Velena's fingers curled into fists.
Her name. Her face. Her past.
All of it had been buried inside Project Revenant.
She turned to Ceil, her voice sharp. "If your father didn't erase my memories… who did?"
Ceil leaned back, his expression unreadable. "That's what we're about to find out.
Lucian exhaled. "We need to be careful. If someone went to this extent to erase her past, they won't stop now."
Velena swallowed hard. Whoever they were… they weren't done with her yet.
THE FIRST MEMORY RETURNS...
Ceil clicked on another file.
A video.
Velena hesitated before nodding. Play it.
The screen flickered to life.
A dimly lit room. A metal table. A small girl sitting on it—her.
Velena's breath caught. She was no older than six.
A man's voice echoed from the speakers. "Subject 07 is responding as expected."
Velena flinched. Subject 07.
That was her.
The camera zoomed in. Her younger self had vacant eyes, like she was trapped in a fog.
A figure entered the frame.
Ceil's father.
Velena's heartbeat pounded in her ears.
Ceil's jaw clenched. He didn't look away, but she could see it—the tension in his posture, the tight grip of his fingers.
The recording continued.
Ceil's father turned to someone offscreen. "Erase her memory again. She's not ready yet."
The video ended.
Silence.
Velena's body felt cold, even though the room was warm.
Ceil spoke first, his voice quiet but firm. "They did it more than once."
Velena closed her eyes.
This wasn't just a one-time experiment.
Her entire childhood had been rewritten.
A NEW ENEMY STEPS INTO THE LIGHT...
Lucian cleared his throat. "There's another file."
Ceil clicked on it.
A list of names appeared on the screen.
At the top—Ceil's father.
Below that—several unknown names.
And one of them was highlighted.
Velena felt her stomach drop. It wasn't an alias. It wasn't a code.
It was a real name.
A name she knew.
Alexander Vasiliev.
Ceil's voice was sharp. "Who is he?"
Velena's pulse pounded.
He was the last person she saw before her memories disappeared.
And now—he was back.
THE MEMORY SHE DIDN'T WANT TO REMEMBER...
Something in Velena's mind shifted.
The moment she saw Alexander's name, a long-buried memory cracked open.
She staggered back, gripping the edge of Ceil's desk.
Lucian frowned. "Velena?"
But she wasn't in the room anymore.
She was back in the past.
A cold, sterile lab. The smell of antiseptic and metal.
She was small, sitting on a chair too big for her tiny frame. Electrodes were attached to her wrists.
And across from her—
Alexander Vasiliev.
He wasn't old. He wasn't weak. He was tall, sharp-eyed, wearing a black coat that barely moved as he crouched in front of her.
He touched her forehead, gently, like a scientist observing his experiment.
"You're special," he had said.
Her six-year-old self blinked at him. "Why?"
His eyes darkened. "Because you'll forget this conversation."
And then—
Darkness.
BACK TO THE PRESENT...
Velena gasped, her lungs burning as she snapped back to reality.
Ceil was in front of her, holding her shoulders. "Velena. What did you see?"
Her pulse was erratic. Her skin was clammy.
Lucian looked between them. "She remembered something, didn't she?"
Velena swallowed, her voice hoarse. "I met him."
Ceil's grip tightened. "When?"
She licked her dry lips. "When I was a child. Before my memories were erased."
Lucian muttered a curse. "That means—"
Velena's next words changed everything.
"Alexander Vasiliev wasn't just part of Project Revenant."
She met Ceil's gaze, her breath unsteady.
"He was the one who erased me."
ALEXANDER MAKES HIS FIRST MOVE..
Before anyone could react, Ceil's phone vibrated.
A single text appeared on the screen.
Unknown Number: We should talk, Ceil.
Velena's breath hitched. No. It couldn't be.
Ceil's jaw tightened. He typed back.
Ceil: Who is this?
A pause.
Then—
Unknown Number: The man you've been looking for. But now, I'm looking for you.
Velena's blood ran cold.
Lucian swore under his breath. "It's him, isn't it?"
Ceil's face was unreadable, but his grip on the phone was tight. Too tight.
The phone vibrated again.
Unknown Number: Meet me. No security. No tricks.
A second later, another message popped up.
A location.
Velena's hands trembled as she read the name of the place.
It was the same facility from her nightmares.
The one where everything had started.
And now—Alexander wanted them to return.
THE FINAL WARNING...
Lucian stepped forward. "We can't just walk into this."
Ceil's eyes darkened. "I wasn't planning to."
Velena inhaled sharply. "Then what's the plan?"
Ceil looked at the text again. His smirk returned.
"If Alexander wants us to come… let's make sure he regrets it."
Velena wasn't sure if she felt relief or fear.
Because Ceil wasn't the same man he had been before.
And this time—he wasn't walking into a trap. He was setting one.