“You can’t do that.”
Ellie tilted her head.
“My mommy said I could.”
Mercer’s breathing became uneven.
“What is that injection?”
Ellie looked down at it.
“A memory key.”
The word meant nothing to the courtroom.
But it meant everything to Mercer.
His face changed.
Slowly.
Horror replacing disbelief.
“…No,” he whispered.
Ellie nodded.
“Yes.”
The judge’s voice cracked.
“That program was terminated.”
Ellie stepped closer again.
“My mommy said it was only hidden.”
Mercer shook his head violently.
“This is not real.”
But his legs moved again.
More this time.
Stronger.
Deliberate.
As if something inside his body had been waiting years for permission.
Gasps filled the courtroom.
People stood.
Phones dropped.
Reporters forgot to type.
Daniel looked at Ellie like he was seeing her for the first time.
“Who are you?” he whispered.
Ellie’s voice was almost a whisper.
“I’m the part of my mommy they tried to bury.”
Mercer suddenly gripped the bench.