chapter1285

Alyssa hesitated for a second, then nodded softly. "Okay. I'll stay at home tonight." Her voice sounded tired. The mix of alcohol and medicine made her eyelids heavy, and all she wanted now was to crash into bed and forget the world.

When they got back to the Reynolds family villa, Alyssa barely said a word. She just headed straight upstairs and disappeared into her room.

Adrian and Ivonne were still riding high from their anniversary. Adrian looked over at Peyton and smiled. "Peyton, it's late. You should get some sleep too. You've got school in the morning."

Peyton looked like she wanted to say something, but she stopped herself. Lydia's warning echoed in her head. Her "sister might not be asleep yet. If she told her parents now and something bad happened, it would blow up in their faces. So she just nodded. Okay, Dad. Goodnight, Mom. You guys should get some rest too."

"Goodnight."

The house was quiet, deep into the night.

Lydia, Connor, Juna, and Carter snuck quietly into the villa. Peyton was already waiting in the living room. As soon as she saw them, she hurried over. "Lydia, hi." Lydia gave a small nod.

Juna looked anxious. "Is she asleep?

Peyton nodded. "Yeah, she's out. I'll take you upstairs."

Even now, Peyton was still hoping, deep down, that the person asleep upstairs was really her sister, not some clone. She would rather this whole thing be a huge misunderstanding. She didn't want to think about her real sister being taken away to some place she couldn't even imagine.

They had just started climbing the stairs when Adrian came out, throwing a jacket over his shoulders. He stopped dead when he saw the group, his face filled with confusion and suspicion.

"Peyton, what's going on here? It's the middle of the night. Who are these people?"

His voice was stern, eyes trained on them. He recognized Lydia and Juna from the party earlier, but the two men were strangers. Connor was turned away, and Carter didn't look

familiar at all Still, from the they

carmed themselves, Adrian could teff they weren't just anybody. What were they all doing here at this hour?

Peyton took a steadying breath, trying to keep her voice calm. "Dad..."

"Adrian, I just asked you to get me a I glass of water. What are you up to out here? Ivonne stepped out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes. At first, grance she thought she'd wandered into someone else's house by mistake. Then she realized, no, this was definitely her home. But the scene in front of her didn't make sense at all.

"What's going on? Peyton, what are you all doing? Did something happen?" Ivonne looked genuinely baffled.

Peyton hesitated, feeling cornered. After a moment, she looked at her parents and said quietly, Dad, Mom, there's something I have to tell you. It's not easy to hear, but it's the truth."

She paused, eyes flicking from her shocked father to her stunned mother.

"My sister... Alyssa... she might be a clone."

Ivonne stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief. Her voice shook. "Peyton, what are you talking about? Are you overtired? Why would you say something so crazy? Alyssa grew up ight here. We watched her every

day. She is our daughter."

Adrian's face was tight with worry and anger. He knew what cloning was, but that was science fiction, not real life. Human cloning was banned everywhere. There was no way this could be happening.

"Peyton, this isn't funny. This is not something to joke about," he said, his voice hard.