Darkness swallowed the entire room.
For a moment, no one moved.
Emily could hear her own heartbeat pounding loudly in her ears.
Then
Footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Deliberate.
They echoed somewhere in the mansion's hallway.
Emily instinctively moved closer to Alexander.
"Did you hear that?" she whispered.
Alexander's voice was calm but tense.
"Yes."
Daniel cursed under his breath.
"This can't be happening."
Suddenly the emergency lights flickered on.
Dim red lights filled the corridor outside the study.
Just enough to see shadows moving along the walls.
Alexander turned to the guards immediately.
"Secure the house. Now."
"Yes, sir!"
The guards rushed out, weapons ready.
Emily grabbed Alexander's sleeve.
"That voice… I've heard it before."
Alexander looked down at her.
"You're sure?"
Emily nodded slowly.
"It's the same voice from the archive room."
Daniel frowned.
"That means the person behind everything is here."
Alexander's eyes darkened dangerously.
"Good."
Daniel looked at him in disbelief.
"Good?"
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"If he's here… he can't run forever."
Before Daniel could argue
A voice echoed through the mansion again.
This time clearer.
And much closer.
"Alexander Knight."
Emily felt her blood run cold.
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
"Show yourself."
The voice chuckled softly.
"You always were impatient."
The sound seemed to come from the main hall downstairs.
Alexander turned toward the door.
"Stay behind me," he told Emily.
She wanted to argue.
But something about the situation made her stay silent.
They moved quickly through the hallway.
The mansion felt eerily empty.
Most of the lights were still off.
Only the red emergency lamps illuminated their path.
As they reached the top of the staircase—
Emily froze.
Someone was standing in the main hall.
A tall figure dressed in black.
His face hidden in shadow.
Daniel's voice dropped to a whisper.
"That's him."
Alexander slowly descended the stairs.
Each step echoed loudly in the silent mansion.
"Dr. Adrian Voss," he said coldly.
The man in black smiled.
"Yes."
Emily's heart nearly stopped.
Because the moment the man stepped forward...
The light revealed his face.
He looked exactly like the man from the photograph.
Not older.
Not different.
Exactly the same.
Emily felt dizzy.
"That's impossible," she whispered.
"You were supposed to be dead."
Dr. Adrian Voss laughed softly.
"Death can be… flexible."
Alexander stopped a few steps away from him.
"You broke into my house."
Voss tilted his head slightly.
"I came to retrieve something that belongs to me."
Alexander's voice turned dangerously quiet.
"And what would that be?"
Voss slowly lifted his gaze.
And looked directly at Emily.
"Her."
The word echoed like a gunshot.
Alexander immediately stepped in front of Emily.
"You're not touching her."
Voss smiled calmly.
"That's where you're wrong."
Emily's heart pounded violently.
"Why me?" she demanded.
"What did you do to me?"
For a moment, Voss simply studied her.
Almost like a scientist examining an experiment.
Then he spoke.
"You were my greatest achievement."
Emily felt her stomach twist.
"I'm not an experiment!"
Voss chuckled.
"You were designed to be much more than a normal human."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"What are you talking about?"
But Voss ignored him.
His eyes never left Emily.
"Tell me, Emily… have you noticed anything strange lately?"
Her breath caught.
"Strange?"
"Yes."
He took a step closer.
"Headaches."
Emily froze.
"Memories that suddenly appear."
Her hands began to tremble.
"How do you know that?"
Voss smiled again.
"Because I created the process."
Alexander's patience snapped.
"Enough."
He grabbed Voss by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
"If you say one more word about her—"
Voss didn't look scared.
Instead…
He laughed.
A calm, confident laugh.
"You really think you're protecting her?"
Alexander's grip tightened.
"What does that mean?"
Voss leaned closer.
"Alexander Knight…"
His voice lowered.
"You're the one who activated her."
The words hit the room like a bomb.
Emily frowned.
"Activated?"
Alexander's expression hardened.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Voss smiled darkly.
"The moment she married you… the project restarted."
Emily felt cold fear spread through her chest.
"Project Emily was never finished."
Daniel stepped forward slowly.
"You're insane."
Voss shook his head.
"No."
His gaze returned to Emily.
"She's finally becoming what she was meant to be."
Emily's head suddenly throbbed again.
Sharp.
Painful.
Images flashed violently in her mind.
Machines.
Doctors.
Screaming alarms.
Then—
Her vision blurred.
And she saw something terrifying.
Herself.
Standing inside the laboratory.
But everything around her was broken.
Destroyed.
As if an explosion had happened.
Emily gasped and grabbed Alexander's arm.
"I remember something."
Alexander immediately turned to her.
"What?"
Her voice shook.
"That night… the laboratory…"
Daniel leaned closer.
"What about it?"
Emily's eyes widened slowly.
"I didn't escape."
The words barely left her lips.
Alexander frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Emily looked toward Dr. Voss.
Fear filling her eyes.
"I destroyed it."
Silence filled the mansion.
Dr. Voss smiled.
Proudly.
"Yes," he said softly.
"You did."
Alexander's voice turned ice cold.
"Why would she destroy your laboratory?"
Voss's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Because the experiment worked."
Emily felt her knees weaken.
"What experiment?"
Voss whispered the answer.
"The one that turned you into the most powerful weapon we've ever created."
Emily's heart nearly stopped.
But what he said next was even worse.
"And the most dangerous part…"
His smile widened.
"…is that you still haven't discovered what you're capable of."