Chapter 12 - THE WOMAN WHO STOLE MY LIFE
I couldn’t stop looking at the photograph.
A stranger with my face.
My eyes.
My features.
It felt like staring into a mirror from another life.
“Who is she?”
Nobody answered.
Adrien took the file.
“She was created.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“Your mother discovered a program.”
I frowned.
“A program to replace people.”
The words sounded insane.
But nothing about my life made sense anymore.
“They used fake identities,” Adrien continued.
“Fake records. Fake histories. Fake deaths.”
I whispered:
“They wanted to erase me.”
“Yes.”
My hands tightened.
“Why?”
Adrien looked at the file.
“Because you inherited something.”
“What?”
“The evidence your mother hid.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t have anything.”
Adrien looked at my necklace.
“Yes, you do.”
I touched it.
The necklace.
The key.
Suddenly everything connected.
My mother hadn’t left me a memory.
She left me proof.
A knock interrupted us.
Marco entered.
“We found her.”
Everyone froze.
Adrien stood.
“Who?”
Marco looked at me.
“The other Lena.”
My heart stopped.
“Where?”
Marco hesitated.
“She came here.”
The room went silent.
“What?”
“She’s inside the mansion.”
Adrien immediately moved.
“Where is she?”
Marco looked toward the hallway.
“She’s waiting.”
We walked slowly through the mansion.
Every step felt heavier.
At the end of the hallway stood a woman.
My age.
My face.
My eyes.
She turned.
And I saw myself.
But different.
She wore expensive clothes.
Her expression was confident.
Cold.
She smiled.
“Hello, Lena.”
My voice disappeared.
Adrien stepped in front of me.
“Who are you?”
The woman laughed softly.
“Don’t you know?”
She looked at me.
“I’m the daughter everyone thought was real.”
My heart pounded.
“That’s impossible.”
“No.”
She walked closer.
“It’s the truth.”
She looked at Adrien.
“Your father created me to replace her.”
Adrien’s face changed.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
The woman smiled.
“He needed a perfect daughter.”
I felt sick.
“Why?”
She looked directly at me.
“Because your mother chose you.”
A pause.
“And he chose me.”
The hallway went silent.
Then she whispered:
“But there’s something you don’t know.”
She stepped closer.
“The night your mother disappeared…”
Her smile faded.
“She didn’t leave you.”
I stared at her.
“Then who took her?”
The woman looked at Adrien.
And said:
“Someone in this house.”
May you like
Everyone turned.
Because she pointed directly at him.
