LOGINCameron POVMy father’s laughter followed me through the corridor.It was the kind of laugh that made my skin crawl because there was no happiness in it.There was only certainty.As if everything happening around us had been planned long before any of us realized we were trapped inside his game.“The person I loved?” I repeated.Evan nodded.Brandon looked at me.I could see the same question in his eyes.“What does that mean?” I asked.Evan glanced toward my father.“It means the final archive wasn’t protected by a password.”I frowned.“Then what was it protected by?”“A choice.”My heart sank.“What choice?”Evan looked directly at Brandon.“You had to choose him.”I stared at Brandon.“I don’t understand.”“You weren’t supposed to access the archive by remembering a password,” Evan explained. “You were supposed to access it by remembering why you created it.”My father’s laughter stopped.“Enough.”Victor raised his gun.“Everyone move.”We hurried down the corridor.I could hear
Cameron POVFor several seconds, I could not move.I could barely breathe.The man standing across from me had my face.My eyes.My mouth.Even the small scar above my eyebrow.It felt like I was staring into a mirror that had somehow stepped out of the wall and learned how to breathe.Brandon moved in front of me.“Stay behind me.”The stranger laughed softly.“You still do that.”Brandon froze.“What?”“You always protect him.”The way he said it made my stomach twist.He knew Brandon.Not from stories.Not from photographs.He knew him.I stepped around Brandon.“Who are you?”The stranger looked at me.“You already know.”“No.”“Yes, you do.”He pointed toward my head.“You just haven’t reached the memory yet.”My father walked into the room behind him.“Enough.”I turned toward him.“You created him.”My father smiled.“I created many things.”“You created another me.”“No.”He looked at the stranger.“He created himself.”The stranger’s expression hardened.“That is not what you
Cameron POVThe lights went out.For a moment, I could not see anything.I could hear everyone breathing around me, the scrape of shoes against the floor, and somewhere in the darkness, the sharp sound of someone cocking a gun.“Everybody stay where you are!” Daniel shouted.My heart slammed against my ribs.Then I heard Brandon.“Cameron!”“I’m here!”I reached out blindly, desperate to find him.My fingers caught his hand.He pulled me toward him immediately, and I grabbed his shirt with both hands as if letting go would make him disappear again.“I’ve got you,” he whispered.“I know.”But I did not know.Nothing made sense anymore.My memories were not mine.My father had built Project Heir.Victor had erased memories.Adrian had been forced to help.And somehow, I had spent years believing things that might never have happened.Then a gunshot exploded in the darkness.I screamed.Brandon pulled me down.Another shot followed.Someone shouted.“Move!”Footsteps rushed across the ro
Cameron POVI stared at the phone.Then I looked at my father.He was smiling.Not the angry smile I had seen before.Not the cruel one.This was different.It was the smile of someone who had finally stopped pretending.“You,” I whispered.My father tilted his head.“Yes.”The word seemed to echo around the underground room.“You created Project Heir.”“Yes.”Amelia stepped backward.“No.”My father looked at her.“You always were the emotional one.”“You told me I was dead.”“I needed you to disappear.”“You burned our house.”“I needed everyone to believe you were gone.”Amelia’s face crumpled.“You ruined our family.”He shrugged.“Your grandfather ruined it long before I did.”Grandfather stepped forward.“Enough.”My father laughed.“You still think you can command me?”“I raised you.”“And you made me exactly what you wanted.”Victor suddenly spoke.“That’s not true.”My father turned toward him.“You of all people should know it is.”Victor’s face was hard.“You were never mea
Cameron POVFor several seconds, I could not look at Victor.My father’s words kept repeating inside my head.“It was him.”Victor had ordered Brandon’s shooting.Victor had planned the memory loss.Victor had told me to trust him.I felt Brandon’s hand still wrapped around mine, but suddenly I was afraid to move.“Is it true?” I asked.Victor didn’t answer.That silence was enough to make my stomach drop.“Victor.”He finally looked at me.“Yes.”My heart stopped.“You ordered it?”“Yes.”Brandon stepped forward.“Cameron, wait.”I pulled my hand away from his.“No.”He stared at me.“You knew?”“I knew he arranged the shooting.”My eyes widened.“You knew?”“I knew enough.”I laughed, but there was nothing funny about it.“Everyone knew.”Nobody spoke.“Everyone knew except me.”My voice cracked.“I was the only person who didn’t know what happened to my own life.”Victor’s expression remained calm, but there was pain in his eyes.“I did what you asked me to do.”“No.”I shook my he
CameronFor one terrifying second, nobody moved.Daniel’s gun remained pointed directly at Brandon, and I could hear my own heartbeat pounding so loudly that it almost drowned out everything else in the room.My father stood beside him with a cold expression.But Daniel looked different.He looked tired.Not angry.Not triumphant.Just tired.“Put the gun down,” I said.Daniel’s eyes moved toward me.“I can’t do that.”“You can.”“No, Cameron.”His voice was soft.Almost apologetic.“That is exactly what I couldn’t do that night.”My stomach twisted.“What does that mean?”My father laughed quietly.“You still don’t understand.”I looked at him.“You’ve spent years making me believe things that weren’t true.”His smile disappeared.“You were always difficult.”“I’m not talking to you.”My father stepped forward.“Cameron—”“Don’t.”I raised the photograph.“You lied about Brandon.”His jaw tightened.“You lied about Amelia.”His expression changed.“You lied about the fire.”I took an
BRANDON’S POVPhase Five didn’t come with a text.It came with silence.No messages.No threats.No anonymous numbers lighting up Cameron’s phone.Just… nothing.And somehow, that was worse.I noticed it first the next morning. Cameron sat on the edge of the bed at my cousin’s apartment, scrolling
CAMERON’S POVPhase Four didn’t announce itself.It just showed up in my inbox at 9:07 a.m. with the subject line:MANDATORY DISCIPLINARY MEETING.My hands went cold.I stared at the screen for a full minute before Brandon noticed something was wrong.“Cam?” he said. “You look like you’re about to
BRANDON’S POVThe moment Cameron let go of me, I realized my hands were shaking.Not from fear—okay, maybe a little—but mostly from the adrenaline crash that hit all at once, like my body finally remembered it was allowed to feel things again.“You okay?” Cameron asked, eyes scanning my face like h
BRANDON’S POV The darkness wasn’t silent.That was the worst part.There was this low, mechanical hum under the floor, vibrating through the soles of my shoes, through my bones, through Cameron’s grip on my arm. And beneath that hum was something else. Something light. Something soft.Footsteps.S







