The elevator doors slid open to the top floor. Glass walls reflected the storm outside, but inside, the room felt suffocating. Red emergency lights flickered. Shadows leapt across the walls like something alive.
Sienna's hand tightened on Cyrus's sleeve. She didn't need to look at him to know he felt it too the weight in the air, the kind that pressed down on your chest before anything was even said.
Her "parents" were waiting. Standing perfectly poised, smiling like they always had.
But something in the way they looked at her… it was off. Not warmth. Not familiarity. Fearless control.
Sienna's gut twisted.
Cyrus's hand brushed hers. Gentle. Steady. But it was more than comfort it was a warning.
"You've been lying," Sienna said, voice low. "All these years. Everything… it's all lies."
Her "mother" laughed softly. Too soft. "Oh, Sienna. Lies are such ugly words."
Her father's gaze went to Cyrus, sharp as a blade. "He knows nothing."
Sienna took a step forward, chest tight, heart hammering. "He knows. He knew."
Cyrus exhaled slowly. "I didn't want to tell you like this. I… I wanted you safe."
Her eyes darted to him. "Safe? I wasn't safe from them? All these years you've been standing here, letting me..."
Her voice broke.
"You didn't know," he said quietly. "I found out what they were the night your parents your real parents died. I swore I'd protect you, even from them."
Sienna froze. Something inside her shifted. A memory, fragmented and jagged, clawed its way to the surface.
A scream. A flash of light. Hands, not gentle. Faces, not familiar. A crash. Her mother her real mother, her father, her real father crying out for her. And then… "I'm sorry Sienna"
The people who had smiled at her today. The people who had called themselves her parents.
It clicked.
All at once.
The smiles. The "lessons." The contracts. The disappearances. The fear she'd felt in their presence.
They weren't her parents. They were the ones who killed them.
Sienna staggered backward. Her hand flew to her mouth. Memories ripped through her mind like jagged glass.
The night they had died.
Her real parents lying in a pool of blood.
The strangers talking over her ringing ear.
Every lie told since then.
Cyrus moved in front of her. "Sienna… it's okay. You're here now. I'm here now. You're safe."
Safe. The word sounded empty at first, bitter. But then… slowly… she let herself lean on him. Let herself breathe.
Her "parents" stepped forward, their smiles faltering for the first time.
"You… you're not… you can't..." her "mother" faltered.
Sienna's eyes were sharp now. Cold. Hungry. The storm outside reflected in them. "I'm not your daughter. And you are not my parents."
Her "father" took a step back, hands raised, suddenly aware of the wrongness in their plan.
"Years of lies," she whispered. Her voice had steel now. "Years of stealing my life, my family, my identity."
Cyrus's hand went to her back, steady, grounding. "You remember now," he murmured.
She nodded, jaw tight. Tears slid down her cheeks, but this time they were different. Not broken. Not afraid. Angry. Resolute.
"You killed them," she said. Not a question. An accusation that didn't need proof. She could feel it in her bones.
Her "parents" paled. "We… did what we had to..."
"You murdered my family!" Sienna screamed. The sound shattered the windows. Thunder followed, almost in applause.
Cyrus stepped closer, whispering in her ear. "You have them now, Sienna. You have all of it. And I'm not going anywhere."
She drew herself up, every memory sharpening her edges. The girl they tried to make fragile was gone.
The woman standing now was fire.
"You're going to pay," she said, voice low and lethal. "Every single lie. Every second of my life you stole."
Her so-called parents exchanged a look, realizing for the first time the mistake they had made.
Sienna inhaled. Her fists clenched. Cyrus's hand found hers again, anchoring her, steadying her.
And in that moment, with the storm screaming around them, with the city trembling below, with every memory finally returned, Sienna knew one thing:
She was no longer a victim.
She was the reckoning.