Page 52 of Broken Embers

Oleksi sucks in his breath. “Jesus.”

A flash of memory hits me, of a fight with Tara, and her taking my doll, but I don’t remember her beating me.

“I don’t remember her beating me,” I whisper.

“You blocked it out,” Carla says gently. “It wasn’t the only time. As she got older, the outbursts grew worse. If you won an award or recognition for school or sports, she’d lose it.”

I shake my head. “I don’t remember that.”

“You would,” she says quietly, “if you let yourself.”

I stare into the fire. “You always seemed to favor Tara.”

“I didn’t,” she says. “I love both my girls the same. But I had to keep Tara close, watching her. Making sure she didn’t hurt you.”

I nod, piecing it together. “And those pills Tara takes every day?”

“Just vitamins. My own formula. To keep Tara calm.”

“You’re a geneticist, a surgeon, and a chemist?” I ask her

She gives me a tight smile and nods. “If it weren’t for the stain of my past with the RMSAD, I’d love my profession. But I’ve seen the darker side of it.”

“Like something good being used for evil,” I clarify. Fuck it’s like some wicked movie. “So, how did you cure Tara?”

“I had been working on a project for many years,” my mother explains. “One that could help with things like Alzheimer’s, PTSD, and brain injuries. A treatment to heal, not weaponize. I took all my research with me when we left and made sure no remnants of it were left behind when your father and I fled.” She shifts in the seat. “I tested it on Tara after the doll incident, and it worked.”

“That’s why she’s so nice and level-headed now?”

“Yes.” My mother nods. “But we need to find her because Tara is about to run out of her special vitamins.”

“Well maybe she’ll turn into She-Hulk and destroy that fucking place,” I hiss.

“Or they’ll destroy her,” my mother points out, and I go cold, my heart slamming into my ribs.

“I guess now I know why she always seems so freakishly strong.”

“She was strong,” my mother agrees.

We fall into a comfortable silence for a few moments, and I know I have to ask what’s been burning at the back of my mind. I take a breath, not sure if I’m ready for the answer, but I have to know. The question burns at the back of my throat. “Am I… genetically enhanced?”

Carla shakes her head. “No, sweetheart. And that’s what makes you more extraordinary than me, than Tara, even my mother.”

My shoulders sag. “Are you telling me the truth?”

“I am,” she promises. “You’re special because you are who you are—without help.”

Tears spring to my eyes as I’m filled with a mix of relief and grief.

“So I’m just a freak of nature, not a lab?” I close my eyes.

“You are not a freak of nature, sweetheart. You are unique, and beyond special,” she says softly, pausing for a few seconds before saying, “I need to tell you something.”

My eyes snap to her.

She takes a breath. “I’m going to meet Yelena tomorrow.Alone.”

“No,” I say immediately. “No, you can’t.” I shake my head vigorously. “I won’t allow it.”

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