They take a Delta flight back to Richmond. Elena is grateful Damon is beside her. She reclines the seat and closes her eyes. In her mind, she replays every detail of her meeting with Greta Sienna. Her emotions are a roller-coaster ride, going from one extreme to another.
Anger at her father.
Anger at Greta.
Jealousy that there was another daughter whom her father loved.
Curiosity about Katherine.
She was her half-sister.
Her mirror-image.
Elena will never know her.
Her father had two families. Why weren't she and her mother enough for him? How could he sleep with her mother and then fly to New Mexico to sleep with Greta? Elena has so many questions that she'll likely never have any answers for.
Mostly she's angry that her father stole her blood and if Greta is to be believed, he created Katherine from Elena's DNA.
The plane's bar service begins. Damon orders a bourbon, and she asks for a glass of wine and sips it slowly. She glances to one side, giving Damon a grateful smile. He chased her down yesterday after the astounding news her father was a literal Victor Frankenstein.
She glances back at Greta who's standing in the doorway. Elena's eyes are wide with disbelief.
Dust swirls in the air as Damon sprints after her.
"Why didn't he tell me?" Elena asks, voice trembling.
"We don't know the whole story!" Damon calls after her breathlessly.
Elena's footsteps falter, but she doesn't stop. The road stretches ahead, barren and unforgiving.
"My father… he used my blood. To create a clone. He duplicated me. How could he? How dare he?" Elena is angry. "Katherine was me. It's like a piece of me is dead now, too. How could my father open Pandora's Box like that? I don't know if I can ever forgive him."
Damon reaches for her, his fingers brushing her shoulder. "I'm not going to defend him... I can't fathom any explanation."
Tears mix with the dust on Elena's cheeks. "What if I'm a clone, too?"
"Elena, look at me. You're real. You're here. And I love you, no matter what."
She hesitates, torn between anger and longing. "What do we do now?"
"If your father is dead, I don't know what we can do other than comb through his papers, computer data, and whatever else we might find."
Elena glances back once more, at the fading silhouette of Greta.
"I love you, Damon. I don't want to lose you."
"Never," Damon assures her as he pulls her close and wraps his arms around her.
The plane's wheels touch down with a gentle thud. Elena's hand finds Damon's, their fingers intertwining. They follow the stream of passengers, their footsteps echoing on the linoleum floor. Signs direct them toward baggage claim, but they head to the exit.
Outside, the sun hangs low, casting long shadows across the tarmac. They walk briskly, eager to retrieve their car from the long-term parking lot.
The parking shuttle arrives, its doors hissing open. They climb aboard, the driver nodding as they settle into their seats. The shuttle winds through the airport grounds, past rows of parked cars—some dusty, others gleaming in the afternoon light.
At the long-term parking area, they step onto the pavement. Damon scans the rows, squinting against the sun. "There it is," he said, pointing to her Jeep.
As they drive out of the lot, Damon adjusts the air conditioning. Richmond unfolds before them—the James River shimmering to their left, historic buildings rising on the right. Damon navigates the streets, following the GPS to the Interstate for the drive back to Mystic Falls.
Elena leans back, her fingers tapping the dashboard. "Feels surreal," she says. "How do I tell my Mother what he did?"
Damon reaches over and squeezes Elena's hand. "We'll do it together."
He merges onto the Interstate, the city skyline receding in the rearview mirror. Elena glances at Damon—the man she's chosen to spend her life with. The road stretches ahead, a ribbon of possibility. As he drives toward Mystic Falls, Elena glances at him. She loves him more than she can even articulate.
As the sun dips lower, casting warm hues across the landscape, Elena knows—they are exactly where they're meant to be. Together.
Elena sits on the couch with Damon beside her. "There's something I need to tell you."
"What?" Miranda asks in shock.
"Dad had another family with that woman. A secret life." Elena holds back tears. "And that's not all..." She smiles gratefully when Damon squeezes her hand in support.
"What is it, Elena?"
Elena gathers her courage. "The murdered girl—the one who looks exactly like me—she was my half-sister. If we are to believe Greta Sienna, Dad created Katherine with my blood. She was a clone."
Miranda stares horrified. "A clone? But how?"
"Somehow Dad mastered clone technology. Katherine was the result. A living, breathing copy of my DNA."
"Oh, my God. I never had any idea he was dabbling with something so unethical."
"I know. My father was Frankenstein. I don't know how to come to terms with that. And learning that I had a half-sister who was created from me...I'm real, aren't I?" Elena asks, almost afraid of the answer.
Miranda reaches for her daughter's hand. "Yes. Yes. Yes, Elena. You were conceived on a trip your father and I took to the Bahamas. Please don't ever think that you were made in a lab."
Elena sighs in relief.
"We need to find his research and burn it. I will not be complicit in this insanity," Miranda states firmly.
As a doctor, Damon has mixed feelings about destroying such breakthroughs and important research but remains quiet...for now.
Elena leans into Damon's side as the room echoes with the weight of the revelation.
It's been an emotionally taxing few days, and although Damon needs to be with Elena, he couldn't say no when Stefan and Caroline asked to drop Hudson off for the weekend again.
Stefan's job requires a lot of travel and Blondie tags along when Damon is agreeable to babysitting.
Damon parks the car, and they walk gingerly toward the Gilbert property. "Uncle Damon, you hide by the bushes. I'll go around the back and bang on the window. It'll be fun."
"Hudson, I don't think that's a good idea. Elena's been through a lot, lately."
"She won't get mad. I bet she'll laugh, too."
"Alright, just don't scare her too much, okay."
Hudson bobs his head excitedly and races around to the back of the house. The dining room shades are up. He can see Elena sitting at the table and holding a notebook.
He steps between two trees and begins to flail his arms. One hand goes back, landing on a person. Whirling his head around, Hudson sees a man's silhouette crouching behind him, the ranch's pole light reflects off his cellphone.
He's pushed to the ground violently. Screaming, Hudson scrambles to his feet and runs toward the house.
Damon laughs. Hudson sounds genuinely scared but as the terror-filled wail continues, he senses something is wrong. He races across the lawn and behind the house with a burst of speed.
Hearing screams, Elena rushes to the back door and yanks it open. She reaches for Hudson as he stumbles inside and falls into her arms, sobbing in terror.
Damon rushes into the house where he finds Elena rocking his nephew back and forth, soothing him. "Hudson, it's okay. It's okay," she keeps repeating.
It takes several minutes before Hudson calms down enough to explain. "There was a man with a cellphone. He shoved me down." Hudson points to the cheek abrasion he got when he was shoved to the ground hard.
"I'll go look around."
"Wait, Damon. I'll get you a flashlight," Elena says and rushes to the desk drawer to pull one out.
Damon goes outside and begins moving the beam back and forth over the ground. He doesn't have to go far. Only a few feet from the back porch he finds a cigarette still burning.
He doesn't want to touch it; it'll contaminate any DNA. He snaps a photo so he can retrieve it later. Although futile, he looks around a little more. From where he's standing he can see Elena and Hudson.
Someone had been there, watching and taking pictures of Elena. Why?
Damon thinks of Elena's dead ringer in the morgue. A frisson of fear shoots through him and he hurries back across the lawn to the house.
"That damn kid!" Aaron mutters angrily as he runs through the woods to his car. He hurriedly tosses his phone in the passenger seat and makes his escape.
Aaron is enraged. He'd been enjoying watching Elena through his iPhone camera.
He feels tingly just thinking about it.
To watch Elena, her hands, her hair...
Damon dials the police. Fifteen minutes later a squad car is at the house.
"Hey there, Hudson," Liz begins, her voice gentle but firm. "I know this is scary, but we need your help. Can you tell me anything about the man who grabbed you?"
The boy shifts, his gaze darting to the window. "I-I don't know," Hudson stammers. "It was dark, and I bumped into him. He smelled bad."
Liz nods, jotting down notes on a yellow legal pad. "Good, good. Anything else? Did he say anything or have any distinguishing features? I mean like a scar, missing finger, or anything that made him stand out?"
"I didn't see anything. It was too dark," he whispers.
The sheriff's heart clenches. "Did he hurt you, son?"
Hudson points to the abrasion on his cheek. "He shoved me down and ran away."
Liz pats the boy's shoulder. "You're a brave boy. We'll catch this guy, I promise." She rises to leave.
"I'll walk you out," Damon nods at Elena and follows Liz.
The first thing Damon does is give the baggie with the cigarette butt to Liz. "It had to be from him. The end was still burning when I found it."
Liz pockets the baggie. "This should help a lot."
"I hope so. But listen, Liz. I'm worried about Elena. What if this was the same guy that killed Elena's look-alike by mistake? Can you have someone surveil the house?"
"I considered that, too," Liz remarks as she slides behind the wheel. "I'll have someone trail Elena surreptitiously. She'll never agree to it."
"I know. She's stubborn..." Damon drops his eyes for a moment. "I love her, Liz. I won't let anything happen to her, no matter what it takes."
"I know you do. I need to get this to the lab. Goodnight, Damon."
Damon watches her drive away before going back into the house.
Stefan and Caroline hurry up the path to Elena's house. Their hearts race, fueled by parental panic and concern. The news is cryptic—a phone call from Damon, stating that Hudson has been attacked.
The front door swing opens, revealing Damon. "He's in the living room and he's fine. I don't know who's after Elena and I don't want Hudson caught in the crossfire," he explains.
Caroline rushes to him, her fingers brushing against the fresh abrasion on his cheek. "Hudson, sweetheart," she whispers. "What happened?"
"I wanted to have fun with Elena. I was going to scare her when he—he...he pushed me down and ran away."
Stefan clenches his fists, rage boiling within him. "Did you see his face? Did you recognize him?"
Hudson shakes his head. "It was too dark."
Stefan's gaze shifts to Damon. "Did you call the police?"
It takes all of Damon's willpower not to roll his eyes. "Yes, Stefan. I found a lit cigarette and gave it to Liz for a DNA check. If he's in the system, he'll be found," Damon informs them.
"Thanks for watching out for him, Damon," Caroline rises on her tiptoes and kisses his cheek. "Where's Elena?"
"She's upstairs with Miranda."
"Tell her hello," Caroline says as she steps over the threshold.
Damon follows. "I will."
Outside, the evening shadows lengthen.
Stefan holds Caroline's hand, their fingers entwining. They walk back to their car, Hudson between them.
"Can I come again, Uncle Damon?"
"Of course. As soon as Sheriff Forbes finds out who did this to you. I need you to be safe."
Hudson runs to Damon to hug him before climbing into the backseat and snapping his seat belts. He calls, "bye" as Stefan backs out of the driveway.
Damon waves as he watches the car disappear at the corner.
"Elena, don't be mad, but I talked to Liz. They're going to keep an eye on the house and check the woods regularly as well watching you," Damon tells her.
"Damon, you know how I feel about that," Elena huffs.
Miranda's control snaps. "Elena, I'm frightened for you."
"Mom, I don't know what's going on but if it makes you feel better, I won't tell Liz to back off...yet. But for now, the alarm is set, isn't it?"
"Yes. Damon made sure it's in working order."
Rather than argue with Damon about surveillance, she plops beside him on the couch. "Then we might as well watch a movie. I need some laughter."
Aaron is perched high on a sturdy tree branch at the edge of the Gilbert property. He has his camera with the telescopic lens ready and begins recording when what he thinks is a bedroom light comes on. He rubs his erection as Elena unbuttons her blouse.
Then his pleasure turns to rage when a man comes behind Elena and cups her breasts.
Aaron's heart pounds a primal rhythm, matching the rage within him.
She is his.
Aaron's fists clench involuntarily.
Who the hell is he?
What right does he have to touch her, to make her smile like that?
Lost in a red haze, Aaron tastes only salt and fury.
Thank you, everyone!
Chapter title: 'Have I not suffered enough, that you seek to increase my misery?' ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
I saw Twisters with my son. It was good and I read the soundtrack is climbing the charts. I can't say I liked it better than the original, though.
I hope you all have a great day!