experiment, not the conspiracy victim, just you, the real you, and that person is amazing."
I kissed him then, pouring all my fear and hope and love into it, needing to feel connected to something real. He kissed me back just as desperately, his arms wrapping around me, holding me like I was precious.
When we finally pulled apart, both breathing hard, he rested his forehead against mine.
"We are going to get through this," he promised. "Together."
"Together," I repeated, letting myself believe it.
Behind us Catherine cleared her throat. "Hate to interrupt but we have visitors.”
We turned to see Marco and Vittorio entering the apartment, both looking serious.
"What is wrong?" Rafael asked, immediately on alert.
"Nothing wrong," Marco said. "Actually something right for once."
"The authorities found another facility," Vittorio explained. "In Russia, another Project Genesis site."
My heart sank. "More victims?"
"No," Marco said quickly. "It was abandoned years ago but they found records, more evidence, and something else."
"What?" I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"Embryos," Vittorio said. "Frozen embryos, genetic matches like you and Eva, seventeen of them still viable."
I felt the room spin. "What?"
"They are asking what should be done with them," Marco said. "Whether to destroy them or whether they should be given a chance at life."
I looked at Rafael, saw my own shock reflected in his eyes.
"What do you think?" he asked me. "It is your decision, Flora."
I thought about Eva, about Dr. Yuki, about little Lily who had died alone, about all the victims of this terrible project. And I thought about myself, about the life I was building, about the possibility of healing and hope.
"They deserve a chance," I said finally. "Not as experiments, not as genetic creations, but as people, as children who deserve love and protection.”
"That will be complicated," Catherine warned. "Finding families willing to adopt them, monitoring their health, protecting them from people who might want to exploit them."
"I know," I said. "But it is the right thing to do."
"Then that is what we will do," Rafael said. "We will make sure they have the life they deserve."
I looked at the people gathered in this room, people who had become my family, and felt something shift inside me. For the first time since waking up in Rafael's apartment all those months ago, I felt like I had a purpose beyond survival.
I would protect these children, these potential victims of Project Genesis, and I would make sure they never suffered the way I had.
It would not erase the past and it would not bring back the people who had died.
But it was a start and right now, a start was all I needed.