CHAPTER 5: THE LITTLE MIRACLE THEY WANTED BACK
The flashlight blinded them.
Valeria instinctively pulled Camila behind her.
Three men entered the shed.
Then a fourth.
And finally, the man in the black suit.
He was around fifty years old, with silver hair and cold blue eyes.
He didn't look like a criminal.
He looked like a doctor.
Or worse…
a man who had learned to hide his cruelty behind good manners.
He smiled at Camila.
"There you are."
The little girl trembled.
"Mommy…"
Valeria held her tighter.
"Stay behind me."
The man in the suit slowly removed his gloves.
"You've caused us a great deal of trouble, little one."
Ricardo raised his gun.
"Take one more step and I shoot."
The man barely looked at him.
"You won't."
"Try me."
The stranger sighed.
"Ricardo Vega. Still emotional after all these years."
Valeria's eyes widened.
"You know him?"
The man smiled.
"Of course. He stole our property."
Property.
The word hit her like a slap.
"She's not property," Valeria shouted.
For the first time, the man's expression hardened.
"Oh, but she is."
Camila buried her face against her mother.
The stranger took another step.
"My name is Dr. Esteban Fuentes."
The name meant nothing to Valeria.
But Ricardo's face turned pale.
"No…"
Dr. Fuentes smiled.
"Yes."
"You died."
"That was the official story."
Silence.
The doctor looked at Camila as if she were a priceless jewel.
"You have no idea what she is, do you?"
"She's my daughter," Valeria said.
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"She is the most expensive scientific project ever created."
Valeria felt sick.
"What are you talking about?"
The doctor folded his hands behind his back.
"Six years ago, a private laboratory developed a revolutionary genetic program."
He smiled.
"A perfect child."
"No child is perfect," Valeria replied.
He ignored her.
"She was designed to be free from hereditary diseases."
He pointed toward Camila.
"Superior memory. Exceptional intelligence. An immune system unlike any other."
The rain hammered the roof.
"And then… someone stole her."
Ricardo stepped forward.
"You experimented on babies!"
The doctor laughed.
"You make it sound cruel."
"It was cruel!"
"Science always requires sacrifice."
Valeria's stomach turned.
The man looked at her.
"You were never supposed to have her."
"What?"
"You weren't even part of the project."
She frowned.
"Then why is my name on the file?"
The doctor's smile disappeared.
"Because someone changed the records."
Slowly, all eyes turned toward Ricardo.
He froze.
"No…"
"You and your wife took the child," Dr. Fuentes continued.
"You forged documents and disappeared."
"That's a lie!" Ricardo shouted.
"Is it?"
The doctor pulled a folder from his coat.
Inside were photographs.
Pictures of Ricardo's wife.
Holding baby Camila.
Running through an airport.
Changing license plates on a car.
Valeria looked at Ricardo.
"You kidnapped her?"
"No!" he yelled. "I saved her!"
"From what?" she demanded.
"From them!"
Dr. Fuentes laughed softly.
"How noble."
Ricardo's hands shook.
"They wanted to use her."
"For what?" Valeria asked.
Silence.
Nobody answered.
"For what?!" she screamed.
The doctor looked at Camila.
Then back at Valeria.
"Because her DNA can cure diseases."
The room went silent.
"What?"
"Her genetic code is unique."
He smiled.
"She is worth billions."
Billions.
The word echoed in Valeria's mind.
The doctor took another step.
"Governments wanted her."
"Corporations wanted her."
"Very powerful people wanted her."
He lowered his voice.
"And some people would kill entire families to possess her."
A chill ran through the shed.
Ricardo slowly lowered his weapon.
He looked defeated.
"I tried to protect her."
The doctor smiled.
"And look where that got you."
Then—
BANG!
A gunshot rang out.
Everyone screamed.
Ricardo staggered backward.
Blood spread across his shirt.
"NO!" Valeria cried.
He fell to his knees.
A second man had appeared behind them.
Holding a gun.
Valeria recognized him immediately.
Her heart nearly stopped.
"Mauricio…?"
He stepped into the light.
Alive.
Covered in mud.
Holding a pistol.
Camila's eyes filled with tears.
"Daddy!"
But Mauricio didn't smile.
He looked at Ricardo.
Then at Dr. Fuentes.
Then at Valeria.
And finally said:
"Nobody touches my daughter."
Valeria couldn't move.
"You… you shot him."
Ricardo collapsed onto the floor.
Mauricio looked at her.
"I'm sorry."
"What is happening?" she cried.
He swallowed.
Then said the words she never expected.
"I lied to you."
"About what?"
"About everything."
Silence.
"I knew about Project Eve."
The shed seemed to shrink.
"What?"
"I worked for them."
"No…"
"Before I met you, I was part of the laboratory."
Valeria's legs nearly gave out.
"No."
"It's true."
He looked at Camila.
"I was supposed to help recover her."
Tears streamed down her face.
"You worked for these people?"
"At first."
"At first?!"
Then his expression changed.
"But the day I saw her… everything changed."
He looked at Camila with tears in his eyes.
"She smiled at me."
The little girl stared at him.
"And I couldn't do it."
Silence.
"I couldn't hand her over."
Dr. Fuentes laughed.
"How touching."
Mauricio ignored him.
"So I ran."
Valeria's breathing became uneven.
"You knew all these years?"
"Yes."
"You lied to me for six years?"
"To protect you."
She shook her head.
"No…"
"Valeria…"
"No!"
Tears poured down her face.
"Our entire marriage was a lie."
"It wasn't."
"Then tell me who I am!"
Silence.
A terrible silence.
Mauricio looked at her.
Then at the folder in her hand.
Finally, he whispered:
"You really don't remember."
"Remember what?"
He took a shaky breath.
Then said the sentence that changed everything again.
"You weren't supposed to adopt Camila."
"What?"
"You created her."
The room froze.
Even Dr. Fuentes stopped smiling.
Valeria stared at him.
"What did you just say?"
Mauricio's eyes filled with tears.
"You were the lead genetic scientist on Project Eve."
Silence.
"No…"
"You designed her."
"No!"
"You are the reason she exists."
The folder slipped from her hands.
Her entire body went numb.
She looked at Camila.
Then back at Mauricio.
And in a broken whisper, she asked:
"If that's true…"
"...then why don't I remember any of it?"
Mauricio closed his eyes.
Because the answer was worse than anything she could imagine.
May you like
"You erased your own memories."
TO BE CONTINUED…
