ログインThe ground shook again.Dust fell from the ceiling. The lights flickered. Someone above us was screaming. Anya's voice. Desperate. Loud."Anya," I said. "We need to go up."Rex grabbed my arm. His grip was tight. "No. It is too dangerous.""Anya is up there. Her team is up there. We cannot leave them.""You cannot help them if you are dead."I pulled my arm free. "I am not going to hide down here while they fight for us."Katerina stepped forward. A gun in her hand. "She is right. We need to help."Elena grabbed my other arm. Her fingers dug into my skin. "Mira, listen to him. You are the one they want. If they get you, everything is lost.""I do not care.""You should."I looked at her. At her green eyes. At my eyes."Anna would not hide."Elena's face went pale. "Anna is dead.""Because she hid. She ran. She let Victor control her."Elena stared at me. "This is not the same.""It is exactly the same."Rex walked to the staircase. His hand was on his gun. "I will go up. The rest of y
The cabin was silent.My grandmother stood in the doorway. Her gray hair was pulled back. Her cold eyes swept across the room. She looked at Rex. At Elena. At Katerina. At Lin. At Anya and her team.Then she looked at me."Mira," she said. "You look just like her.""Anna?""Yes. The same eyes. The same stubborn chin. The same fire.""Why are you here?"She stepped inside. No one stopped her."I am here to warn you.""Warn me about what?""About what is coming."She walked to the fireplace. Held her hands out to the warmth."Drake is dead. I killed him myself."My heart stopped. "You killed him?""He was going to betray me. Give you everything. Tell you all my secrets. I could not allow that."Rex stepped forward. "You have been the one pulling the strings?""I have been the one funding the program. Paying for the children. Building the empire. Victor was just a puppet. Drake was just a soldier. I am the queen."Catherine stood up. Her face was white. "Mother?"My grandmother turned. "
The farmhouse was cold. I stood by the window. The fields stretched into darkness. Anya's team was outside. Circling. Watching. Waiting. Rex stood behind me. His hand was on my back. "You should sleep," he said. "I cannot." "You need to rest." "So do you." He pulled me close. "I will rest when this is over." "When will that be?" "I do not know." I leaned into him. "What if it never ends?" "Then we keep fighting." "Forever?" "If that is what it takes." I closed my eyes. Listened to his heartbeat. Anya walked into the room. Her face was hard. "We have a problem." I turned. "What?" "One of my men found this. In the woods. Near the road." She held up a photograph. A woman. Young. Dark hair. Green eyes. Anna. "Where did this come from?" "I do not know. But someone left it there. Deliberately." Rex took the photograph. Turned it over. Writing on the back. She was the first. You are the last. - D. "Drake," I said. "Yes." "He is here." "Apparently." "How did he f
The flashlight moved closer.I grabbed Rex's arm. "How many?"He peered through the window. "One. Maybe two.""Drake?""Too small. Drake is taller."Catherine moved behind us. Her voice was a whisper. "Who else knows about this place?""No one," Elena said. "Marcus built it. Only he knew.""Marcus is dead.""Then someone he told."Lin closed her laptop. Packed it in her bag. "We need to leave. Now.""No," I said. "We stay. We find out who it is.""Mira..."I held up my hand. "If they wanted to kill us, they would have done it already. They are waiting. Watching. They want something.""What?""I do not know. But I am going to find out."I walked to the door.Rex grabbed my arm. "You are not going out there alone.""Then come with me.""Together.""Together."We walked out the door.The night was cold. The fog was thick. The flashlight was still in the trees. Not moving. Waiting.I walked toward it."Mira," Rex whispered. "Be careful.""I am always careful.""You are never careful."I a
The study was crowded.Rex sat behind his desk. The box of files was open in front of him. Catherine stood by the window, her arms crossed, her face pale. Elena sat on the couch, her hands folded in her lap. Lin was in the corner, her face pale, her hands shaking. Isabella was not there. She was locked in her room. Again.I stood by the door. Watching. Waiting."Open the first file," I said.Rex pulled out a folder. Thick. Old. The paper was yellowed. The edges were frayed."Victor Marchetti," Rex said. His voice was flat. "My father. Original investor. Paid five million dollars into the program."Catherine turned from the window. "Five million?""Five million. In exchange for... what?"I walked to the desk. Looked at the file. At the photographs. At the handwritten notes."In exchange for a child. A perfect child. With green eyes. With intelligence. With loyalty."Rex slammed the file shut. "He used me. He used all of us.""He was not the only one."Rex opened the next file. His hand
The basement was empty.The chains were cut. The chair was overturned. The note was still taped to the wall. Did you really think it would be that easy? - D.Rex pulled the note off the wall. Stared at it."He was never here."I shook my head. "We watched Lin chain him. We watched her lock the door.""Then Lin is involved.""Or someone helped him escape."Rex walked to the door. Examined the lock. "No signs of forced entry.""Then someone used a key.""Who has keys to the basement?""Everyone. Catherine. Elena. Mrs. Park. Lin. You. Me."Rex turned to me. "And Isabella.""Isabella is locked in her room.""She was locked in her room. We do not know if she is still there."We ran up the stairs.Isabella's door was open.The room was empty. The window was open. The sheets were tied together and hanging out the window.Rex looked down at the garden. "She is gone.""We need to find her.""She could be anywhere."I grabbed my phone. Called Lin.No answer.I called again.No answer."Lin is n







