- 19 minutes ago
Phoenix-like- Aurora's New Dawn Billionaire Romance
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:00:02Sign it. Don't try to negotiate. That's enough for a trailer park girl like you.
00:00:10Sterling Thorne, my husband, threw the divorce papers at me.
00:00:13I pick up the pen and sign without hesitation.
00:00:16Aurora Vance, not Aurora Thorne.
00:00:19He freezes.
00:00:21This isn't the script he expected.
00:00:23In my previous life, this man tossed me aside like trash, and I died alone.
00:00:28In this life, not a chance.
00:00:33Without me, you are nothing!
00:00:37Sterling shouts at me from behind, but I ignore him.
00:00:40I see a girl being cornered by a thug.
00:00:43Somebody help me!
00:00:48Stop.
00:00:52Lookie here. I got a volunteer.
00:00:56The thug comes towards me.
00:00:58And I immediately knock him down.
00:01:05Not far away, a Maybach lowers its window.
00:01:09Inside is Elias Thorne.
00:01:11Sterling's uncle.
00:01:12The true leader of the Thorne family.
00:01:14Wanna chat?
00:01:15I have no time for another Thorne man right now.
00:01:23I am using an advanced game engine to make Victor, the CEO of Pulse Interactive, sign the agreement on the
00:01:30spot.
00:01:31This engine, how much do you want?
00:01:33I want 51% equity of Pulse Interactive.
00:01:39Deal.
00:01:40After taking over Pulse Interactive, I used my past memories to short Vanagard Pharmaceuticals.
00:01:46In my previous life, Sterling was still mocking me for being at a loss and having no way out.
00:01:51This time around, I have already declared war on him, using the name Phoenix.
00:01:59I want to invest in you.
00:02:01Elias notices my actions and finds me.
00:02:03Who can refuse to be invested in?
00:02:07You need to invest at least 10 million.
00:02:11Sterling Thorne schedules our final divorce at City Hall.
00:02:15He wants to see me broken.
00:02:22Uncle Elias?
00:02:24Why are you with her?
00:02:26The smugness in his eyes doesn't even spread before it freezes.
00:02:31Because standing beside me is Elias Thorne.
00:02:37She's a business associate.
00:02:39Frankly, Sterling, your taste in women is the only thing about you I respect.
00:02:48I sign the final document and slap it against his chest.
00:02:57Too bad you were too stupid to keep her.
00:03:01One last piece of advice.
00:03:04Check the stock market news.
00:03:09His phone explodes with notifications.
00:03:13Vanguard Pharma has crashed.
00:03:15His heavy investment, now worthless.
00:03:19Ms. Vance, if you ever need a witness for your next wedding, just ask.
00:03:27Elias Thorne buys the entire building next to my apartment.
00:03:33Protecting my assets.
00:03:35You're my most important investment.
00:03:42Maybe it's because I've been seeing him too often lately.
00:03:46I actually dreamed about him.
00:03:50Days later, I run into him in a hospital corridor.
00:03:54Slumped against the wall.
00:03:56Face ashen.
00:03:58Forehead drenched in cold sweat.
00:04:00Mr. Thorne, the medication will kick in soon.
00:04:02Just hold on a little longer.
00:04:03I see it in a single glance.
00:04:06This isn't a regular migraine.
00:04:10Mr. Thorne, how much coffee do you drink every day?
00:04:16That's none of your concern.
00:04:17Let me guess.
00:04:19Eight plus cups.
00:04:20Less than four hours of sleep.
00:04:21Cut the coffee.
00:04:22Take magnesium and valeria root.
00:04:24And you can get some sleep.
00:04:26He doesn't argue.
00:04:26The way he looks at me changes.
00:04:29No longer sizing up a prey, but staring at an unsolvable riddle.
00:04:34That night, a full security detail from Thorne Industries appears at my door.
00:04:42Ms. Vance, Mr. Thorne sent us.
00:04:45He said this is necessary protection for his investment.
00:04:48We are the only choice for this contract.
00:04:51Lowest latency, superior experience.
00:04:54At the Thorne board meeting, he's presenting his bid for a government contract.
00:04:59Sterling wants to crush Pulse with a price war.
00:05:02What he doesn't know, Pulse's engine was written by me.
00:05:0630% lower operating cost.
00:05:08Double the performance.
00:05:10I push open the door and walk in.
00:05:18Sterling, the system you just presented has 40 millisecond latency under load.
00:05:23My team at Pulse delivers 12.
00:05:25Impossible!
00:05:26Your data is fabricated!
00:05:28I open my laptop and demonstrate on the spot.
00:05:33Elias, seated at the head of the table, sees me.
00:05:37The corner of his mouth lifts for just a moment.
00:05:40Every board member's eyes light up.
00:05:42Let's vote.
00:05:44The result is unanimous.
00:05:46The contract goes to Pulse.
00:05:51Sterling crashes through a glass door as he storms out.
00:05:55Sterling's new girlfriend, Isabella, sees me at a luxury boutique.
00:05:58She recalls the scene of Sterling's failure just now.
00:06:03Oh, look.
00:06:04The discarded wife.
00:06:06Here for the free air conditioning?
00:06:08Can you even afford anything here?
00:06:09I pull out the titanium black card Elias gave me and place it on the counter.
00:06:15This roan.
00:06:16And that roan.
00:06:18Wrap them all up.
00:06:21Isabella's face darkened.
00:06:22I don't pay attention to her.
00:06:24I turn to leave.
00:06:28My phone rings.
00:06:29It's the Kensington family attorney.
00:06:33Miss Vance, the Kensington matriarch is dying.
00:06:36She said she wants to see the phoenix.
00:06:40When I arrive at the hospital, the Kensington matriarch is already dying from a brain hemorrhage.
00:06:45Where's the will?
00:06:46Did she change it while she was delusive?
00:06:48Mom, if she dies, do we get the estate?
00:06:50Her family argues over wills and inheritance.
00:06:53Eleanor Kensington, the matriarch's niece.
00:06:55She blocks the ICU door.
00:06:57So you're the quack who calls herself Phoenix?
00:07:00Let me tell you, don't even think about scheming the Kensington family.
00:07:04Move.
00:07:06I push past her and enter the room.
00:07:14The matriarch's vitals are flatlining.
00:07:17I open the needle pouch I carry and insert three gold needles into her acupulse with precision.
00:07:25She has no medical license.
00:07:27This is murder.
00:07:28Security.
00:07:30One minute later, the flatline on the monitor starts pulsing again.
00:07:33The matriarch's eyes fly open, and she grabs my wrist with startling strength.
00:07:38Aurora.
00:07:39You're Aurora.
00:07:41Our Kensington child.
00:07:45This is impossible.
00:07:46She's a fraud.
00:07:48She has no bloodation to the Kensington family.
00:07:51Eleanor tries to argue further, but the matriarch's glare pins her in place.
00:07:55Run a DNA test.
00:07:57Right now.
00:07:58Then we will know who is lying.
00:08:01I agree.
00:08:01The next day, word comes from the hospital.
00:08:05My blood sample has been stolen.
00:08:08That night, Elias brings a man before me.
00:08:13This is the man who broke into the blood bank last night.
00:08:19Found in his pocket.
00:08:21A check signed by Eleanor Kensington herself.
00:08:23The thief falls to his knees, begging for mercy, confessing that Eleanor ordered him to steal my blood sample.
00:08:31Seems like someone is more afraid of the truth than I am.
00:08:34The DNA results are out.
00:08:3799.99% match.
00:08:40I'm the Kensington Harris who disappeared 19 years ago.
00:08:45That night, my phone screen lights up with an encrypted message.
00:08:50Welcome home, little Phoenix.
00:08:52Signed, The Gardener.
00:08:54Less than 24 hours after my identity is revealed, Sterling calls a citywide press conference.
00:09:00Aurora Vouts is a fraud.
00:09:02She forged the DNA report to infiltrate the Kensington family.
00:09:06Mr. Thorne, do you have any evidence?
00:09:07I was married to her for three years, and she lied about everything.
00:09:11She's not who you think she is!
00:09:13Just as he's foaming at the mouth, I push open the doors to the press conference hall.
00:09:17You...
00:09:18How dare you show up here?
00:09:22Sterling, that was quite a performance up there.
00:09:24But you forgot.
00:09:25The DNA report is notarized.
00:09:28And that core algorithm you used to build your company?
00:09:30The source code is still on my old laptop.
00:09:33You're lying.
00:09:36Should I pull it up on the screen right now and show everyone what real theft looks like?
00:09:41Sterling's stock crashes below IPO price that night.
00:09:44I begin buying up his outstanding shares.
00:09:49The next day, Elias invites me to his private shooting range.
00:10:00Catch it.
00:10:02He tosses me a gun.
00:10:04I raise it, aim, and fire.
00:10:09All ten shots hit dead center.
00:10:13Before you married Sterling, what exactly did you do?
00:10:16I survived in underground fight rings.
00:10:18He's silent for a long moment.
00:10:20Next, he takes a gun from the table and hands it to me.
00:10:24Marry me.
00:10:25A phoenix is engraved on the barrel.
00:10:28Elias Thorne, are you proposing to me?
00:10:30Not a proposal.
00:10:32An alliance.
00:10:35Sterling taught me one thing.
00:10:37Trust is the most delicate thing in this world.
00:10:40I'm not Sterling.
00:10:42I pick up the gun and empty the entire magazine into the target.
00:10:48Let me finish my divorce first.
00:10:50Then I'm burning every last vine in the Kensington family to the ground.
00:10:54Ask me again after that.
00:10:58Sterling still won't give up.
00:11:00He found my old landlord, Russo.
00:11:02The man who evicted me in the dead of winter just to raise the rent.
00:11:06Aurora Vance owes me 50 grand.
00:11:09She destroyed my property.
00:11:12Russo records a video, sobbing to the camera.
00:11:15Now she's climbed up to the Kensingtons and wants to crush us poor folks.
00:11:20The video goes viral.
00:11:22Even the Kensington family is dragged into it.
00:11:25Their stock starts to waver.
00:11:30Let me handle him.
00:11:31He'll disappear from the face of the earth.
00:11:34By tomorrow.
00:11:38No need.
00:11:39He's walking right into his grave.
00:11:42I will invite Russo into the Kensington conference room.
00:11:45He sits on an antique chair, legs crossed, thinking he's here to collect a check.
00:11:50Cash or check.
00:11:51If you don't pay, you know what happens.
00:11:53I say nothing.
00:11:56I turn on the projector.
00:11:57First document.
00:11:58You cut the heat to your tenants, which led to the death of an elderly woman.
00:12:03This evidence has been submitted to the district attorney.
00:12:07How do you have that?
00:12:08It's fabricated.
00:12:09Second.
00:12:10My newly signed redevelopment agreement.
00:12:12The land you once owned is now mine, worth 30 times more.
00:12:16You can't do this.
00:12:17That land was my grandfather's.
00:12:19You tried to destroy me with public opinion.
00:12:21I'll destroy you with the law.
00:12:22Russo scrambles out of the building in terror, chased by reporters.
00:12:27Mr. Russo, do you have any comment?
00:12:30It was Sterling.
00:12:31It was he who made me do this.
00:12:33Mr. Russo, can you calm down on the accusations?
00:12:36Sterling hurls his remote straight at the TV in rage.
00:12:47The trending topic shifts from Aurora the deadbeat to Aurora the hero.
00:12:56The Kensington matriarch calls me personally.
00:12:59She saw Russo over the news.
00:13:01Aurora, you handled that well.
00:13:05You didn't back down in the face of an enemy.
00:13:10Thank you, Grandmother.
00:13:12I only did what needed to be done.
00:13:14I want you to attend the Family Charity Gala this weekend.
00:13:18You are the Kensington heir.
00:13:21Everyone must know.
00:13:24I will be there.
00:13:25At the gala, I stand at the center of the crowd, bathed in brilliant light.
00:13:30Aurora, you have finally arrived.
00:13:34Welcome.
00:13:35Eleanor, though reluctant, still expresses her congratulations to me.
00:13:39I see Isabella in the corner, staring at me with crazed eyes.
00:13:44Look at her.
00:13:45So smug.
00:13:47She just stole my place.
00:13:49She approaches with a glass of red wine, pretending to stumble toward me.
00:13:54Oops.
00:13:55I'm so clumsy.
00:13:56My hand slipped.
00:13:57I sidestep.
00:13:58Not a drop touches me.
00:14:01Instead, the wine splashes all over her own dress.
00:14:04You did that on purpose.
00:14:06You deliberately dodged to humiliate me.
00:14:08You spilled your own wine, and you're blaming me for not dodging?
00:14:11Stop pretending.
00:14:13You're just jealous.
00:14:14Jealous that I took Sterling from you.
00:14:17You're nothing but his ex-wife, and I'm his fiancé.
00:14:20Sterling's company is tens of millions in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy.
00:14:28Thanks for taking out the garbage for me.
00:14:30You're lying!
00:14:31Pay for my dress!
00:14:33This gown costs $200,000!
00:14:36I pull out my phone and bring up the security footage
00:14:39of her gambling away $800,000 of company funds last night.
00:14:44Should I call the police for you, or will you walk out on your own?
00:14:53Isabella disappears through the door.
00:14:55Her face beat red.
00:15:02You should have made her pay emotional damages.
00:15:05Legally, that stunt was grounds for a lawsuit.
00:15:08Forget it.
00:15:09I'm in a good mood.
00:15:11I just signed three of Sterling's biggest clients while we were talking.
00:15:16Elias pauses for a moment, then bursts out laughing.
00:15:20Ha ha ha!
00:15:21This is you!
00:15:22Phoenix!
00:15:23Just as I'm about to leave, a figure stops us.
00:15:27My cousin, Vivian Kensington.
00:15:31She seems warm and pleasant, her smile sweet.
00:15:35Before I leave, she raises her glass to me.
00:15:39Welcome home.
00:15:40The Kensingtons need you.
00:15:42I look into her eyes.
00:15:45There's something there I can't quite read.
00:15:49I raise my glass, but don't drink.
00:15:52After the gala, I drive away alone.
00:15:54The night is thick.
00:15:56The road's nearly empty.
00:15:58As I reach the overpass, I press the brake.
00:16:01Nothing happens.
00:16:02Ha ha ha!
00:16:03The brakes are completely out.
00:16:07A black sports car charges up from behind.
00:16:11The black sports car slowly forces my car towards the guardrail,
00:16:15and eventually my car comes to a stop.
00:16:19I look over.
00:16:21It's Elias.
00:16:22He stumbles out of his car and runs toward me.
00:16:28Are you okay?
00:16:29Look at me!
00:16:29Are you hurt?
00:16:32I'm fine.
00:16:34How are you here?
00:16:35I saw you leave.
00:16:37After Vivian spoke to you, her expression changed.
00:16:41Someone tampered with my car.
00:16:43I know.
00:16:46I'll get to the bottom of this.
00:16:50Three days later.
00:16:52I found it.
00:16:54A mechanic got a hundred grand.
00:16:56The sender?
00:16:58Vivian's personal assistant.
00:17:01Vivian.
00:17:02I knew it.
00:17:04I'll deal with her right now.
00:17:06Wait.
00:17:07Leave her to me.
00:17:11I have a better way.
00:17:16I walk into the Kensington estate with the evidence.
00:17:20Vivian is having tea in the garden, as if nothing happened.
00:17:24You're here?
00:17:26Care for some tea?
00:17:30You tried to kill me.
00:17:32What are you talking about?
00:17:33Why would I try to kill you?
00:17:35I throws the bank transfer record in front of her.
00:17:38She glances down.
00:17:40Her smile doesn't disappear.
00:17:42If you bow out gracefully and leave the Kensington family, I might let you live.
00:17:48This is your last chance.
00:17:50I don't need chances from you.
00:17:53I head straight for the family conference room.
00:17:56She tries to block me, but I push her aside.
00:17:59She stumbles backward into the rose bushes.
00:18:01In the conference room, the matriarch sits at the head of the long table.
00:18:06All the key family members are present.
00:18:08Eleanor is there, too.
00:18:11I throw all the evidence onto the table.
00:18:14Vivian tampered with my car.
00:18:16She tried to kill me.
00:18:17This is slander!
00:18:19Vivian would never do such a thing!
00:18:21Silence, Eleanor.
00:18:24The matriarch stares at the evidence for a full minute.
00:18:30Vivian.
00:18:31Do you have anything to say for yourself?
00:18:34Grandmother, this is fabricated!
00:18:36She's framing me!
00:18:37Do you think I can't tell the real from the fake?
00:18:40By family rules, you will leave the Kensingtons.
00:18:44Your name will be struck of the family record.
00:18:47Vivian screams as she's dragged out of the room.
00:18:51Please, spare her!
00:18:52She just made a foolish mistake!
00:18:57Eleanor falls to her knees before me,
00:18:59grabbing the hem of my dress.
00:19:00Yes, no.
00:19:02Eleanor suddenly rises to her feet.
00:19:04She leans in close to my ear.
00:19:06You think you've won?
00:19:08Wait for the next.
00:19:11You are the next.
00:19:12The next day, Eleanor calls a press conference.
00:19:15Aurora Vance's DNA test had serious procedural flaws.
00:19:18We demand a retest.
00:19:19Mrs. Kensington, are you suggesting she may not be the true heiress?
00:19:22I'm simply demanding justice.
00:19:24Vivian stands below the stage, watching me.
00:19:26A cold smirk plays on her lips.
00:19:28Miss Vance, did you fabricate evidence to marry into this family?
00:19:32Everyone is waiting for my answer.
00:19:34All cameras are on me.
00:19:38The gala's projection screen suddenly lights up on its own.
00:19:41After seeing the content on the screen, Eleanor and Vivian look terrified.
00:19:47What is this?
00:19:49Turn it off!
00:19:50Turn it off right now!
00:19:53The reporters instantly turn their cameras on the panicked Eleanor and Vivian.
00:19:58Mrs. Kensington, is this true?
00:20:00Did you falsify the DNA report?
00:20:02The procedural flaw you mentioned?
00:20:03Was it the one you created yourself?
00:20:06What appears on screen is not my defense.
00:20:08It's the complete correspondence between Eleanor and the lab director.
00:20:12How she ordered him to falsify the results.
00:20:14How she planned this very press conference for the day the results were announced.
00:20:18No! This is all fabricated!
00:20:21Aurora! Aurora is framing me!
00:20:25No one believes her.
00:20:26The evidence is too complete.
00:20:28The timeline too clear.
00:20:29Elias appears in front of me.
00:20:31This was you?
00:20:32The projector?
00:20:34The emails? All of it.
00:20:35You prepared all of this in advance?
00:20:37You were busy signing clients.
00:20:39I had to do something.
00:20:43Vivian just stares at me.
00:20:44Her eyes filled with pure hatred.
00:20:46Then she pulls out her phone and sends a message to someone.
00:20:50A cold sneer on her face.
00:20:52Three days after Vivian is banished from the Kensington's, Sterling suddenly calls a product launch event.
00:20:58Everyone, today, Thorne Industries unveils a revolutionary new engine.
00:21:02It is better than the so-called Phoenix engine from Pulse Interaction.
00:21:06A thousand times.
00:21:08The crowd erupts in applause.
00:21:12Vivian is standing in the corner, watching me.
00:21:15A faint smile playing on her lips.
00:21:17On the screen, I see a familiar code architecture.
00:21:20Pulse Interactive's beta engine.
00:21:23Vivian has bribed a mid-level manager at Pulse to steal the beta engine code and sell it to Sterling.
00:21:29Look at this rendering speed.
00:21:31Look at these physics.
00:21:38This is the future.
00:21:40What he doesn't know.
00:21:42Every line of code I write has a back door.
00:21:46Halfway through the demo, the entire screen locks up.
00:21:51What is this?
00:21:52Fix it!
00:21:53Tech team!
00:21:54A burning phoenix rises from the center of the display, swallowing all the data.
00:22:04After the failed launch, I send a message to Sterling through the media.
00:22:08Sterling Thorne, every line of code you're holding has my digital watermark.
00:22:14See you in court.
00:22:15Meanwhile, Sterling suddenly drops to his knees.
00:22:19I was wrong!
00:22:20I was blinded by Isabella!
00:22:22The one I've truly loved from the very beginning is Aurora!
00:22:26The entire internet is flooded with his heart-filled confession.
00:22:31I step onto the stage.
00:22:33Sterling, you don't love me.
00:22:37He looks up, eyes red-rimmed, playing the part perfectly.
00:22:42What are you saying?
00:22:43Of course I...
00:22:44Your product is a plagiarism case.
00:22:46Your stock has collapsed, and your company is about to go bankrupt.
00:22:50You just need my money and my tech to fill the holes you dug yourself.
00:22:54How can you say that?
00:22:58Every camera flash in the room turns on him at once.
00:23:01It's not about the money!
00:23:03I've kicked Isabella out!
00:23:05I'm ready to remarry you!
00:23:07You say this isn't about money?
00:23:10No!
00:23:12He almost convinced even himself.
00:23:21I open my laptop and turn the screen toward him.
00:23:26Sterling, see these code segments?
00:23:30These are records of every illegal transaction your company has made in the past three years.
00:23:36How do you have...
00:23:37The fake sincerity on his face vanishes in an instant.
00:23:41Everything you've hidden since the day you founded your company...
00:23:45All of it has been submitted to the SEC.
00:23:50What the hell are you...
00:23:51The only decision you'll ever truly regret.
00:23:55Sterling scrambles up from the floor and pulls out his phone, calling his assistant.
00:24:00Lance, pack everything in my safe!
00:24:02The jewelries, the cash, take it all!
00:24:04We're leaving right now!
00:24:06Sterling, the safe is already empty.
00:24:09Isabella, she took everything.
00:24:11The jewelry, the cash, all of it.
00:24:15Impossible.
00:24:16She couldn't have.
00:24:18He collapses to the ground, his phone slipping from his fingers.
00:24:21Officers walk in, hauling the speechless Sterling to his feet and dragging him out of the venue.
00:24:25You planned all of this?
00:24:27No.
00:24:29You walked every step of this path yourself.
00:24:31That night, I return home.
00:24:35I push open the door.
00:24:37Someone is sitting in my living room.
00:24:40Isabella.
00:24:41Her clothes disheveled.
00:24:42Her eyes bloodshot.
00:24:44Everything I did to you.
00:24:46Sterling forced me.
00:24:48He said if I followed his orders, he'd give me shares.
00:24:50Tears begin to stream down her face.
00:24:52But he was lying the whole time.
00:24:54I was nothing but a tool to him.
00:24:56You didn't come here just to apologize.
00:25:02I have something you want.
00:25:03She pulls a USB drive from her bag and places it on the coffee table.
00:25:09I took this from Sterling's safe.
00:25:11It's his transaction records from the past few years.
00:25:14Not the company's, his personal ones.
00:25:16I need cash and a plane ticket to Europe.
00:25:19You have a deal.
00:25:29After Isabella leaves, I open the drive.
00:25:32It's filled with dense transaction records.
00:25:35Hundreds of entries.
00:25:37One catches my eye.
00:25:39The recipient is a defunct gardening tool import-export company.
00:25:44I scan through every record.
00:25:46One name appears again and again.
00:25:49The Gardener.
00:25:51I remember those encrypted messages I received.
00:25:54The sender.
00:25:56Also, the Gardener.
00:26:00Who are you?
00:26:01I start tracing his identity through the transaction records.
00:26:05The dates of every transfer are as precise as clockwork.
00:26:08Same day each year.
00:26:10Same amount.
00:26:11Into the same defunct gardening tool import-export company.
00:26:15I decrypt the hidden layers in the records.
00:26:21Inside is a name.
00:26:23Ruby Cross.
00:26:26Elias?
00:26:27Have you ever heard this name?
00:26:29No.
00:26:30I can find out.
00:26:32Just as I'm telling him, my phone rings.
00:26:34It's a notice from the Kensington Family Trust.
00:26:37They have frozen all Kensington assets under my name.
00:26:40Not a single cent remains.
00:26:46Elinor.
00:26:47She still hasn't given up.
00:26:51I head straight to the Kensington Council of Elders.
00:27:00Elinor stands at the entrance, wearing a smile.
00:27:03You can't go in.
00:27:05This is an internal meeting.
00:27:07I am the Kensington Heiress.
00:27:09You are not.
00:27:11I push past her and walk into the chamber.
00:27:14The elders sit around the long table.
00:27:18Miss Vance, your identity is in question.
00:27:21My identity was confirmed by DNA test.
00:27:24Who filed the complaint?
00:27:27I simply raised reasonable concerns to protect the family's interest.
00:27:34I open my phone and pull up the encrypted message the gardener sent me.
00:27:40Welcome home, little phoenix.
00:27:41Dead silence falls over the chamber.
00:27:45Dead silence falls over the chamber.
00:27:46The faces of several elders shift.
00:27:48This person knows everything about the Kensington family.
00:27:52He has been watching us since before I was born.
00:27:56Who is afraid of my return?
00:27:58The accounts are unfrozen that same day.
00:28:03Elinor glares at me.
00:28:05For the first time, I see fear in her eyes.
00:28:08Back home, I continue decrypting the transaction records Isabella left behind.
00:28:24After every encryption layer is stripped away, an address emerges.
00:28:28A remote research facility.
00:28:30It doesn't even appear on maps.
00:28:33Elias, I found an address.
00:28:35It might be the gardener's base of operations.
00:28:37I'll bring a strike team.
00:28:39We move tonight.
00:28:40Late at night.
00:28:41We infiltrate the facility.
00:28:56The labs are empty.
00:29:01Equipment has been stripped.
00:29:03All documents destroyed.
00:29:19But in the innermost room, we find someone.
00:29:21Tied to a chair.
00:29:23A rag stuffed in his mouth.
00:29:25I pull the rag from his mouth.
00:29:29You look just like the photo.
00:29:32You're Aurora.
00:29:34Who are you?
00:29:36Julian Kensington.
00:29:39Your cousin.
00:29:42Julian.
00:29:43My cousin who vanished 19 years ago?
00:29:48I've been locked in here for 19 years.
00:29:52Your mother was murdered.
00:29:58By whom?
00:30:01Eleanor.
00:30:02Your mother discovered the truth about the lab.
00:30:06She wanted to call the police.
00:30:10What lab?
00:30:12What truth?
00:30:15I don't know.
00:30:16I was too young.
00:30:17But Eleanor found out about your mother's attempt.
00:30:20She staged the car accident.
00:30:24Your mother.
00:30:26She died on impact.
00:30:29I saw everything with my own eyes.
00:30:32Eleanor locked me in a psychiatric ward.
00:30:38They kept injecting me with sedatives so I'd look insane.
00:30:43I take him to the hospital for a full examination.
00:30:51The doctors find seven different sedatives in his bloodstream.
00:30:56Holding the lab report, I call Elias.
00:31:04No more gathering evidence.
00:31:07We have everything we need.
00:31:11What are you going to do?
00:31:15I've waited long enough.
00:31:19Now, she pays.
00:31:21The Kensington Family Annual Gala.
00:31:23The matriarch has already announced that I, Aurora Vance, will preside as the official heiress.
00:31:29The night of the gala.
00:31:31I stand at the center of the ballroom, dressed in black.
00:31:40You actually look like a matriarch tonight.
00:31:43But don't be nervous.
00:31:44First-timers always make mistakes.
00:31:51Halfway through the gala, the lights suddenly dim.
00:31:55An image appears on the massive screen.
00:31:58Not my speech.
00:31:59It's Julian Kensington's recorded testimony.
00:32:03My name is Julian Kensington.
00:32:06I was imprisoned by Eleanor Kensington for 19 years.
00:32:17She killed Aurora's mother.
00:32:20Eleanor's face turns gray in an instant.
00:32:24The police, already stationed outside the gala, storm in.
00:32:32Eleanor and Vivian are seized on the spot.
00:32:36From this day forward, you are no longer Kensington's.
00:32:41Vivian suddenly breaks free from the officers.
00:32:44She pulls a small knife from her waistband.
00:32:49And lunges at me with a scream.
00:32:52Vivian is pinned down by security.
00:32:55She and Eleanor are dragged out of the ballroom.
00:33:02It's over, child.
00:33:04You'll never have to see their faces again.
00:33:09Thank you, Grandmother.
00:33:11But I know in my gut, this isn't over.
00:33:15Three days later, while transporting Eleanor to the detention center, the convoy is ambushed.
00:33:25Eleanor was taken.
00:33:27The gardener's men?
00:33:29Highly likely.
00:33:33Eleanor is found in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.
00:33:37She's no longer alive.
00:33:39The police sealed most of the crime scene.
00:33:41But I got what they didn't release.
00:33:44He hands me a photograph.
00:33:47On Eleanor's forehead, a note is taped.
00:33:50Two words only.
00:33:52Cleanup complete.
00:33:53Eleanor's death plunges the entire Kensington family into panic.
00:34:04No one knows who's next.
00:34:06Vivian is being held in isolation in a psychiatric observation ward.
00:34:11She demands to see me.
00:34:16Her face is skeletal.
00:34:18Her eyes unnervingly wide.
00:34:22She's not faking it.
00:34:24She's genuinely terrified out of her mind.
00:34:30You came.
00:34:32You finally came.
00:34:34She furtively pulls a ring from her sleeve.
00:34:42The day my mother was taken, she shoved this into my hand.
00:34:49What is this?
00:34:50I don't know.
00:34:51She didn't have time to explain.
00:34:53I was wrong.
00:34:54I know nothing I say matters now.
00:34:57But please, find out how my mother died.
00:35:00There's no more calculation in her eyes.
00:35:03Just pure terror.
00:35:05She wasn't a good person, but she didn't deserve to be dumped in a warehouse like that.
00:35:12I bring the ring back to the lab.
00:35:16I place it in the scanner.
00:35:22The screen lights up.
00:35:24A microchip is embedded inside the band.
00:35:28Inside the chip is a blueprint of an underground laboratory.
00:35:34Stamped in the bottom right corner.
00:35:37The seal of the Thorn family.
00:35:42Julian recovers a little more each day.
00:35:46His return has brought a sense of calm to the family.
00:35:53But I know.
00:35:54It's only on the surface.
00:36:00On the day Julian is officially welcomed back.
00:36:03The matriarch calls me into her private chambers.
00:36:09This is what your mother was holding when she died.
00:36:12She reaches under her pillow and pulls out a cloth pouch.
00:36:16Pressing it into my hands.
00:36:18The cloth is old.
00:36:20The edges worn ragged.
00:36:23I unwrap the cloth.
00:36:26Inside is a pair of scissors.
00:36:30The blades are stained with dried, darkened marks.
00:36:34Blood.
00:36:37I turn the scissors over.
00:36:41Two letters are etched into the handle.
00:36:44RC.
00:36:45Not a name.
00:36:47It stands for Root Cutter.
00:36:52The one who prunes the roots.
00:36:57Every generation the Kensingtons have secretly kept a gardener.
00:37:02Someone tasked with pruning away those deemed dead branches.
00:37:05I stand there, holding those scissors.
00:37:08Your mother was killed by Eleanor's hand.
00:37:12But the order came from the gardener.
00:37:16Why would he want her dead?
00:37:18She discovered something she wasn't supposed to.
00:37:21I don't know exactly what.
00:37:23The matriarch grabs my wrist.
00:37:25Her strength is startling.
00:37:27And you.
00:37:29You are the last branch she left behind.
00:37:34He has been searching for you.
00:37:36She releases my wrist and wraps her arms around me.
00:37:41I can't lose another one.
00:37:43Not again.
00:37:45Just then, my phone rings.
00:37:48Elias.
00:37:50I'm heading back to the Thorn estate.
00:37:52I saw the blueprint you sent.
00:37:55I'm going back to find out.
00:37:58I'm coming with you.
00:38:00Thorn Manor.
00:38:02Elias leads me through the corridors.
00:38:04And pushes open the door to his mother's study.
00:38:11Mother.
00:38:13I need to ask you something.
00:38:16About a secret family trust.
00:38:18The one that's been making payouts for decades.
00:38:22What are you talking about?
00:38:24What about Ruby Cross?
00:38:27Her fingers pause.
00:38:30She was Joshua's assistant.
00:38:35They both disappeared from the family records 30 years ago.
00:38:41Joshua?
00:38:43Joshua Thorn?
00:38:44Your father's younger brother.
00:38:52Elias heads straight to the estate archives.
00:38:57And pulls out the sealed gray file.
00:39:04Joshua Thorn.
00:39:05At 30, he founded a company called Eden.
00:39:10Behind it, illegal genetic experiments.
00:39:12And the funding source, that secret trust.
00:39:15He used the gardening company as a front.
00:39:18He hated the Thorns.
00:39:20Hated the Kensington's.
00:39:22So he took the name Gardner and...
00:39:25And he's been exacting his revenge piece by piece on everyone.
00:39:31Elias pulls a half-burned photograph from the file.
00:39:38I take it.
00:39:40In the photo, Joshua and my mother stand side by side before a field of white roses.
00:39:51I turn the photo over.
00:39:54On the back, my mother's handwriting.
00:39:59He loves me.
00:40:00I chose someone else.
00:40:03After a long silence, Elias holds me from behind.
00:40:07He wants to destroy everything your mother ever loved.
00:40:10And you.
00:40:12I won't let everything I loved get destroyed.
00:40:19Elias pulls another document from the bottom of the file.
00:40:29This file is titled The Specimen Room.
00:40:32It's encrypted.
00:40:34My gut already knows.
00:40:35We have everything we want inside.
00:40:42My team works three full days straight before they finally crack the specimen room files.
00:40:49I only look at the first page.
00:40:51Then my stomach churns violently.
00:40:54Inside is my mother.
00:40:56From her girlhood to the last week before her death.
00:41:01Every photograph.
00:41:03Every letter she wrote.
00:41:05Voice recordings of her speaking.
00:41:07The lullabies she hummed.
00:41:09He turned her entire life into a collection.
00:41:13Not love.
00:41:14It's a madness that curdled from obsession into something unrecognizable.
00:41:19I scroll to the deepest folder.
00:41:22Inside is a name I have never seen before.
00:41:28Lirilla.
00:41:29And next to it, a notation three weeks old.
00:41:33Lirilla.
00:41:35Who is this?
00:41:39Elias' face turns ashen.
00:41:42Your mother.
00:41:44Before she was killed,
00:41:46she gave birth to a daughter.
00:41:52Lirilla.
00:41:57Lirilla's existence catches me completely off guard.
00:41:59I sit in my chair,
00:42:00the entire world sinking.
00:42:02Look at me.
00:42:02Julian is back.
00:42:03We will find Lirilla too.
00:42:05When this is over,
00:42:06you will have a whole family.
00:42:07He pulls me into his arms.
00:42:09He doesn't say don't be afraid.
00:42:10He only tells me what he will do.
00:42:12The emotional shock makes me miss a detail.
00:42:15A system alert in the corner of my screen.
00:42:18I don't notice it until late at night,
00:42:21sitting alone in the study.
00:42:23Three minutes ago.
00:42:25Last log to this server.
00:42:26Before I can even process it,
00:42:28my phone lights up.
00:42:32An unknown number sent a photo.
00:42:35My mother's profile when she was young.
00:42:38Three words written on it in red ink.
00:42:42Joshua Thorne is alive.
00:42:47He's been watching every move we make.
00:42:53I didn't go looking for him.
00:42:55He's reaching out to me.
00:42:56The clues buried in the files
00:42:58ultimately point to a private sanatorium in Switzerland.
00:43:05Not a legitimate institution.
00:43:08The kind of place where enough money buys silence.
00:43:13It's too dangerous.
00:43:14I will deal with it.
00:43:18She's my sister.
00:43:20I need to do it by myself.
00:43:27I dial the sanitarium's number.
00:43:31Transferred once.
00:43:33Twice.
00:43:34Three times.
00:43:37Then,
00:43:38a girl answers.
00:43:40Who are you?
00:43:42Her voice is very soft,
00:43:44like a small bird.
00:43:47Like one that's been caged so long
00:43:49it's no longer sure how to speak.
00:43:53My name is Aurora.
00:43:54I'm your sister.
00:43:57Silence on the other end.
00:43:59Two full minutes.
00:44:00I grip the receiver so tightly
00:44:02my knuckles go white.
00:44:04I don't dare let go.
00:44:05I don't dare breathe.
00:44:11Will you kill me?
00:44:13That voice
00:44:15is so soft,
00:44:16so small.
00:44:22No.
00:44:23I just want to see you.
00:44:25As family.
00:44:27You're my sister.
00:44:28I won't hurt you.
00:44:32She hangs up.
00:44:34No goodbye.
00:44:35No asking who I am.
00:44:38The next day,
00:44:40my phone receives a text.
00:44:43Just an address.
00:44:48Deep in the Swiss Alps.
00:44:52Elias sees the text
00:44:53and takes the phone from my hand.
00:44:58He put Lorela on the phone with you
00:45:01because he knew the moment she spoke
00:45:02you would come.
00:45:03He becomes very worried and serious.
00:45:14This is his trap.
00:45:15Elias says it's a trap.
00:45:17I say I know.
00:45:22So you take a different way in.
00:45:25The ring Vivian gave me.
00:45:26I decoded a basement blueprint from its chip.
00:45:28It's not just any lab.
00:45:30It's the underground layout
00:45:32of this very sanatorium.
00:45:33Give me the coordinates.
00:45:35I'll infiltrate through the underground tunnels
00:45:37with the strike team
00:45:38and secure the basement.
00:45:40I nod.
00:45:41Elias holds me in his arms really tight.
00:45:46Be safe.
00:45:48Promise me.
00:45:55The plane touches down before dawn.
00:46:00I enter through the main door.
00:46:04The corridor is long,
00:46:06dimly lit.
00:46:10He stands at the end.
00:46:12Joshua Thorne.
00:46:14Dressed in a white coat.
00:46:16Clean shaven.
00:46:17A smile in his eyes behind his glasses.
00:46:21Aurora.
00:46:23You finally came.
00:46:25It means the world to your sister
00:46:27that you're here.
00:46:28How many years have you kept her locked up here?
00:46:32Locked up?
00:46:33I didn't lock her up.
00:46:36I raised her.
00:46:37Come with me.
00:46:44I follow him through the corridor.
00:46:46Out of the corner of my eye,
00:46:48I scan the stances of the three nurses behind him.
00:46:53Right leg slightly bent,
00:46:54weight shifted back,
00:46:56ready to draw.
00:47:00I let out a soft laugh.
00:47:03What is it?
00:47:05Nothing.
00:47:06I just remembered something my mother used to say.
00:47:09What did she say?
00:47:12The one in the white coat isn't always a doctor.
00:47:15Could be a butcher.
00:47:18The smile on his face doesn't waver,
00:47:20but his steps pause.
00:47:22My hand is in my pocket,
00:47:23my fingertip resting on the signal button.
00:47:25Three levels below,
00:47:27Elias and his strike team are already in place,
00:47:29following the map.
00:47:41He pushes open the final door.
00:47:44The final door.
00:47:44Lorela sits on the hospital bed.
00:47:47She's thinner than in those archived photos.
00:47:51Her hair is sparse,
00:47:52like she's been malnourished for years.
00:47:57But her eyes,
00:47:58that color is my mother's.
00:48:02The same green I see every morning in the mirror.
00:48:06Lorela,
00:48:07this is the sister I told you about.
00:48:09The one who's been looking for you all along.
00:48:11Joshua stands at the head of the bed,
00:48:14his hand resting on her shoulder.
00:48:16The gesture,
00:48:17so light,
00:48:18so natural,
00:48:19tender,
00:48:20like a real father.
00:48:25I crouch down to meet her eyes.
00:48:28Her hands are gripping the sheets,
00:48:30knuckles white.
00:48:32Lorela,
00:48:33I'm Aurora.
00:48:35I'm your sister.
00:48:38I know.
00:48:40Father showed me your picture.
00:48:42Did your father ever tell you
00:48:45that everyone he's ever met
00:48:47has never come back?
00:48:53She looks at me.
00:48:55She doesn't answer.
00:48:58Lorela suddenly speaks.
00:49:01Once there was a nurse.
00:49:03She had green eyes like me.
00:49:07One day,
00:49:09she disappeared.
00:49:10Her voice is very soft,
00:49:12very slow,
00:49:14like she's reciting a memory from long ago.
00:49:16He kept her uniform in his office,
00:49:19folded very neatly.
00:49:21It had red spots on it.
00:49:24Joshua's hand slides off Lorela's shoulder.
00:49:27At that exact second,
00:49:29an explosion rips through the far end of the corridor.
00:49:38The blast shatters the glass.
00:49:40Smoke grenades roll across the floor.
00:49:43Men in black tactical gear
00:49:45flood the hallway like a tide.
00:49:50You're all right on time.
00:49:52Joshua doesn't run.
00:49:54He doesn't even move.
00:49:56He just stares at me
00:49:58and then bursts out laughing.
00:50:02What are you laughing at?
00:50:11The sound echoes through the empty room.
00:50:14He turns to face me.
00:50:20Do you know what your mother's last words were?
00:50:27She said Aurora will come for me.
00:50:31She will come.
00:50:34She has to.
00:50:36His eyes are red,
00:50:37but the corner of his stout is still curled,
00:50:40not in mockery.
00:50:43I've been waiting all these years
00:50:46just to see
00:50:48if what she said was true.
00:50:51Before I can answer,
00:50:53Joshua opens a hidden door
00:50:55and then disappears.
00:51:03I walk to the bed,
00:51:05crouch down,
00:51:06and reach out my hand to Lorella.
00:51:09Come on.
00:51:11Sister's taking you out of here.
00:51:15Is he coming back for me?
00:51:18No.
00:51:20Not ever again.
00:51:22She stares at my hand for a long time.
00:51:34Lorella starts to cry.
00:51:38Not from fear.
00:51:42We walk through that white door
00:51:45and we don't look back.
00:51:52Lorella is transferred
00:51:53to the New York Children's Center
00:51:55for Rare Diseases.
00:52:00Her pathology is extraordinary complex.
00:52:03Not congenital.
00:52:04It's an artificially induced genetic defect.
00:52:07Why would anyone do that?
00:52:10Based on the genetic matching,
00:52:12she's been kept alive
00:52:13as a donor reserve.
00:52:15Meaning,
00:52:16someone needs a person
00:52:17with near-identical genes
00:52:19to supply blood or bone marrow.
00:52:25And the person requiring treatment,
00:52:29according to the sequences,
00:52:31is you.
00:52:36He's been preparing for this for years.
00:52:39He wasn't raising her.
00:52:47He was stockpiling her.
00:52:49That night,
00:52:50I sit in the study
00:52:51holding the report.
00:52:53No lights on.
00:52:56Elias stands behind me
00:52:58for a long moment,
00:52:59then presses my head
00:53:00against his shoulder
00:53:01with one hand.
00:53:07From today on,
00:53:08Lorella is a thorn.
00:53:10The thorn family
00:53:11will fully fund her treatment.
00:53:18Before dawn,
00:53:20I signed two documents.
00:53:21The first,
00:53:23Lorella's name change application.
00:53:25The second,
00:53:26the Lorella Gene Pathology Foundation.
00:53:35Joshua Thorne is still at large.
00:53:38Elias' agent swept every inch
00:53:40of that sanatorium.
00:53:41No trace of him.
00:53:44But we pulled his encrypted server
00:53:46from the sanatorium.
00:53:48After decryption,
00:53:49we found an unsent message.
00:53:52The content is nothing
00:53:54but a set of coordinates.
00:53:56An old printing plant,
00:53:58abandoned for over a decade.
00:54:00He prepared for this.
00:54:02If the sanitarium was compromised,
00:54:04he'd fall back here.
00:54:05Could be another trap.
00:54:08Like last time.
00:54:13Then do what you did last time.
00:54:15Go in from the rear.
00:54:16We fly back to New York overnight.
00:54:25The moment I push open
00:54:26the basement door,
00:54:27I freeze.
00:54:29The entire wall is papered
00:54:31with photographs.
00:54:32Like wallpaper.
00:54:39Joshua sits in a wooden chair
00:54:41at the center of the room.
00:54:44Beside him,
00:54:45that fairy tale book.
00:54:47The one my mother read to me.
00:54:52The day she came to see me
00:54:54for the first time,
00:54:55she wore white too.
00:54:58Did you kill her?
00:55:00Not me.
00:55:03I'm not the gardener.
00:55:05His family name gave me a title
00:55:07but never a place.
00:55:10I'm the first branch
00:55:11they ever pruned.
00:55:13I was the one
00:55:14who did the dirty work.
00:55:18Never the one behind the desk
00:55:20giving the orders.
00:55:21Then who is the gardener?
00:55:25The gardener isn't
00:55:26a single person.
00:55:27It's a system.
00:55:29The Kensingtons,
00:55:30the Thorns,
00:55:32they've been feeding
00:55:33this system for decades.
00:55:38He stands and walks
00:55:39towards the door
00:55:40of his own accord.
00:55:42Outside,
00:55:42police lights are already flashing,
00:55:44painting his profile red.
00:55:46He pauses for a second
00:55:47when he passes me.
00:55:50Lorella's hair,
00:55:52just like hers.
00:55:55That was the color
00:55:56of your mother's hair
00:55:57when I first met her.
00:55:59After Joshua is arrested,
00:56:01I pull two final files
00:56:03from his encrypted server.
00:56:04The first,
00:56:05Project Eden's
00:56:06complete original gene sequence.
00:56:08The second,
00:56:09a blood collection record
00:56:10labeled ID 001.
00:56:12The date,
00:56:13the day I was born.
00:56:16From the very first
00:56:17second of my life,
00:56:19I was already
00:56:20in the cage.
00:56:22All evidence
00:56:23related to Project Eden.
00:56:25I've turned everything
00:56:26over to Interpol.
00:56:28He takes that gun of his,
00:56:30the one engraved
00:56:31with the Phoenix,
00:56:32and locks it in his drawer.
00:56:37He pulls out the key,
00:56:39pushes open the window,
00:56:41and throws it out.
00:56:46It lands on the gravel
00:56:47in the garden
00:56:48with a crisp,
00:56:49ringing sound.
00:56:53From today on,
00:56:54we use the law.
00:56:56Before,
00:56:56you fought alone
00:56:58in the shadows.
00:56:59Not anymore.
00:57:01Everything he owes you,
00:57:03we take it all back
00:57:04in court.
00:57:08Joshua requests
00:57:09one final visit
00:57:10from prison.
00:57:12He's a skeleton,
00:57:14chains on his wrists.
00:57:18When I am near my end,
00:57:19I finally remember
00:57:21the song your mother
00:57:22used to hum.
00:57:25It went like this.
00:57:29He hums a couple of bars.
00:57:36This time,
00:57:37it's exactly the melody
00:57:39I remember my mother singing.
00:57:40Everything I spent my life
00:57:42trying to destroy,
00:57:43it all survived.
00:57:44Lorela walked out
00:57:45of that sanatorium,
00:57:46and you're still alive.
00:57:48The corner of his mouth
00:57:49lifts slightly,
00:57:50the relieved smile
00:57:51of a man who has been
00:57:52utterly defeated
00:57:53and can finally let go.
00:57:55I stand,
00:57:57ready to leave.
00:58:01He suddenly taps twice
00:58:03on the glass,
00:58:03urgently.
00:58:08Aurora.
00:58:10Her hair.
00:58:12Just like hers.
00:58:18Three days later,
00:58:20the prison notifies me.
00:58:21Joshua Thorne passed away
00:58:24in the infirmary.
00:58:30Lorela's condition
00:58:31suddenly deteriorates
00:58:32in the third week
00:58:33after admission.
00:58:35She doesn't have
00:58:36much time left,
00:58:37does she?
00:58:41There's a time bomb
00:58:42hidden in her gene sequence.
00:58:45A segment programmed
00:58:46to self-destruct
00:58:47under the right trigger conditions.
00:58:49I stay by Lorela's bedside
00:58:51for three days and nights.
00:58:56She keeps that
00:58:57fairy-me-tale book
00:58:58on her pillow.
00:59:02Father used to read it
00:59:03every night for me.
00:59:07After she falls asleep,
00:59:09I flip through it.
00:59:13Inside the back cover,
00:59:15my fingertip traces
00:59:16a chemical formula
00:59:17etched in
00:59:18with a needlepoint.
00:59:21I take a photo
00:59:22and send it to Elias.
00:59:26Half an hour later,
00:59:27he's standing in the doorway
00:59:28of the hospital room.
00:59:35This is my grandfather's
00:59:37grandfather's last patent.
00:59:38Never made public.
00:59:43Before he died,
00:59:44he gave me a key,
00:59:45but he didn't tell me
00:59:47where the keyhole was.
00:59:58The keyhole
00:59:59is in Lorela's gene sequence.
01:00:05Elias takes me down
01:00:06into the Thorn family's
01:00:07underground archives.
01:00:24Inside the deepest vault,
01:00:27he pulls out
01:00:28his grandfather's manuscript.
01:00:32A complete gene repair protocol.
01:00:35Its theoretical framework
01:00:37is the exact inverse
01:00:38of the destructive code
01:00:39Joshua used.
01:00:50On the last page
01:00:52of the manuscript,
01:00:53a line of handwritten text.
01:01:00To my future
01:01:01granddaughter-in-law.
01:01:07Your grandfather
01:01:10knew I existed?
01:01:12He knew someday
01:01:14you'd meet me.
01:01:19He knew this day
01:01:20would come.
01:01:22He left me the cure,
01:01:25but he didn't know
01:01:26if I'd ever find you.
01:01:30You did?
01:01:31I look at the manuscripts,
01:01:33the pages yellowed
01:01:34and brittle.
01:01:36If Elias's grandfather
01:01:37hadn't written this protocol,
01:01:39Lorela's time bomb
01:01:40would be an incurable
01:01:42death sentence.
01:01:45The treatment plan
01:01:47requires a bone marrow
01:01:48stem cell donation
01:01:49from a direct blood relative.
01:01:52Lorela's mother
01:01:52is long gone.
01:01:54I'm the only option left.
01:02:02The reason Joshua
01:02:03planted that time bomb
01:02:04in Liria's body
01:02:05in the first place
01:02:06was because he knew
01:02:08someday I'd need her.
01:02:11He turned her
01:02:12into my spare parts warehouse.
01:02:15And now,
01:02:17the only one
01:02:18who can save her
01:02:20is me.
01:02:28On the day of the surgery,
01:02:30Lorela is wheeled
01:02:31into the neighboring
01:02:32operating room.
01:02:34Her eyelids are heavy,
01:02:36but she fights
01:02:36to keep them open
01:02:37and mouth something at me.
01:02:40Not thank you,
01:02:42not I'm scared.
01:02:43It's Aurora.
01:02:45It's...
01:02:46Aurora.
01:02:52When I wake again,
01:02:54Elias is sitting
01:02:55by my bed,
01:02:56holding my hand.
01:02:58The surgery was a success.
01:03:04Outside the curtains,
01:03:06it's dusk.
01:03:07The room is quiet.
01:03:08The day after Lorela
01:03:10is out of danger,
01:03:12Elias stands
01:03:13at the hospital room window.
01:03:16Aurora.
01:03:18He calls my name.
01:03:20His hand moves
01:03:21in his pocket.
01:03:23What is it?
01:03:27He walks over.
01:03:29No getting down
01:03:30on one knee.
01:03:32He places a ring
01:03:34in my palm.
01:03:35This time,
01:03:36it's not a merger contract.
01:03:38If you don't believe in love,
01:03:39then sign a lifetime contract.
01:03:41I'll be your investor.
01:03:43For life.
01:03:45He's holding a diamond ring,
01:03:47but there's no champagne tower.
01:03:49No photographer
01:03:50crouched in front,
01:03:51waiting to capture my tears.
01:03:54When Elias says it,
01:03:55there are still traces
01:03:56of disinfectant
01:03:57and hospital soap
01:03:58under his fingernails.
01:04:02I don't know
01:04:03how to answer.
01:04:07I put the ring on.
01:04:11Then I'll sign.
01:04:12The day Lorela
01:04:13is discharged,
01:04:14the sun is brilliant.
01:04:17She's wearing
01:04:17the blue dress
01:04:18I bought her.
01:04:19She picked it out herself.
01:04:24She stands at the entrance,
01:04:26tilting her head back
01:04:26to watch the light
01:04:27filtering through
01:04:28the sycamore leaves.
01:04:30She stares
01:04:31for a long time.
01:04:32Then she turns to me.
01:04:36Aurora,
01:04:37the sky outside
01:04:38is different
01:04:39from the sanatorium.
01:04:41Here it's so big.
01:04:42From today on,
01:04:44you can go
01:04:44wherever you want.
01:04:47Elias' car
01:04:48is parked
01:04:48at the entrance.
01:04:49He leans against
01:04:51the door
01:04:51waiting for us,
01:04:52not rushing.
01:04:55An old song
01:04:57is playing,
01:04:57not his usual
01:04:58classical music.
01:04:59It's the one
01:04:59my mother loved.
01:05:01When the intro starts,
01:05:02Lorela lets out
01:05:03a soft little awe
01:05:04from the back seat.
01:05:06Then she starts
01:05:07humming along.
01:05:14Every note
01:05:15exactly right.
01:05:18The Phoenix Foundation
01:05:19receives a lead
01:05:20from Brazil.
01:05:24a lab abandoned
01:05:26for decades.
01:05:28During demolition,
01:05:29workers discovered
01:05:30experimental records
01:05:31with the same origin
01:05:32as Project Eden.
01:05:40In the deepest part
01:05:42of the ruins,
01:05:43we find a wall.
01:05:44Wind and time
01:05:45have peeled most of it away.
01:05:47In the bottom right corner.
01:05:56Happy birthday,
01:05:57Lorela.
01:05:58The date.
01:06:00One week before
01:06:01my mother was killed.
01:06:03I stand in front
01:06:05of that wall
01:06:05for a long time.
01:06:10Elias doesn't speak.
01:06:12He just puts his hand
01:06:13on my back,
01:06:14lightly.
01:06:20Take this wall down.
01:06:22Ship it back to New York.
01:06:26We have room at home.
01:06:27There's an old server
01:06:29buried under the lab.
01:06:30Most of the hard drive
01:06:31is corrupted.
01:06:33But the tech team
01:06:34recovers
01:06:34fragments of video.
01:06:37There's no lab
01:06:38on the screen.
01:06:40Just an old piano.
01:06:42My mother sits
01:06:42at the bench,
01:06:43playing that lullaby.
01:06:45When she finishes,
01:06:46she stays silent
01:06:47for a long moment,
01:06:49hands still
01:06:50on the keys.
01:06:51Then she turns
01:06:52and speaks
01:06:52into the camera.
01:06:54Aurora,
01:06:55if you're watching this,
01:06:56it means I didn't
01:06:57make it out of here alive.
01:07:02I don't know
01:07:03if you're watching this.
01:07:03if you're watching this.
01:07:04if you're watching this.
01:07:04I don't know
01:07:04if you're watching this.
01:07:05I don't know
01:07:05if you're watching this.
01:07:05Elias turns off the screen.
01:07:10Then,
01:07:11he reaches over
01:07:13and wipes the tears
01:07:14from my face
01:07:15with his thumb.
01:07:20We don't say anything.
01:07:23Just sit in front
01:07:24of that dust-covered
01:07:25old piano all night.
01:07:30The melody of that lullaby
01:07:32stays in my head.
01:07:35But it doesn't feel
01:07:37cold anymore.
01:07:44The year Larela turns seven.
01:07:48She learns to play the piano.
01:07:53She says she wants to learn.
01:07:57Two months later,
01:07:58she plays her first
01:08:00complete piece.
01:08:04It's that lullaby.
01:08:07She just found
01:08:08the sheet music
01:08:09in our mother's
01:08:10old collection
01:08:10and said this one
01:08:11didn't look too hard.
01:08:18After the final note,
01:08:20she turns around
01:08:21with a wide grin.
01:08:22She points at that
01:08:23old piano,
01:08:24the very one
01:08:25our mother played
01:08:26in the video.
01:08:26Did I play it right?
01:08:29This piano's
01:08:30a little old,
01:08:31but it sounds
01:08:32better than my teacher's.
01:08:36Elias steps back,
01:08:37two paces
01:08:38to the doorway.
01:08:41He doesn't make
01:08:42a sound.
01:08:44But when Larela
01:08:45turns back
01:08:45to keep playing,
01:08:46his hand finds mine.
01:08:51That night,
01:08:53after Larela
01:08:53falls asleep,
01:08:54I sit alone
01:08:55at that piano.
01:08:56I play the lullaby
01:08:58once through.
01:09:06Today is my marriage
01:09:07to Elias.
01:09:08No banquet.
01:09:10No media.
01:09:11Just us,
01:09:13taking Larela
01:09:13to the seaside estate.
01:09:15In the evening,
01:09:17Elias stands
01:09:18on the terrace.
01:09:19He pulls an envelope
01:09:21from his pocket.
01:09:24Here.
01:09:29What's this?
01:09:31A handwritten
01:09:32transfer of ownership.
01:09:34All Thorne family
01:09:35assets he acquired
01:09:36after the marriage
01:09:37transferred into
01:09:39my name and Larela's.
01:09:41I look at the figures.
01:09:43It's not about the money.
01:09:45He's telling me
01:09:47if one day
01:09:48he's no longer here.
01:09:50Nothing about Larela's
01:09:52and my life
01:09:52will ever be shaken.
01:09:55Come down!
01:09:56I finished drawing!
01:09:57She's shouting at us
01:09:58from the sand,
01:09:59pointing at a drawing
01:10:00on the beach.
01:10:01There are three
01:10:02stick figures on it.
01:10:04She's in the middle,
01:10:05I'm on the left,
01:10:06Elias on the right.
01:10:07Every stick figure
01:10:08is smiling.
01:10:09I stand on the terrace
01:10:10looking down.
01:10:12Elias beside me.
01:10:14The waves are loud,
01:10:16but I hear him
01:10:17laugh once.
01:10:19The photo of Larela's
01:10:20drawing gets framed,
01:10:22placed on top
01:10:23of my mother's
01:10:23old piano.
01:10:25I tell Larela,
01:10:26this is our
01:10:27family museum.
01:10:29Mother is gone,
01:10:30but her music
01:10:31is still here.
01:10:34Elias wraps his arm
01:10:36around my shoulder
01:10:36from behind.
01:10:37He doesn't say anything.
01:10:39His hand is steady.
01:10:43The sea wind
01:10:44rushes through the window
01:10:45and flips a page
01:10:46of the lullaby's
01:10:47sheet music.
01:10:50Larela runs over
01:10:51and presses it down
01:10:52with her palm.
01:10:54She glances down
01:10:55at the newly revealed
01:10:56page,
01:10:57then looks back
01:10:58at me,
01:10:59smiling.
01:11:03Sister,
01:11:04this page isn't
01:11:05notes.
01:11:06It's something
01:11:07Mother wrote to you.
01:11:08I walk over.
01:11:11On the back
01:11:12of one of the
01:11:12sheet music pages,
01:11:13it's not a staff.
01:11:14It's a single line
01:11:16of handwriting.
01:11:18Every letter
01:11:18is pressed deep
01:11:19into the paper,
01:11:20like she used
01:11:21all her strength
01:11:22to write it.
01:11:24Aurora,
01:11:25my dawn.
01:11:25It's a single line.
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