INICIAR SESIÓNThe explosion threw Elena against the tunnel wall.For a moment, there was nothing.No sound.No light.No sense of direction.Only pain.Her ears rang as dust filled the narrow passage. Somewhere beside her, her mother was coughing."Elena!""I'm here."Her own voice sounded distant.Marcus appeared through the smoke."Move!"Elena looked behind them.The tunnel entrance was burning.The old chapel was gone.Her eyes searched the smoke."Adrian."Her mother grabbed her arm."We have to go.""Adrian is still back there.""He made his choice."Elena pulled away."No."She looked at the burning passage."I won't leave him."Marcus stepped in front of her."Elena, the whole structure is collapsing.""I don't care.""You'll die."She stared at him."I already died."Marcus's expression softened."That doesn't mean you have to do it again."A deep rumble shook the tunnel.Pieces of stone fell from the ceiling.Her mother pulled Elena toward the opposite passage."Please."Elena resisted fo
Elena stared at Adrian.For a moment, she couldn't understand the words he had just spoken.Then they sank in."I was the one who killed you."The chapel seemed to grow colder.Her fingers slowly tightened around the edge of the pew beside her."You?"Adrian nodded."I killed you."Elena took a step backward."No.""I know what it sounds like.""It sounds like a lie.""I wish it was."Her mother stepped forward."Adrian, don't."He looked at her."You promised she would never find out this way.""I promised I would protect her.""And you failed."Elena looked between them."You both knew?"Neither answered.Her chest tightened."Everyone knew."Her voice cracked."Everyone except me."Adrian lowered his eyes."I'm sorry."Elena laughed bitterly."Sorry?"She stepped closer."You watched me die.""Yes.""You let them bring me back.""Yes.""You let me believe you were protecting me.""I was."Her eyes hardened."How?"Adrian looked at her."Because if I hadn't killed you that night, th
Elena stared at the message.I KNOW WHERE ADRIAN IS.Her fingers tightened around the phone.Then another message appeared.HE'S NOT DEAD.For several seconds, she couldn't breathe.Her mother watched her carefully."What does it say?"Elena didn't answer.She read the message again.Then a third message appeared.DON'T TRUST THE MAN WHO LOOKS LIKE HIM.Elena's heart dropped.She slowly raised her eyes."Mom."Her mother stepped closer."What?""Who sent this?""I don't know.""Can you trace it?"Her mother shook her head."Not from this phone."Elena looked at the screen."Then whoever sent it knew I'd receive it."Her mother nodded."Yes."A strange feeling settled in Elena's chest.The Observer was silent.For the first time since she had returned from death, she couldn't feel it.That should have comforted her.Instead, it frightened her.She had spent so long fighting the voice that she had forgotten what it felt like to be completely alone inside her own mind."Something's wrong
"He's already here."Elena stopped breathing.Her mother's voice had barely left the room when the lights went out completely.Darkness swallowed the hallway.For a few seconds, Elena couldn't see anything.She could only hear her mother's breathing.Fast.Uneven.Terrified.Then a second sound joined it.Footsteps.Slow.Measured.Coming from somewhere behind her mother.Elena's heart hammered against her ribs."Mom?""Elena, don't move."Her mother's voice trembled."Whatever you hear, don't move."Elena swallowed."Where is he?"A pause."Behind me."The footsteps stopped.Silence.Then a man's voice filled the darkness."She always was good at protecting you."Elena's blood ran cold.She knew that voice.Not personally.But from her memories.The same voice that had spoken through the screens.The Observer.Her uncle stepped forward."Show yourself."A quiet laugh answered him."You still give orders as if you own this place."A light flickered on at the end of the hallway.A man
"To take everything back."Elena stood perfectly still.The words echoed inside her mind long after the voice disappeared.She looked at the machine beneath her palm.The entire laboratory had gone silent.The countdown had stopped.The alarms were gone.Even the subjects who had been moving through the corridors were standing still.It was as if the entire building was waiting for her next decision.Adrian was the first to speak."Elena, step away from the console."She didn't move."Why?""Because we don't know what it will do."Elena looked at him."Neither do I."Her father approached slowly."That's exactly why you need to stop."She turned toward him."You spent years making decisions for me."Her voice was calm now."I'm done letting you."He stopped.The original Elena stood a few feet away, watching them.She looked tired.Almost fragile.But there was something in her eyes that made Elena uneasy.Recognition.Like she knew what was coming."Elena," she said softly.Elena tur
"Now you know who I am."Elena couldn't move.The voice was inside her head again.Clearer this time.Closer.Almost like someone was standing directly behind her and whispering into her ear.She looked around the dark laboratory.Nothing.Only the sound of alarms and the slow dripping of water from the shattered chamber.Adrian reached for her."Elena."She stepped away."Don't touch me."He stopped immediately.The words on the screen remained burned into her mind.ELENA VIRELLI IS NO LONGER THE SUBJECT.SHE IS THE OBSERVER.Elena stared at them."What does that mean?"Nobody answered.She looked at her father.He looked terrified.Not surprised.Terrified."You knew."He swallowed."I suspected.""That's not what I asked.""I didn't know it would happen this way."Elena laughed bitterly."Nothing ever happens the way you expect, does it?"Her father lowered his eyes."Elena...""No."She pointed toward the screen."Explain it.""It means the Observer has transferred its primary con







