Chapter 1972

With everything out in the open, the fake Amy still wouldn't talk, and Fiona didn't bother to push her any further.

It wasn't like Fiona couldn't get to the bottom of things herself-she just needed a little more time, that's all.

Besides, she still had Esther as her ace in the hole. There was no way she'd let the secrets of the M Country Research Institute slip through her fingers.

Fiona let the moment pass and reached for a pomegranate in the real Amy's arms. She cracked it open with practiced hands, split it in two, handed one half to Amy, and kept the other for herself. She plucked out a few bright red seeds and popped them into her mouth.

The fake Amy stared at Fiona, completely lost. Her brows knit together, confusion written all over her face.

"Why aren't you questioning me anymore?" she ventured, testing the waters.

Fake Amy was always scheming, overthinking everything. And the calmer Fiona seemed, the more paranoid she became.

Fiona shrugged. "Why should I?"

"Don't you want to know what's really going on at the M Country Institute?"

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Fake Amy was caught off guard, unsure how to react.

"Well, yeah, I'm not willing to say anything. But that doesn't mean you have to stop trying."

"If you think there's something wrong with my head, maybe you should call a doctor for me," Fiona replied, her tone light. "Anyway, Esther knows way more than you do."

The fake Amy's face changed instantly.

Esther. Of course Esther.

"Esther would never tell you. Not unless she has a death wish."

Fiona didn't respond. Instead, she turned to the real Amy. "Go upstairs," she said.

Amy was as obedient as ever. She clutched her half of the pomegranate and quietly slipped off to her room.

Once Fiona heard the door close, she finally turned back to the fake Amy, a slow, knowing smile spreading across her lips. "People will say anything if the price is right. Your real name is Grace. You're the first-generation cyborg from the M Country Institute-the original prototype meant to replace Amy. Esther's human. You've always been jealous of her, always wanted her gone. But you're just a cyborg. Without direct orders, you can't go back to M Country, and you can't kill Esther to take her place."

Fake Amy-Grace-stood there frozen.

If Fiona hadn't brought it up, maybe Grace would've never remembered any of it, not in this lifetime.

She'd spent so many years pretending, she'd almost forgotten she wasn't human. She'd convinced herself she was something more. For original chapters go to Find_Novel(.)net

A shiver ran through her.

Grace stared at Fiona, fear flickering behind her eyes.

Sure, she was made of circuits and code, but after all these years, she'd grown beyond her programming. She had her own thoughts now, her own desires. She wasn't just a machine running on someone else's commands.

Otherwise, they would've destroyed her a long time ago.

A cyborg with a mind of her own--if the people at the Institute could've controlled her, they would have. But she was too much of a risk. Destruction was always going to be her ending.

"How do you know?" Grace's voice was small, her movements stiff and unnatural, like she was slipping back into her old, robotic self.

Fiona just looked at her, calm and steady. "It's really not hard to find out what the Institute's been up to with their cyborgs."

"If I told you the Institute's secrets, would you save me?" Grace's voice wavered, desperation clear.

Fiona paused, then shook her head. "No. There's a micro-explosive in your chip. If it goes off, it'll only take you out—no one else. And besides, you and Josie plotted to kill Jasmine. I'm not saving you. But I promise you this: I'll make sure the M Country Institute is destroyed."