Sleep didn't come that night.
I lay in bed listening to the rain taper off, the steady rhythm replaced by the hush of a world trying to reset itself. Marco had fallen asleep on the couch in the study, surrounded by files and half-empty coffee cups, his determination as exhausting as it was endearing.
But I couldn't rest — not after what we'd found.
Subject I.B.
The child survived.
The words replayed in my head until they didn't sound like words anymore — just echoes of something I wasn't supposed to remember.
I got up quietly, the floor cool beneath my bare feet, and walked toward the balcony. The storm had passed, leaving the air heavy and sweet, the sky washed pale blue with dawn. For a moment, it felt almost peaceful again… until a flash — a memory — ripped through me.
Not clear, not solid. Just sound and color.
White light.
A humming noise.
A voice — my father's — saying my name, over and over.
And someone else — a woman — whispering, "We can't keep her here."
My knees gave way, and I gripped the balcony railing, breath shuddering out of me.
It was gone as quickly as it came, leaving behind a hollow ache in my chest.
I didn't realize Marco had woken until I felt his hands on my shoulders. "Issa." His voice was soft, rough with sleep. "Hey, talk to me."
I turned, eyes wide. "I remembered something."
He searched my face. "What did you see?"
"I was… somewhere bright. Not sunlight — artificial. There were people, machines, and my father. He was trying to take me away. Someone didn't want him to."
Marco's jaw tensed. "Helius."
The word felt heavy between us.
He led me inside, guiding me to sit. "Issa, if what you saw is real, then your father wasn't just running from them — he was running for you."
I looked at him, tears blurring the edges of his face. "But from what, Marco? What was I part of?"
He rubbed a hand over his face, frustration flickering in his eyes. "The files mention 'bio-response studies' — experiments that track human adaptability under stress, exposure, and trauma. It was supposed to be theoretical. But if your initials were listed as an asset…"
I felt sick. "You're saying they experimented on me?"
"I don't know yet," he said carefully. "But whatever they did — your father tried to stop it. Maybe that's why he vanished."
I stared at the floor, my voice trembling. "I spent years blaming him for leaving me behind. I hated him for it. And now… maybe he was saving me from something worse."
Marco knelt in front of me, taking my hands gently. "Then we find out what it was. You deserve the truth, Issa. Not pieces. Not lies."
I nodded, but the fear inside me was louder than reason. "And what if the truth changes everything? What if I was part of something I can't come back from?"
He didn't flinch. "Then we face it. Just like we always do."
I wanted to believe him — and a part of me did — but another part, the one buried deep beneath scars and survival, whispered that this was only the beginning.
That whatever Project Helius was, it hadn't ended when my father disappeared.
It had been waiting.
And now that we'd found it again… it would come looking for me.