Page 3 of Blazing Embers

More anger sparks in my gut at the thought of what he’d done to my life and at how he tried to manipulate and play me. My hand starts to shake as the anger grows. I close my eyes and breathe through it, calming my mind and letting my thoughts clear. I can’t let the man get to me.

A level head makes better decisions,I remind myself, and turn back to my journal.

Day 5 – Sabrina goes public with the lie - Phase three of my secret plan

Sabrina went to Clyde’s doctor and “found out” she was pregnant. It turns out the man is really a doctor and another of the Jewel Initiative subjects who escaped with help from thesame person who helped Clyde. And WOW, is that guy good. Made Sabrina look like she was really pregnant on paper.

Sabrina is also doingphase fourof my secret plan. She’s delivering the note I wrote Mom today—telling her that I had an affair with Gavriil, Irina found out, and her family threatened me. To keep them safe, I need to disappear for a while.

So, that’s going to be a double whammy for our mother. Sabrina’s “pregnant,” and I’ve disappeared. Luckily, my mother has a strong heart.

I run my fingers along the edge of the paper. My chest tightens as I flip forward again to four months ago. The day has the heading:

Fake miscarriage - Phase five of my secret plan

Today, we got confirmation that Ruslan and his merry men had vacated Vegas after not finding me there. So it's a good day for phase four of my secret plan. The phase that I’m dreading is only second to the final phase.

As it turns out, there are a few “permanently retired” Jewel Initiative survivors in the Vegas area. A few of them are in the medical profession and are allowed to operate in the next town out of Vegas. So overnight, my bag was packed to go for my “five-month” checkup in the closest town from Vegas, Pahrump, Nevada.

The story: on the way there, I started cramping and bleeding. Cue the real blood. Oh, yeah. I’ve been giving blood for a while now. Not much as I’m pregnant, but Clyde draws a bit. Just in case we need a scene like this or for DNA, for when I’m permanently disappeared to a new life. We need real blood. Myblood as we’re not dealing with rank fucking amateurs that are looking for me.

And we need to fool Uncle Nik. Uncle Nik, who is a world-class eraser, cannot even consider that we are lying in any way. He needs to believe I’ve had a miscarriage. And the timing couldn’t be better as he was boarding his private jet to London, as the fake blood seeped through the apex of my jeans.

Crying? Well, that won’t be a problem. A damn fly dies lately and I’m blubbering like a baby.

All I have to think about is what's to come. Having to leave my home and not look back until I’m safe and can gradually get my family to safety, too. I have no idea how long that will take. How long until I get to see the little life growing inside me? And here comes the waterworks.

A couple of hours ago, I had doctors' records under my new assumed name. I even made sure the security cameras got a good shot of me in the hospital with my blood-spattered jeans and wildly distraught, tear-stained face.

Fuck! I can’t believe how easily lying, cheating, and deception has come to me. I’m a genetic monster! Even Uncle Nik bought it.

Two days later - Sell the miscarriage to Gavriil and Irina - Phase six of my secret plan.

Well, the news traveled to Gavriil and Irina. They called, offering their what I now know as fake concern and then begging me to keep quiet about the miscarriage so Irina’s real pregnancy wouldn’t be discovered, and I was still just chumming the waters to keep Ruslan’s target focus on me.

The day I gave birth.

She is beautiful.

The pain was hell. But when they laid Elena in my arms… time stopped.

She’s beautiful.

Perfect.

A tiny miracle wrapped in soft cries and trembling limbs. I named her Elena after Clyde’s twin sister, one of the first casualties of RMSAD. Elena Craft. The name fits her.

I let Sabrina take her after the first feed.

I’d chosen not to breastfeed—easier that way. However, I read that the baby needs the first bit of breast milk from its mother. It’s the least I can do for her in the little time we have together.

I knew if I fed her more than once on my breast, I wouldn’t have the strength to do the final phase of my secret plan.

Still, I felt like dying when Sabrina left the room with my daughter.

My mind was full of her soft, dark hair and strong lungs.

My Elena.

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