They Removed the Fake Chip but the Real System Came for Me Chapter 03

They Removed the Fake Chip but the Real System Came for Me Chapter 03

I pulled out everything I’d stashed in the closet.

Tiny baby booties. A christening gown that never got worn. The little hats and hand-knit blankets I’d made with my own hands, all of it laid out for a memorial candle ceremony. For children who never got to live.

I’d just lit the memorial candle when laughter drifted through the doorway.

“Elena, lighting candles for those rags? Only seven of my little nephews are gonna get the message, you know.”

My fingers froze. The flame licked my fingertips. “What does that mean?”

Ivy leaned against the doorframe and blinked. “It means not all of them are dead.”

“I only dropped seven. The other two, I kept them around. For fun.”

My head went white. “Impossible. Dominic told me he buried them himself. He said they’d been sent to good families in their next life. He said…”

Ivy laughed like I’d just told the funniest joke she’d ever heard. Her shoulders shook.

“Here. See for yourself.”

I turned toward the screen, and my vision collapsed.

Somewhere in the remote Appalachia, two skeletal children huddled in a corner. 　　A woman dumped a bucket of slop onto the ground. Both kids lunged for it.

Half a moldy piece of bread was mixed in with the garbage. The older one grabbed it and pressed it into the younger one’s hands, so careful.

“See? My two little nephews. They look just like you.”

One glance was all it took. Those were my children. The ones I’d nearly died to bring into this world.

They were alive.

My vision went crimson. I wrapped my hands around Ivy’s throat. 　　“Where are they!”

Ivy didn’t flinch. She leaned closer.

“Elena, thank you so much for giving me these two little punching bags. Every time you pissed me off, I took it out on them.”

My whole body shook. My teeth ground together so hard I thought they’d crack. I wanted to strangle her right there.

“Why do you get to be born with a silver spoon, everything just handed to you? And I’m supposed to spend my whole life kissing your feet because you threw me a few scraps and let me crash here?”

She stared at me, twisted jealousy burning in her eyes.

“I wanted to watch your children live the way I did. That’s the only thing that ever made me feel better.”

“Do whatever you want to me. Let them go!” Every word had to be forced through my clenched jaw.

Ivy’s lips curled. “Well, now that you know, I can’t let them stick around.”

I lunged for her phone, but her message was already sent. [Burn the mountain. Wipe out everything that shouldn’t exist.]

Blood roared in my ears.

No. My children couldn’t die.

I hadn’t held them yet. I hadn’t told them I was their mother.

“Give me the phone!” I lunged at her like a wild animal.

The slap cracked across my face. My ears rang.

Dominic’s fury spilled over. “I knew it. I knew you were faking earlier. The second we’re gone, you go after Ivy.”

Julian’s face was stone. Disgust sat in every line of his features.

“How long are you gonna keep this up? I already told you, you can keep the next one. Why can’t you just leave Ivy alone?”

“You should know, if Ivy hadn’t begged us to come clean, you’d still be in the dark right now.”

I didn’t hear a word they said. I grabbed Dominic’s hand, nails digging deep enough to break skin.

“Dom! My children are alive. They didn’t die! You have to save them!”

“Just look at her phone. One look. Make one call. You’ll see I’m not lying!”