chapter1286

Peyton pressed her lips together, glancing over at Juna. Juna caught her look and stepped forward to face Adrian and Ivonne, her voice steady and sincere. "I know this is hard to believe, but it's true. Cloning tech has come a long way. Some shady groups are running these experiments behind closed doors, even though it's totally against ethics."

She motioned for everyone to follow her upstairs. "Let's check Alyssa. If she has a clone barcode, we'll know for sure." Adrian and Ivonne clearly didn't buy it, their eyes wide with disbelief. Lydia chimed in quietly, Let's just go check. That's the only way to find out, right?"

Eventually, Adrian and Ivonne gave in. Everyone crept into Alyssa's room, careful not to wake her. She was still fast asleep, completely oblivious to the chaos around her. Connor and Carter hung back out of sight. Juna moved closer, gently lifting the edge of Alyssa's nightgown to check her lower back. Adrian quickly turned away.

After a moment, Juna found what she was looking for. There it was. A barcode, hidden under a layer of fake skin-just like the other clones. If you weren't looking for it, you'd never notice.

Ivonne and Peyton watched Juna's every move. When the barcode came into view, both of them froze. Peyton's eyes went huge, and Ivonne just stood there, hand clamped over her mouth, tears starting to spill. "How... how could this be... my Alyssa..."

Adrian turned back at the sound of her voice, caught sight of the barcode, and staggered. He had to grab the table to steady himself. His voice shook. "What is going on?"

Peyton moved to her parents and quietly explained how she'd found out the truth. All they could do was stare at her, completely stunned.

Then Carter stepped forward, holding a syringe. "This shot will help. Lean hold off any weird reactions that might happenin clone's body. We don't want

anything unexpected to happye

her."

Adrian and Ivonne just stared at the syringe, torn and heartbroken. How could the daughter they loved so much be a clone? But the barcode was right there. They couldn't deny t anymore After Carter and June patiently talked them through it, they finally nodded.

Carter was gentle, slipping the needle into Alyssa's arm and injecting the serum. When it was done, everyone quietly filed out of the room, leaving Alyssa to her sleep.

Back downstairs, Adrian's gaze landed on the man supporting Lydia. For a second,

he just stared, lost for words. "You... aren't you... Mr. Jefferson?"

He couldn't say anything else. Upstairs, the lights had been dim and Connor hadn't spoken, and everyone had been too worried.

about Alyssa to notice him. But now, with the living room lights on Adrian recognized him right away. He'd seen Connor once before during trip to the Capital, but only that once. He never imagined he'd run into him again, especially not here at home.

Connor gave him a small nod. "This is serious. You have to be careful. Don't let her notice anything strange. The government will take care of it as soon as they can."