Parallel Lies Chapter 09
It was midnight when Roger marched into the Parallel Universe Research Center.
Amy stared at the computer screen with bloodshot eyes. She typed Amelia’s name into the search bar and waited for the page to load.
A single line of red text greeted her.
[All of the subject’s familial connections to Origin World have been removed. The subject has forfeited her right to return.]
Amy refreshed the page again and again. “This can’t be right! She’s my daughter! Mine! She has to want to come back to me! Why can’t I summon her back?!”
The computer system remained indifferent.
[Your familial anchor has been removed. Your request has been denied.]
Roger turned to Caelan. “You have to try. She cares about you the most!”
With trembling hands, Caelan logged into his account and made the same attempt.
[Caelen Jackman had agreed to the Replacement. Any right to summon the subject back has been forfeited.]
He stared at the words as his knees gave out beneath him. He sank to the floor with his back against the wall. Covering his eyes, he shook with silent sobs.
“The video!” Amy cried. “The video where she welcomed Rosamund back!”
Amelia stared into the camera with a pale face and a mechanical smile. “Welcome home, Rosamund. I hope you like it here… because I don’t want it anymore.”
The phone slipped from Amy’s hand and landed on the carpet with a dull thud.
The app suddenly displayed another video. Amelia sat at the dining table while her new mother placed a bowl of mushroom soup in front of her.
“Here you go. No garlic.”
Rutger removed a plate of prawns from the table. “You’re allergic to these, so I’ll take them away.”
An orange cat rested on her lap, its tail brushing against her collar. Amelia laughed.
Amy lunged toward the screen. “Amelia!”
Amelia didn’t hear her.
May seemed to notice something. She added more food to Amelia’s plate and said gently, “Have some more, sweetie. You haven’t been eating well at all, have you?”
Amy clutched her chest, her face drained of color.
She remembered Amelia’s last breakfast, when Amelia had eaten only a small bite of bread she didn’t even like. She remembered Amelia asking whether she remembered her allergy. She remembered how Amelia had willingly transferred all her money into Amy’s account without asking for anything in return.
“Just let me speak to her once!” she wailed. “Just one word! Please!”
The app offered no response.
Rosamund’s face was already streaked with tears. “She can’t hear you anymore, Mom.”
Amy suddenly grabbed her hand. “But you! You can talk to her, right? Please ask her to speak to us. Just once!”
Rosamund slowly pulled her hand away. “I won’t do that.”
Amy froze.
“I told you not to use Amelia like that back then. None of you listened,” Rosamund said softly. “When she said she didn’t want this home anymore, all of you ignored her. You didn’t give a damn about anyone else’s suffering. Now that you’re the ones in pain, you’re crying and begging someone to listen.”
Caelan lifted his head. “Use me as a vessel. I’ll trade my life for hers.”
The app lit up.
[Denied. Amelia Silverstone has already been accepted into the new world. She is no longer yours.]
Caelan’s shoulders slumped. He looked down at the ring resting in his palm. Amelia had returned it before she left. He had thought she did it because she was angry.
“She wanted to visit the beach, didn’t she?” Rosamund said.
He froze.
“And you didn’t even grant her that one wish,” she finished.
Tears finally spilled from his eyes. The ring felt unbearably cold in his hand. It was like holding a tiny
gravestone.
