The files stayed scattered across the floor, but Luna couldn't bring herself to look at them anymore.
Every page felt poisonous now.
Every word rewrote a part of her life she thought was real.
Ethan quietly gathered the documents back into the case while Adrian remained near the doorway, watching the storm outside. The tension between them had shifted again—not into trust, but into something more dangerous.
Shared understanding.
And Luna hated it.
Because it meant the nightmare was real.
She sat slowly against the edge of the storage wall, trying to steady her breathing. Her thoughts felt fragmented again, but not from confusion this time.
From overload.
Too much truth at once.
"You should've told me," she whispered suddenly.
Neither man answered immediately.
Luna looked up, her eyes stopping on Ethan first. "You knew something was wrong with me."
Ethan's expression tightened slightly. "I didn't know this much."
"But you suspected it."
Silence.
That silence hurt enough to become an answer.
Luna laughed weakly, shaking her head. "Amazing. Everyone in my life knew pieces of me except me."
"Luna—"
"No," she cut him off quietly. "Don't try to soften it."
Her voice wasn't angry anymore.
That was worse.
Because anger meant energy.
This felt empty.
Ethan stepped closer anyway, crouching in front of her. "I was trying to protect you."
"From what?" she asked. "The truth? Or myself?"
He didn't respond.
And that terrified her more than anything.
Because for the first time—
Ethan looked uncertain.
Not controlled.
Not calm.
Human.
Adrian suddenly spoke from behind them. "There's more."
Both of them looked at him instantly.
Luna frowned. "What do you mean?"
Adrian's eyes shifted toward the steel case. "You didn't open the bottom compartment."
Ethan immediately stood and checked the inside carefully. Hidden beneath the files was a second latch almost impossible to notice.
His expression darkened.
Then he opened it.
Inside—
there was only one folder.
Thin.
Black.
Different from the others.
On the front, a single word was written in red.
SUBJECT 0
A cold feeling ran through Luna immediately.
Ethan slowly opened the folder.
The first page contained almost nothing.
No reports.
No medical data.
Only a photograph.
A teenage boy.
Dark eyes.
Expression unreadable.
Luna's breath caught instantly.
Not because she recognized him—
but because something inside her did.
A feeling.
Sharp.
Familiar.
Dangerous.
Ethan's gaze narrowed slightly. "Who is this?"
Adrian answered quietly.
"The first successful subject."
Silence filled the room instantly.
Luna stared at the picture again.
The boy looked around seventeen, maybe eighteen. Calm expression. No visible emotion.
But his eyes—
felt wrong.
Too empty.
Ethan turned another page.
Then stopped.
His entire expression changed.
Luna noticed immediately. "What?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he handed her the file.
And the moment she read the next line—
her world stopped again.
Current Status: Missing
Last Known Identity: Ethan Carter
Her hands went numb.
The folder nearly slipped from her grasp.
Silence exploded around them.
Luna slowly lifted her eyes toward Ethan.
"…What?"
Ethan looked frozen.
Like even he hadn't expected this.
Adrian's expression remained unreadable. "Now you understand."
"No," Luna whispered immediately. "No, that's not possible."
She looked at Ethan again, her breathing uneven.
"This is fake."
But Ethan wasn't denying it.
And that—
terrified her.
"Ethan," her voice cracked slightly. "Say something."
He looked away first.
That single movement broke something inside her chest.
"…You knew," she whispered.
"It's not that simple," he said quietly.
Luna stood instantly. "Then explain it to me!"
Her voice echoed through the storage unit.
For the first time—
she looked genuinely betrayed.
Not confused.
Not afraid.
Hurt.
Ethan exhaled slowly, tension visible in every movement now. "I didn't remember everything."
"That's not an answer!"
"I found out years later," he admitted.
Silence.
Luna stared at him like she didn't recognize him anymore.
"You were part of this?"
His jaw tightened.
"Yes."
That single word destroyed the fragile trust between them instantly.
Luna stepped backward unconsciously.
"You lied to me."
"No," Ethan said firmly. "I hid it."
"That's worse!"
The pain in her voice hit harder than anger ever could.
Adrian stayed silent now, watching everything unfold carefully.
Because this—
was the moment he knew would happen eventually.
Luna looked at Ethan again, but this time her expression held something new.
Fear.
Not of herself.
Of him.
"You were there from the beginning…" she whispered.
Ethan moved toward her slightly. "Luna, listen to me—"
"Did you know me before the accident?"
Silence.
That silence answered everything.
Luna's heartbeat slammed painfully against her chest.
"…Oh my God."
Fragments crashed into her again.
Not memories.
Feelings.
Trust.
Warmth.
Arguments.
Hands pulling her away from danger.
A voice saying—
"You're not like them."
Her breathing became unstable.
"You knew me," she whispered.
Ethan looked at her quietly.
"Yes."
That truth shattered the last wall between them.
Luna stepped back again, shaking her head slowly.
"How much of this marriage was real?" she asked.
Ethan's expression changed instantly.
"All of it."
But now—
she didn't know whether to believe him anymore.
And that realization hurt both of them more than either wanted to admit.