Dawn filtered through the hotel curtains like a faint, uncertain breath.
Clara opened her eyes slowly, feeling her body ache and her head heavy. Beside her, Aurora slept curled against her father's chest, her breathing uneven but finally calm.
Adrian watched them both, one arm around them, and in that image lay everything: relief, fear, and the quiet realization that peace would never last for them.
Luca sat in the armchair by the window, his bandaged hand resting on his knee, his eyes lost somewhere far away. Elias sat cross-legged on the carpet, staring blankly at the floor.
For a while, no one spoke. The air was thick with silence, one that felt heavier than words.
Clara rose quietly so as not to wake Aurora. She went to the window and pulled the curtain aside just enough to see the city outside. Cars moved, people walked, voices drifted faintly through the morning air.
"Can you believe it?" she whispered. "Out there, life goes on as if nothing happened."
Adrian came up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder.
"It always does. The world never stops, even when it should."
Clara looked at him and saw the same exhaustion she carried within herself, the kind that comes from fighting too long just to survive.
"It's not over," Luca said suddenly, breaking the silence.
Elias lifted his gaze.
"You mean the Sanctuary?"
"I mean the ones who built it," Luca replied, his voice low.
Clara turned, puzzled. "You mean Rinaldi?"
"No. Rinaldi was just a pawn. Something bigger stood behind him, someone who funded it all. That call I got… remember, Adrian? The voice that told me not to move? It wasn't some random person. He knew everything about us, even where we'd go."
Adrian frowned. "You think they're still watching us?"
"I don't think," Luca said, clenching his bandaged hand into a fist. "I know."
Elias ran a hand through his hair slowly.
"Then it's the government."
The word fell into the room like a blade.
Clara went pale, and even Adrian froze.
"You're saying the government was behind all this?"
"Or a part of it," Elias replied. "Projects like the Sanctuary don't exist without protection from above. Rinaldi thought he was in control, but he was just the gatekeeper."
Aurora stirred in bed, her small body trembling before she suddenly sat up, her bright blue eyes wide open.
"Mama…"
Clara rushed to her, stroking her sweat-damp hair.
"I'm here, sweetheart. It's over."
Aurora shook her head with an expression far too old for a five-year-old.
"No. It's not over. I can still hear them."
"Hear who?" Adrian asked, kneeling beside her.
"The children. So many… they're crying. They're in a place where you can't see the sky."
Elias leaned closer, taking her hand gently.
"Do you know where, Aurora?"
She bit her lip. "I hear a word…"
Her voice trembled.
"Omega."
Luca flinched. "God… That's the same word I heard in the call. 'Operation Omega.'"
Adrian straightened slowly. "So they knew everything. From the start."
Clara hugged Aurora tightly, trying to give her strength.
"Can you find them, sweetheart? The other children?"
"Maybe," Aurora whispered. "But it's like there's a fog around them… something that won't let me in."
Elias nodded. "The same shielding they used on me. If she can feel that barrier, it means they're still alive, but being held under control."
Adrian looked around the room, his expression hardening.
"Then that's where we go. There's our answer, and the end of this nightmare."
Luca shook his head. "We don't even know where to start."
Elias gave a faint smile. "We start with her." He nodded toward Aurora. "She's the key. If she can sense the fog, she can pierce it."
Aurora closed her eyes. Her breathing slowed until it matched the rhythm of her mother's heart. A soft golden shimmer began to pulse around her, bending the air.
Clara felt her skin prickle. Adrian held his breath.
The entire hotel seemed to pause. Every sound, every vibration, vanished.
When Aurora spoke, her voice echoed like many voices overlapping:
"They're afraid… they're being forced to sleep. They say the faceless men are coming soon…"
Clara shivered. "Who are the faceless men?"
Aurora opened her eyes, tears glistening.
"The ones who are looking for you. The ones who want me."
Luca's phone vibrated suddenly on the nightstand. Everyone jumped.
He hesitated, then picked it up. The screen was black. No number.
Adrian looked at him, and before Luca could react, answered the call himself.
A cold, metallic voice filled the room:
"Mr. Moreau. Dr. Voss. We know where you are. The child is state property. Surrender her, and you will be spared."
The line went dead, leaving only the echo of their heartbeats.
For a long moment, no one moved.
Clara sank onto the bed, holding Aurora close.
Adrian stared at the phone as if it might explode.
Elias rubbed his face with a trembling hand.
"It's begun," he murmured. "They've activated the network."
Aurora lifted her head, her tone calm, almost solemn:
"I don't belong to anyone."
The windowpane trembled. The hotel lights flickered.
Elias stared at her, awe and fear mingling in his eyes.
"The network has awakened," he whispered. "And now… it fears you."