LOGINThe ground shook again.Amelia screamed as Damian pulled her against him.“Hold on!”The floor beneath them cracked.A violent tremor ripped through the chamber, sending equipment crashing against the walls.The baby in Amelia's arms began crying.“It's okay,” she whispered desperately. “Mommy's here.”The moment she said it, the crying stopped.Damian looked at her.Then at the baby.Another tremor came.This one was stronger.A section of the floor collapsed.Adrian grabbed the edge of the doorway.“WE HAVE TO MOVE!”The seven children immediately began running toward the exit.“Amelia!”Damian reached for her.She clutched the baby tighter.“I have him!”“I know. Move!”They ran.Behind them, the chamber exploded into darkness.Something enormous moved beneath the laboratory.A deep metallic groan travelled through the walls.Then came a sound that didn't belong to any machine.A heartbeat.Slow.Massive.THUMP.Amelia stopped.THUMP.The baby in her arms opened his eyes.THUMP.Hi
The cry came again.Small.Frightened.But unmistakably real.Amelia's entire body went rigid.“Did you hear that?”Damian nodded.“I heard it.”Another cry echoed through the underground facility.This time, louder.Closer.Amelia looked toward the floor.“There's a child down there.”Adrian was already working at the terminal.“I'm trying to locate the source.”The first Subject stepped toward him.“Stop.”Adrian looked up.“Why?”“Because the system wants you to find it.”Damian's eyes narrowed.“Meaning?”The boy pointed at the screen.“The Curator knows exactly what we're going to do.”A third cry echoed through the walls.Amelia couldn't stay still.“We're going.”Damian caught her hand.“Wait.”“No.”“Amelia—”“That is a child crying down there.”Her eyes filled with tears.“I don't care what trap they prepared. I'm not going to stand here and listen.”The seven children exchanged glances.The oldest finally nodded.“There is another way.”He walked toward the far wall.“There
Amelia couldn't breathe.The words remained on the screen.MOTHER AND CHILD: REUNITED.Her eyes were fixed on the little girl.Dark hair.Small face.Those eyes.Her eyes.“No,” Amelia whispered.Damian stood beside her.He didn't speak.He couldn't.The entire room had gone silent.Even Alexander looked as though the world had just collapsed around him.Amelia turned slowly toward him.“Dad.”Alexander didn't answer.“Tell me she's lying.”His lips parted.Nothing came out.“Dad!”“I don't know.”“You don't know?”Amelia's voice cracked.“You knew about Anastasia. You knew about the Archive. You knew about the laboratory. You knew they took me.”She pointed toward the screen.“And now there's a child calling me her mother.”Alexander looked at the little girl.His eyes filled with tears.“I thought she was dead.”Amelia froze.“You knew about her?”Alexander closed his eyes.“Yes.”Damian's head snapped toward him.“You knew Amelia had a child?”Alexander shook his head.“Not exactly
“Anastasia?”Amelia's voice broke.The room remained completely dark.For one terrifying second, there was nothing.No movement.No answer.Then the speakers crackled.“Yes.”Amelia covered her mouth.Her knees almost gave out.Damian caught her before she fell.“Amelia.”“She's alive.”Her voice trembled.“She said she's alive.”Alexander stared at the speakers as if they had become something impossible.“No.”Amelia looked at him.“You heard her.”“I know that voice.”Alexander's face had gone pale.“I know that voice.”The speakers crackled again.“Dad?”Alexander froze.That single word destroyed whatever composure he had left.He took a step forward.“Anastasia?”“Yes.”His eyes filled instantly.“My God.”He covered his face with one hand.“I thought you were dead.”“I was supposed to be.”The words sent a chill through the room.Damian looked toward the ceiling.“Where are you?”A pause.“I don't know.”Adrian stepped toward the terminal.“The signal is coming from somewhere be
The first gunshot tore through the laboratory.Amelia screamed.Damian pulled her down.“GET DOWN!”Bullets struck the metal wall behind them.Adrian fired back immediately.The seven children scattered with practiced precision, disappearing behind equipment and pillars as if they had rehearsed the movement a hundred times.Because they had.Damian dragged Amelia behind a reinforced steel table.“Are you hurt?”She shook her head.“My baby…”“She’s okay.”Another shot rang out.Damian looked over the edge of the table.There were at least fifteen armed men in the doorway.All dressed in black.No insignia.No identification.No hesitation.“They came prepared,” Adrian said from across the room.Clara fired twice.One of the men dropped.“Of course they did.”Alexander crouched beside Amelia.“We need to leave.”Amelia looked at him.“Who are they?”“You already know.”“No.”Her voice shook.“I remember a room. I remember the boy. I remember being taken.”She swallowed.“But I don't re
The eyes opened.Amelia froze.For several seconds, nobody moved.Nobody breathed.The figure behind the glass remained perfectly still, submerged in darkness.Only the faint glow from the laboratory illuminated the outline of a body inside the chamber.A child.Or at least, that was what Amelia thought at first.The boy standing beside the control panel stared at the chamber with an expression that was almost reverent.“He's awake,” he whispered.Damian stepped closer to Amelia.“Stay behind me.”Amelia barely heard him.Her eyes were fixed on the chamber.Something about the figure inside felt familiar.Not familiar in the way a face was familiar.It was something deeper.A sensation.A memory that didn't feel like a memory.Her stomach tightened.The baby moved again.Hard.Amelia gasped and placed a hand against her abdomen.The heartbeat from inside the chamber immediately accelerated.Thump.Thump.Thump.The machine began flashing red.Adrian looked at the readings.“That's not
The moment Amelia signed the papers, the ballroom erupted into whispers.Some people pitied her.Most enjoyed the spectacle.After all, scandals involving powerful families were entertainment for the rich.Amelia could practically feel their eyes burning into her skin as she placed the pen down car
The crystal chandeliers of the Grand Orion Hotel glowed above the crowd, casting gold across silk gowns and tailored suits. Laughter echoed through the ballroom, champagne glasses clinked softly, and cameras flashed toward the stage where the powerful elites of the city gathered.At the center of i
Damian Vale did not sleep that night.By three in the morning, the entire top floor of Vale Corporation remained brightly lit while executives and assistants moved nervously through the hallways like soldiers preparing for war.Nobody dared ask questions.Nobody dared mention Amelia.But everyone c
For one terrifying second, Damian thought he misheard.The noise of the ballroom faded into the background.“What did you say?”On the other end of the call, the hotel manager sounded nervous.“Mrs. Vale collapsed near the west entrance. Security said she nearly fainted in the rain.”Damian’s grip







