The room fell into a suffocating silence.
Emily felt as if the air had suddenly disappeared from her lungs.
"Project… Emily?" she repeated slowly.
The words sounded unreal.
Impossible.
Daniel rubbed his temple as if he wished he had never spoken.
Alexander, however, looked completely focused.
His sharp gaze moved between the metal badge and Emily.
"Explain," he said coldly.
Daniel hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"About fifteen years ago," he began, "there were rumors about a secret research program."
Emily's stomach tightened.
"What kind of research?"
Daniel exhaled slowly.
"Human research."
Emily felt a chill crawl down her spine.
Alexander's voice hardened.
"And you think Emily was part of it?"
Daniel nodded grimly.
"I think she was the center of it."
Emily shook her head immediately.
"No… that's not possible."
But even as she said the words, fragments of strange memories flickered in her mind.
Bright lights.
Cold metal instruments.
Voices whispering above her.
She pressed her fingers against her temples.
"I don't remember any of this."
Alexander stepped closer to her.
"That's because someone didn't want you to remember."
Emily looked up at him, her heart racing.
"You mean my memories were erased?"
Daniel nodded.
"It's possible."
Emily felt dizzy.
Why would anyone go to that extent just to erase her childhood memories?
Alexander studied the metal badge again.
"Project Emily," he murmured.
"Which means someone considered her an experiment."
Emily felt her stomach twist.
"I'm not an experiment."
Alexander's expression softened slightly as he looked at her.
"No," he said firmly.
"You're not."
But the badge in his hand suggested otherwise.
Just then, one of the guards entered the room again.
"Sir."
Alexander looked up.
"What now?"
"We checked the security cameras outside the mansion."
"And?"
The guard swallowed nervously.
"The intruder wasn't alone."
Emily's heart skipped.
"What do you mean?"
The guard held up a tablet.
"There were three people outside the property."
Alexander's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Three."
"Yes, sir."
The guard zoomed into the footage.
Even though the figures were blurry, one detail stood out clearly.
All three wore black clothing.
And on their sleeves—
The same symbol.
Emily's chest tightened.
"They're from the organization."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"That means they're getting desperate."
Alexander looked toward the broken window again.
"They took the photograph because it connects Emily to them."
Emily wrapped her arms around herself.
"So what happens now?"
Alexander's voice was calm but deadly.
"Now we find them."
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"You're planning to hunt them down?"
Alexander didn't hesitate.
"They broke into my house."
His eyes darkened.
"They threatened my wife."
Emily's heart fluttered slightly at his words.
Even in the middle of danger, hearing him call her that still felt strange.
But comforting.
Daniel shook his head.
"You don't understand how dangerous this organization is."
Alexander gave him a cold smile.
"They clearly don't understand how dangerous I am."
Before Daniel could respond—
Emily suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head.
She gasped and grabbed the edge of the desk.
"Emily?" Alexander said quickly.
Her vision blurred.
Suddenly—
Images flashed through her mind.
A white laboratory.
Bright lights shining down.
A man in a long coat speaking to someone behind a glass wall.
"She's the perfect subject."
Emily's breathing became uneven.
Another voice answered.
"But if the project fails—"
"It won't fail."
The man turned toward the glass.
And for a brief moment—
Emily saw his face clearly.
Her eyes widened in shock.
"No…"
The pain disappeared as quickly as it had come.
Alexander caught her before she could fall.
"What happened?"
Emily looked up at him, her face pale.
"I remembered something."
Daniel stepped closer immediately.
"What did you see?"
Emily swallowed.
"A laboratory."
Her hands trembled.
"And a man."
Alexander's voice dropped.
"What man?"
Emily's lips parted slowly.
"The man from the photograph."
Silence filled the room again.
But then Emily said something that made it even worse.
"He wasn't just visiting me."
Alexander frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Emily looked down at the badge in his hand.
Her voice barely came out.
"He was the one running the experiment."
Daniel froze.
Alexander's expression turned dangerously cold.
"Do you remember his name?"
Emily hesitated.
Fragments of the memory were still unclear.
But one word echoed in her mind.
She whispered it slowly.
"Dr. Adrian Voss."
The moment the name left her lips—
Daniel's face turned pale.
Alexander noticed immediately.
"You know that name."
Daniel nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Emily's heart pounded.
"Who is he?"
Daniel looked at both of them with a grim expression.
"Dr. Adrian Voss was the lead scientist of the organization."
Emily felt dread crawl into her chest.
"But that's not the worst part."
Alexander's voice hardened.
"Then say it."
Daniel swallowed.
"He was declared dead… ten years ago."
Emily felt the room spin.
"Declared dead?"
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
Alexander's eyes darkened.
"But if he's dead…"
He looked at the broken window.
"…then who has been watching Emily all these years?"
Before anyone could answer—
The lights in the room suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Emily's heart jumped.
"What just happened?"
Alexander's voice cut through the darkness.
"Stay close to me."
Then suddenly—
A voice echoed from somewhere inside the mansion.
Cold.
Familiar.
"You finally remembered me, Emily."