PART 9: The Woman Who Created Me
PART 9: The Woman Who Created Me
The room went silent.
The kind of silence where even breathing felt dangerous.
I looked at my grandmother.
Eleanor Blackwood.
The woman who had come through the snow.
The woman who told me I was not property.
The woman who said I was her granddaughter.
And now…
Damien Vale was saying she created me.
My mind refused to accept it.
“No.”
The word came out weak.
Then louder.
“No.”
I looked at Eleanor.
“Tell him he’s lying.”
She opened her mouth.
But no sound came.
That was the answer.
My heart broke in a way I didn’t know was possible.
Not because Damien said it.
Because she didn’t deny it.
“You knew.”
My grandmother’s eyes filled.
“Emma…”
“You knew.”
My voice shook.
“You knew what I was.”
She stepped toward me.
“I knew what they wanted you to become.”
A pause.
“But I never saw you as that.”
I laughed bitterly.
“How convenient.”
Her face changed.
Pain.
Real pain.
“I was wrong.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
The room blurred.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
A pause.
“Wrong.”
I wiped my tears.
“But I was the one who lived with the consequences.”
Nobody spoke.
Because nobody could argue.
Damien watched quietly.
Like he was enjoying every second.
“Do you see now, Emma?”
I turned toward him.
“What?”
His expression was calm.
“You spend your entire life wondering why people leave you.”
A pause.
“Why your father became cold.”
“Why your grandmother stayed away.”
“Why your mother ran.”
He stepped closer.
“But the truth is…”
He pointed at me.
“They were all afraid of what you are.”
I hated how much those words hurt.
Because a part of me had always wondered.
Why was I different?
Why did people look at me like I was a burden?
Why did my father never hug me?
Why did my grandmother disappear?
Damien continued:
“You weren’t abandoned because they didn’t love you.”
A pause.
“You were abandoned because they did.”
My tears stopped.
Because something about that sounded true.
And I hated it.
My grandmother stepped forward.
“Don’t listen to him.”
Damien smiled.
“You still think you can save her?”
He looked at Eleanor.
“You already failed.”
The tension broke.
My father moved toward Damien.
“You don’t get near her.”
Damien looked amused.
“Still playing father?”
My father’s jaw tightened.
“I am her father.”
Damien laughed.
“No.”
A pause.
“You raised her.”
He looked at me.
“But I created her.”
The words made my stomach turn.
My father reacted before anyone else.
He punched Damien.
Hard.
The room exploded.
Security moved.
But Damien barely reacted.
He wiped blood from his lip.
And smiled.
“That’s the Robert I remember.”
My father looked ready to attack again.
But I stopped him.
“Wait.”
Everyone looked at me.
I needed answers.
Not another fight.
I looked at Damien.
“Tell me.”
My father immediately said:
“Emma, no.”
I ignored him.
“What did you do to me?”
Damien looked satisfied.
Finally.
A conversation.
“The Genesis program began with one question.”
He walked slowly around the room.
“Could human potential be changed?”
Nobody spoke.
“We searched for years.”
“Thousands of subjects.”
“Thousands of failures.”
My hands went cold.
“Failures?”
Damien didn’t hesitate.
“People who couldn’t survive.”
The cruelty in his voice made me sick.
“Children?”
He looked at me.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes.
I didn’t want to hear anymore.
But I needed to.
“Then my mother found out.”
Damien nodded.
“Your mother was brilliant.”
A pause.
“And stubborn.”
He smiled.
“She believed every life had value.”
I almost laughed.
Because that sounded exactly like her.
“So she took me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
Damien’s expression changed slightly.
For the first time…
Something like respect appeared.
“Because she was smarter than everyone.”
A pause.
“She removed you from the program.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Damien looked at Eleanor.
“She erased your records.”
Everyone froze.
My grandmother looked down.
Damien continued:
“She changed your identity.”
“She hid your DNA.”
“She made you ordinary.”
I swallowed.
“Ordinary?”
Damien smiled.
“That was her greatest achievement.”
A pause.
“She gave you a normal life.”
I looked away.
A normal life.
Was that what this was?
A father who locked me outside?
A family full of secrets?
A life built on lies?
Damien noticed.
“You see?”
He said softly.
“Even after everything, you still don’t know what you are.”
My grandmother stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Damien looked at her.
“No.”
His voice became colder.
“Not until she knows everything.”
He turned back to me.
“The accident.”
My heart stopped.
“My mother.”
Damien nodded.
“She was going to expose Genesis.”
Everyone became still.
“She had evidence.”
A pause.
“She had witnesses.”
A pause.
“And she had you.”
I whispered:
“What happened?”
Damien looked at Eleanor.
“Ask her.”
Everyone turned.
My grandmother closed her eyes.
I felt sick.
“Grandma?”
She whispered:
“Your mother came to me.”
A pause.
“The night she died.”
I froze.
“You were there?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
My father looked shocked too.
“I didn’t know.”
Eleanor continued.
“She asked me for help.”
Her voice cracked.
“She wanted to disappear.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere Genesis couldn’t find you.”
I waited.
“What happened?”
My grandmother looked at me.
“I agreed.”
A pause.
“But before we could leave…”
She stopped.
“Before what?”
Tears rolled down her face.
“Your mother received a message.”
My heart raced.
“From who?”
She looked at Damien.
“From Genesis.”
Silence.
Damien smiled.
“They found her.”
My grandmother nodded.
“They threatened Emma.”
A pause.
“They said if she ran…”
Her voice broke.
“They would take her.”
My hands covered my mouth.
“So what did Mom do?”
Eleanor looked down.
“She chose to sacrifice herself.”
The room became unbearable.
My mother.
Again.
Always protecting me.
Always choosing me.
Damien spoke quietly.
“She drove away.”
A pause.
“She made sure they followed her.”
My eyes filled.
“And the accident?”
Damien’s expression became darker.
“That was not planned.”
Everyone looked at him.
Even Eleanor.
“What?”
Damien looked serious.
“Your mother was supposed to survive.”
The room froze.
My father whispered:
“What are you saying?”
Damien answered:
“Someone else interfered.”
A pause.
“Someone wanted her gone.”
I looked at everyone.
“Who?”
Nobody answered.
Then Damien turned toward Eleanor.
And said:
“The same person who has been controlling this entire family.”
My grandmother stepped back.
“No.”
Damien smiled.
“You still won’t admit it?”
I felt cold.
“Admit what?”
Damien looked at me.
Then pointed at Eleanor.
“Your grandmother didn’t create you.”
A pause.
“She didn’t save you.”
His voice lowered.
“She was the one who gave you to Genesis in the first place.”
The room exploded.
My father shouted:
“That’s impossible!”
Claire stepped back.
“No…”
I stared at Eleanor.
Waiting.
Begging.
For her to deny it.
She didn’t.
She only whispered:
“I was young.”
My heart shattered.
“You did?”
Her tears fell.
“I thought I was saving you.”
I couldn’t breathe.
“How?”
She looked at me.
And said the words I would never forget.
“Because before I became your grandmother…”
May you like
A pause.
“I was the first director of Genesis.”
