Part 9: The Girl Who Came Before Lily
Part 9: The Girl Who Came Before Lily
The voice echoed through the facility.
A child’s voice.
Soft.
Broken.
But impossible.
Because it sounded like Lily.
Only older.
Everyone stood frozen.
The speakers crackled.
Then the voice returned.
“Please…”
“Stop hurting my sisters.”
Arthur felt a chill move through him.
He looked at Jonathan.
For the first time since they arrived…
The man wasn’t confident.
He wasn’t calm.
He wasn’t in control.
He was afraid.
“What is that?”
Arthur demanded.
Jonathan didn’t answer.
“Jonathan.”
His eyes slowly moved toward the speakers.
“That’s impossible.”
Daniel stared at him.
“You know exactly what that is.”
Jonathan turned.
“Stay quiet.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“After everything?”
His voice became filled with anger.
“You still think you can control this?”
Arthur looked between them.
“What are you hiding?”
Daniel took a breath.
Then said:
“Before Lily…”
“There was another child.”
Silence.
Ethan held Lily closer.
Another child.
Another secret.
Another lie.
Arthur stared.
“Who?”
Daniel looked toward the speakers.
“The first success.”
A pause.
“The child who survived every experiment.”
Jonathan interrupted.
“Enough.”
Arthur turned sharply.
“Enough?”
His voice was cold.
“You kidnapped children.”
“You lied.”
“You used my company.”
“And now you’re telling me there was another child?”
Jonathan stepped forward.
“She was a mistake.”
Everyone froze.
Arthur’s expression changed.
“A mistake?”
Jonathan continued.
“She wasn’t supposed to survive.”
The old man’s anger grew.
“You’re talking about a child.”
Jonathan ignored him.
“We spent years trying to understand her.”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
Jonathan looked at him.
“We studied her.”
Daniel’s voice became sharp.
“You tortured her.”
The word filled the room.
Tortured.
Ethan looked at Lily.
The baby was quiet.
Almost like she understood.
Arthur looked at Daniel.
“Who was she?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Her name was Emily.”
The speakers suddenly activated.
A child’s voice came again.
“Daniel.”
Everyone froze.
Daniel’s face turned pale.
The voice continued.
“You promised you would come back.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
A tear fell.
“I’m sorry.”
Arthur looked at him.
“You knew her?”
Daniel nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Daniel looked broken.
“Because I was there.”
A pause.
“I helped Sarah escape.”
“And Emily helped us.”
The room became silent.
Arthur frowned.
“Helped?”
Daniel nodded.
“She was the reason we got out.”
Jonathan’s face darkened.
“Don’t romanticize it.”
Everyone looked at him.
Jonathan continued:
“Emily wasn’t normal.”
Arthur stepped closer.
“Careful.”
Jonathan stared at him.
“You don’t understand.”
“No.”
Arthur’s voice was firm.
“I understand enough.”
A pause.
“You saw a child and decided she was a tool.”
Jonathan’s expression changed.
Because there was truth in those words.
Daniel looked at Jonathan.
“She trusted you.”
Silence.
Jonathan looked away.
For the first time…
He looked almost human.
Almost.
Then he said:
“She was dying.”
Everyone froze.
Arthur frowned.
“What?”
Jonathan’s voice became quieter.
“She was born with a condition.”
A pause.
“Her body was failing.”
Daniel looked angry.
“So you experimented on her.”
Jonathan shook his head.
“No.”
He looked toward the speakers.
“We were trying to save her.”
Arthur didn’t believe him.
“And Lily?”
Jonathan looked at the baby.
“Lily was created from what we learned.”
Daniel’s face changed.
“No.”
Jonathan nodded.
“Yes.”
He looked at Arthur.
“She was designed to survive.”
The words made Ethan pull Lily closer.
Designed.
Not born.
Arthur hated that word.
Because it erased the child.
The person.
The life.
“You’re wrong.”
Jonathan looked at him.
“Am I?”
Arthur pointed at Lily.
“She laughs.”
“She sleeps.”
“She cries.”
“She loves.”
A pause.
“That’s not a design.”
“That’s a child.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then a sound came from behind them.
A door opening.
Everyone turned.
Sarah was standing there.
Weak.
But alive.
Arthur immediately moved toward her.
“Sarah.”
She looked at Lily.
Tears filled her eyes.
“My baby.”
Ethan ran.
“Mom!”
Sarah collapsed to her knees.
Ethan hugged her.
And for the first time in years…
A family was reunited.
But the moment didn’t last.
Because Sarah looked at Jonathan.
Her expression changed.
Fear.
“Where is Emily?”
Nobody answered.
Sarah looked around.
“Where is she?”
Daniel looked down.
Sarah’s voice shook.
“She was here.”
Arthur frowned.
“Here?”
Sarah looked at him.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“She escaped.”
Everyone froze.
Jonathan stepped back.
“No.”
Sarah looked at him.
“You lost her.”
Jonathan’s face went pale.
For the first time…
He looked powerless.
“Where is she?”
Sarah didn’t answer.
Because suddenly…
The speakers turned on again.
A girl’s voice.
Older.
Calm.
“Hello, Jonathan.”
Everyone froze.
The voice continued:
“I remember you.”
Jonathan looked terrified.
“Emily…”
The girl laughed softly.
A sound that wasn’t happy.
It was painful.
“You told me I wasn’t human.”
A pause.
“You told me I was a mistake.”
The lights flickered.
Arthur looked around.
“Where is she?”
Nobody answered.
Then the main doors opened.
Slowly.
A girl stepped inside.
Maybe twelve years old.
Same eyes as Lily.
Same quiet expression.
But different.
She looked tired.
Like someone who had carried a secret her entire life.
She looked at Lily.
And smiled.
“Hi, little sister.”
Ethan stepped back.
Sarah covered her mouth.
Daniel whispered:
“Emily.”
The girl looked at Jonathan.
“You wanted the miracle.”
A pause.
“You never understood.”
She walked closer.
“You weren’t creating miracles.”
“You were creating children.”
Jonathan looked afraid.
Emily continued:
“And children remember.”
Arthur watched her.
The first child.
The one who came before Lily.
The one who survived.
And suddenly he understood.
Lily wasn’t the most dangerous secret.
Emily was.
Because Lily healed people.
May you like
But Emily…
Remembered everything.
