Evan's heart
---
Episode 17: The Third Child
Two Days Later — LunaTech Global Broadcast
Evan sat in front of the camera. No makeup. No filters. Just fire.
"LunaTech created weapons. Not cures. My mother tried to stop it. She died for it."
Abel stood behind her—silent, letting her take the stage. Her truth. Her war.
Emrys watched the livestream from a separate location, face unreadable.
And halfway across the world…
Cassandra poured herself champagne.
"Well done, Evan," she whispered.
"Now it's my turn."
---
Safehouse — Nursery
Zane and Elara napped peacefully. Evan watched them from the doorway, arms folded, lips pressed together.
"You've been quiet," Abel said behind her.
"I'm waiting for the universe to hit me again."
"You mean Cassandra?"
"No." Her voice was flat. "I mean the secret I haven't found yet. There's always one more."
Abel didn't speak.
She turned.
"Tell me I'm wrong."
He hesitated.
"…You're not."
She blinked.
"Abel. What haven't you told me?"
He stepped back. Raked his hand through his hair.
"I only found out two months ago. A rumor. A dead lab tech's notebook. At first, I didn't believe it."
"Believe what?"
His eyes met hers—guilty. Broken.
"Cassandra took one of our embryos."
Silence.
Evan's knees buckled slightly, hand flying to the wall.
"She… what?"
"She was watching everything. The night we—" He stopped. "The night we made Zane and Elara… there were four viable embryos."
Her voice cracked.
"I only carried two."
He nodded slowly.
"I think Cassandra implanted the third. In a surrogate. Or—maybe even in a lab tank."
Evan's breath caught. "And you didn't tell me?"
"I couldn't prove it. Not until now."
---
Cut to: Cassandra's Lab — Interior
A white room. Cold, clinical.
Inside a cradle, the boy slept.
Hair: dark as Abel's.
Face: unmistakably Evan's.
A woman in a lab coat stood over him.
"Subject Elio is showing high-level neural mapping. He's learning faster than any child we've tested."
Cassandra stepped in, smiling faintly.
"He's perfect, isn't he?"
Her assistant frowned. "But if Evan finds out—"
"She will," Cassandra said simply.
"She has to."
---
Back at the Safehouse — Later That Night
Evan stared at the ceiling, sleepless. Abel beside her, watching.
"I don't know if I can survive another betrayal," she whispered.
He rolled to face her.
"This isn't betrayal. It's war."
She met his eyes.
"And that baby? He's ours?"
"Yes."
She closed her eyes.
"I want him back."
"You'll have him."
---
Meanwhile — Emrys's Apartment
He paced.
A knock came at the door. His informant entered.
"We have confirmation. Cassandra has the child. His name's Elio."
Emrys froze.
"Is he really Evan's?"
"Yes. DNA confirms it."
Emrys's hands shook.
"And Cassandra?"
"Planning to leak his existence—on her terms."
Emrys whispered, "Then we leak it first."
He opened his laptop, clicked a folder marked: D3—Elio Footage.
---
The Next Day — Social Media Storm
The world exploded.
#ThirdLunaBaby
#StolenEmbryo
#WhereIsElio
Videos. Leaked footage. Cassandra's lab. The child's face.
Evan sat in the war room, hands shaking.
"That's him," she whispered.
Zane's eyes. Elara's dimples.
"My baby."
She turned to Emrys, voice low.
"We bring him home."
---
Final Scene — Cassandra's Fortress
She watched the trending hashtags.
Smiled slowly.
"It's time."
She pressed a button. A metal wall slid open.
Inside?
A small boy. Eyes wide. Holding a red toy truck.
"Hello, Elio," she cooed.
"Are you ready to meet your mother?"
---
💥 End of Episode 17
> Coming in Episode 18:
Evan faces Cassandra face-to-face. Abel discovers who funded the embryo theft. Elio speaks his first word—"Mama."
And Emrys? He's hiding a truth about Elio that could destroy everything