The room went silent.
Everyone looked at Valentin.
For years, Valentin Volkov had been the calm one.
The balance.
The person who never raised his voice.
The person Roman listened to.
But now—
For the first time—
Valentin looked like someone who had been caught carrying a ghost.
Viktor's voice was low.
"Father."
Valentin didn't answer.
Roman stepped closer.
"Explain."
The word wasn't angry.
It was worse.
It was disappointed.
Valentin looked at the screen where Elias had disappeared.
Then at Artyom.
"I never wanted this truth to come out."
Artyom's expression hardened.
"Everyone says that."
A pause.
"Every secret starts with someone deciding I can't handle the truth."
Nobody argued.
Valentin closed his eyes briefly.
"When the Origin Project began…"
A pause.
"I wasn't just an observer."
The room froze.
Dmitri immediately searched the old records.
"No…"
He found something.
A hidden file.
PROJECT ORIGIN — CO-ARCHITECT
Name:
VALENTIN VOLKOV
Viktor stared.
"You worked with them."
Valentin looked at him.
"Yes."
The answer was quiet.
But it shattered something.
Mikhail's expression turned cold.
"Why?"
Valentin looked at the subjects.
At the survivors.
"Because I believed I could change it from inside."
A bitter smile appeared.
"I was wrong."
Roman's voice dropped.
"You promised me you had nothing to do with it."
Valentin looked at him.
"I promised I would protect our children."
A pause.
"I never promised I was innocent."
Silence.
Artyom watched him carefully.
Not with anger.
With understanding.
Because he knew what it felt like to have someone make decisions for you.
"Were you the one who protected me?"
Valentin looked at him.
"Yes."
The answer surprised everyone.
"I erased records. Changed files. Hid your location."
His voice lowered.
"I made sure the project could never claim you completely."
Artyom's eyes narrowed.
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
Valentin looked away.
"Because if you knew…"
A pause.
"They would know you remembered."
The room became still.
Dmitri looked up sharply.
"Remembered?"
Everyone turned.
Valentin froze.
Too late.
Artyom's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
Valentin didn't answer.
And that silence was enough.
Viktor stepped forward.
"Valentin."
A warning.
But Valentin finally spoke.
"When you were young…"
A pause.
"You were taken to the facility once."
Artyom went still.
"No."
Valentin's voice was soft.
"You don't remember."
Memories.
Not clear.
Not complete.
Just fragments.
Cold rooms.
Voices.
A hand holding his.
Artyom touched his head.
Viktor noticed immediately.
"Artyom?"
He ignored him.
Because something inside his mind had opened.
A voice.
A memory.
A promise.
"I'll come back for you."
Artyom whispered:
"Andrei…"
The room froze.
Because the memory wasn't from Valentin.
It wasn't from Sergei.
It was Andrei Morozov.
Alive.
Leaving.
Valentin looked at him sadly.
"You were never abandoned."
A pause.
"You were hidden."
Suddenly—
The facility alarms returned.
Dmitri looked at the system.
His face changed.
"Someone accessed the council protocol."
Nikola asked:
"Who?"
Dmitri looked at the screen.
A new name appeared.
AUTHORIZED USER: ANDREI MOROZOV
Everyone froze.
But the message below was worse.
REQUEST: OPEN THE FINAL ARCHIVE