The drive to the archive felt suffocating.
Rain hammered against the windshield while silence filled the car. Ethan's hands stayed tight on the steering wheel, his expression colder than Luna had ever seen before.
He hadn't said much after the call.
And somehow—
That scared her more.
Luna sat quietly beside him, trying to steady her breathing. Her thoughts refused to slow down.
Your file is gone.
The words repeated endlessly in her mind.
Not damaged.
Not lost.
Gone.
Which meant someone had taken it deliberately.
And if someone was trying that hard to erase her past…
Then whatever truth she was connected to had to be bigger than she imagined.
"You think Adrian did it?" she asked softly.
Ethan's eyes remained fixed on the road. "Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"He usually doesn't move this openly."
That answer only made her more uneasy.
Luna looked out the window again. The city lights blurred under the rain, distorted and distant. Everything lately felt distorted.
Her memories.
Her emotions.
Even Ethan.
Especially Ethan.
Because every new truth only created more questions between them.
"You said I disappeared," she said quietly.
Ethan's grip tightened slightly on the wheel.
"Yes."
"How long was I gone?"
Silence stretched for a few seconds before he answered.
"Almost a year."
Luna's chest tightened instantly.
A year.
An entire year erased from her life.
"And during that time… you looked for me?"
This time Ethan didn't answer immediately.
But she noticed the change in his expression.
Pain.
Real pain.
"Everywhere," he said finally.
Something about the way he said it made her heart ache unexpectedly.
Not dramatic.
Not exaggerated.
Just honest.
And somehow that honesty felt heavier than any confession.
Before Luna could respond, the car slowed.
Ahead of them stood a large gray building surrounded by security lights. The archive.
Even from outside, something felt wrong.
Two guards stood near the entrance speaking urgently to each other, and one of the side doors had been forced open.
Ethan parked immediately and stepped out.
Luna followed quickly despite the cold rain hitting her skin.
Inside, the building smelled like dust, paper, and tension.
People moved through the halls in a hurry while security alarms blinked silently overhead.
A middle-aged man rushed toward Ethan the moment he saw him.
"We checked the cameras," he said quickly. "But the system shut down for exactly seven minutes."
"Seven?" Ethan asked sharply.
The man nodded nervously. "Whoever did this knew exactly what they were looking for."
Luna felt a chill crawl down her spine.
Ethan's expression remained unreadable. "Show me."
The man led them down a long hallway toward a locked room at the back of the archive.
The moment Luna stepped inside—
Her breath caught.
Rows of metal shelves filled the room, covered with old files and labeled boxes.
But one section—
One entire section—
Was empty.
Like someone had carved a hole directly into the past.
"That's where your records were kept," Ethan said quietly.
Luna stared at the empty shelf.
A strange feeling hit her suddenly.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Her head started hurting again.
Small flashes flickered rapidly through her mind.
Dark shelves.
Cold air.
Her own hands moving quickly through files.
Searching.
Hiding.
Luna pressed a hand against her forehead.
"Luna?" Ethan stepped closer.
"I've been here before," she whispered.
The room went silent.
Ethan's expression sharpened instantly. "What?"
"I remember this place…"
Her breathing became uneven.
"I came here that night."
The pain intensified.
Another flash.
Rain-soaked clothes.
A security alarm.
Someone shouting behind her.
And then—
A voice.
Female.
Cold.
"Take only her file."
Luna froze completely.
That voice again.
Her voice.
But not hers.
Ethan noticed the sudden change in her face immediately. "What did you remember?"
Luna looked at him slowly, shaken.
"…Someone was with me."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
But even as she said it—
She knew that wasn't completely true.
Because deep down, she already feared the answer.
Another memory surfaced.
A shadow standing beside her in the archive.
Same height.
Same eyes.
Same face.
Luna stumbled back slightly.
"No…"
Ethan caught her arm instantly. "Luna."
"She was here," Luna whispered.
"Who?"
Her lips trembled.
"…Me."
Silence crashed through the room.
The security guard nearby looked confused, but Ethan's expression darkened immediately.
"What do you mean?"
Luna shook her head quickly, panic rising in her chest. "I don't know anymore!"
Her breathing became unstable again.
"I remember seeing myself—"
"That's impossible," the guard muttered quietly.
Ethan shot him a sharp look that immediately silenced him.
But Luna barely noticed.
Because another terrifying realization was already forming.
The missing file.
The erased memories.
The second version of herself.
What if—
What if someone wasn't trying to destroy her past?
What if they were trying to protect it from her?
Luna slowly looked toward the empty shelf again.
Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
Something was there.
A tiny mark scratched into the metal.
Almost invisible.
She stepped closer carefully.
Ethan followed.
The mark looked random at first glance.
But Luna's heartbeat suddenly sped up.
Because she recognized it.
A symbol.
One she had seen before in her memories.
A small crescent shape crossed by a line.
Luna touched it carefully with trembling fingers.
And another memory exploded in her mind instantly.
A hidden room.
Dim lights.
Someone speaking urgently.
"If anything happens… follow the mark."
Luna gasped sharply.
Ethan grabbed her shoulders before she could fall again. "What is it?"
Her eyes widened slowly.
"I know this symbol."
"From where?"
She looked at him.
Terrified.
"…I think I left it for myself."
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous silence.
Because that meant one thing.
The Luna from the past—
The one hiding secrets—
Had expected her memories to return someday.
And she had prepared for it.
Somewhere out there—
She had left clues.
Not for Ethan.
Not for Adrian.
For herself.
Before Ethan could say anything else, the lights suddenly flickered.
Then—
The entire archive went dark.
A loud alarm echoed through the building instantly.
And in the darkness—
Someone whispered Luna's name.