Chapter 272 - 271: The Evil in Human Nature is Genetically Determined

Chapter 272: Chapter 271: The Evil in Human Nature is Genetically Determined

Julian Fletcher looked at the evidence and suddenly let out a crazed laugh. His hands fell limply to his sides, and the papers scattered all over the floor.

"Are you insane?" Lucas Grant cursed, bending down to pick up the evidence.

"Impossible!" Julian Fletcher screamed frantically at Lucas Grant. "Impossible... She’s Cece! She is Cece!"

Lucas Grant just figured he was having a breakdown and ignored him.

Julian Fletcher squatted on the ground, out of control, his eyes bloodshot.

He couldn’t accept Cecilia Caldwell’s death because he couldn’t accept that his own selfishness and arrogance had gotten her killed.

Looked at that way, Julian Fletcher was a pitiful man.

’I don’t know if Cecilia Caldwell ever truly loved him...’

’But he really is pathetic.’

His love came too late, and his realization came too late as well.

DING!

The door to the emergency room opened, and a doctor walked out.

Asher shot up in a panic, scrambling to his feet and running to the doctor. "Doctor... Is she..."

"She’s temporarily out of danger, but we’re not sure when she’ll wake up." The doctor sighed in relief and continued, "Fortunately, the dosage wasn’t lethal. I’ve seen the syringe Officer Shaw brought in. It seems to be a dose used to euthanize newborn infants with deformities. For an adult, especially split between two people, the dose isn’t enough to be fatal, but it’s still extremely dangerous. We can only continue to observe her for now."

I looked at the doctor with understanding. The euthanasia solution in the lab was for deformed newborns.

If a test subject didn’t meet the organization’s standards after birth, they would be euthanized and then incinerated.

The entire underground laboratory was like a massive furnace, a living hell.

The people born there might live their entire lives, from birth to death, without ever seeing the sun.

Without ever seeing the blue sky...

It’s truly terrifying.

"Once Nathan Lawson’s crimes are exposed, I’m afraid it will shock the entire nation." Lucas Grant rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just how dark can human evil get?"

"Years ago, I worked a case with my mentor... A thirteen-year-old minor organized a group of kids, all around thirteen or fourteen, to abduct couples who were hiking in the mountains. Back then, surveillance wasn’t as advanced, and it was out in the wilderness, making it hard to find anyone who went missing. Three couples disappeared in a single year. The case was only cracked when a fourth couple was abducted. The boyfriend fought them to the death to let his girlfriend escape and call the police."

"When the police found the crime scene, the informant’s boyfriend was already dead. They had brutally murdered him, cut open his stomach, and pulled out his internal organs."

"When we caught them, they were still in the mountains, laughing and fooling around. When we asked them why they did it, they just said it was for fun, that they wanted to see what was inside a person’s stomach..."

"Human evil knows no age. Some things are destined from birth," Zeke Shaw said in a low voice.

"Later, we found the bodies of the other three couples in the mountains. Some had been subjected to extremely brutal torture before death, others were buried alive... Without exception, all the women had been sexually assaulted."

Who could have imagined that a group of kids, minors aged thirteen and fourteen, could do something so vicious?

"After the case came to light, a local officer gave us a tip. He had seen that group of kids on the mountain while searching for the first missing couple. He had asked them about it back then, and they told him, without batting an eye, that they hadn’t seen anyone."

It’s as if the classic debate of "is man born good or evil" is decided by our genes from the very beginning.

"So, good and evil are innate, they exist in our genes. Some people are just born malicious, and it has nothing to do with how you raise them," I murmured, leaning against the wall.

Asher and Julian Fletcher stood numbly at the door of the emergency room, watching as the doctors wheeled out my deathly pale body.

"Don’t touch her. You’re the one who did this to her..." Julian Fletcher was blaming Asher.

Blaming him for handing me over to Nathan Lawson.

Asher stood dejectedly, not saying a word.

Julian Fletcher followed the doctors, accompanying my body to the hospital room.

I stood beside Asher and comforted him softly. "Asher, don’t be sad... Don’t listen to him. He’s insane..."

’If he had cared so much about Cecilia Caldwell, she wouldn’t have died in the first place.’

I walked over to Asher and looked down at him.

His head was lowered, and his eyes were red. He must be feeling so sad and guilty right now.

’Is he crying secretly?’

’How can he look so pitiful and yet so cute at the same time?’

"Asher..." My heart ached, and I wanted to hug him, but I raised my hands only to let them fall in disappointment.

All the evidence was right there. I am Silvia Lynch, not Cecilia Caldwell.

The person he loves isn’t me.

"Sebastian Lancaster, who is that woman living at your house?" Madeline Quinn came out of the doctor’s office. After learning my body wasn’t in mortal danger, she let out a breath of relief, then immediately walked over to confront Sebastian Lancaster.

Sebastian Lancaster had brought the second Cecilia home; Madeline Quinn must have found out.

But Madeline probably hadn’t seen the second Cecilia in person, right?

She and Cecilia were so close. If she saw her... she would be shaken too.

"Say something! Cece was taken by Nathan Lawson, and you can just live with that woman with a clear conscience?" Madeline Quinn angrily questioned Asher.

Asher remained silent.

"Hey, hey, hey, didn’t I tell you not to ask so many questions..." Zeke Shaw rushed over and scooped Madeline Quinn up with one arm to carry her away.

"Let go of me! What is his problem? I thought Julian Fletcher was a scumbag, but he’s a scumbag too! If Cece doesn’t wake up, I’ll kill him!" Madeline Quinn struggled angrily. "Who is that woman..."

Madeline Quinn was still struggling, trying to question Asher, but the words caught in her throat before she could finish.

Her body suddenly froze. She slowly straightened up, her face a mask of shock and disbelief as she stared at the newcomer.

It was the second Cecilia. She had actually... appeared in public so openly.

’I thought she would have Asher hide her away.’

’If she comes out like this, what identity will she use?’

’Oh... right. As Nathan Lawson’s daughter.’

"Cece..." Madeline Quinn stared in astonishment at the second Cecilia, then glanced at my unconscious body in the hospital room, completely bewildered.

"Cece?" Madeline Quinn pushed Zeke Shaw away and stood frantically before the second Cecilia.

The second Cecilia had a cold expression. She dodged Madeline Quinn’s approach and spoke in a deep voice. "Who are you?"

Madeline Quinn stared at her in surprise. ’She is Cece, there’s no mistake...’

’Why doesn’t she recognize me?’

"She’s not Cecilia..." Zeke Shaw quickly stopped Madeline Quinn. "To be precise, she’s not the Cecilia you know. She’s Nathan Lawson’s daughter, an identical twin to Cecilia. They share the same genes."

The light in Madeline Quinn’s eyes dimmed again. "I knew it... She couldn’t be Cece. No matter how similar she looks, she’s not her."

"I am indeed not Cecilia," she admitted freely. "Cecilia and I are not twin sisters in the traditional sense. We are genetically identical, monozygotic twin clones. You can call me Ace."

She didn’t have a name, either. She was also a test subject.

Designation 21.

"Nathan Lawson isn’t going to wake up. The organization will use every means possible to eliminate loose ends. She will die." Ace looked at Zeke Shaw. "The police won’t be able to stop them either."

"Killing someone right under our noses? Hah, do they really think we’re pushovers?" Lucas Grant retorted.

Ace shook her head and walked to Asher’s side. "She is not Cecilia."

She was emphasizing that I am just Silvia Lynch, not Cecilia Caldwell.

Asher didn’t move.

"If you insist on having an identical Cecilia, then I am clearly a more suitable choice than Silvia Lynch. I also possess all of Cecilia’s memories. If you want, I can be more like Cecilia than Silvia ever could," Ace said quietly.

She wanted Asher to stop deceiving himself.

Standing to the side, I suddenly lost all my confidence.

’It’s true... Ace is clearly more like Cecilia than I am.’

’More like the woman he loves.’

"So... come home with me." Ace opened her arms to Asher, wanting him to embrace her.

I stood off to the side, my body stiff.

’My heart feels so heavy. Is this what jealousy feels like?’

’I find Ace to be an eyesore. Everything about her is an eyesore, from head to toe. Even her face is an eyesore.’

’Don’t hug her...’ I looked down, on the verge of tears from the injustice of it all.

’But what right do I have to stop Asher from making a choice?’

’If Cecilia is truly gone for good, and he has to choose a substitute between me and Ace, I clearly don’t have the advantage.’