The location pin blinked on Adrian's screen like a ticking countdown.
No name.
No details.
Just coordinates.
Ariana didn't hesitate. "We go now."
Adrian looked at her.
There was no fear left in her eyes.
Only determination.
"Wait," he said. "This is exactly what they want. We rush in blind, we lose the advantage."
Ariana shook her head immediately. "Every second we wait, she's with them."
"That's exactly why we think first," Adrian replied, his voice firm but controlled.
Silence stretched between them.
Then—
Ariana took a slow breath.
"Fine," she said. "But we don't delay."
Adrian nodded. "We won't."
He turned to the driver. "Route it. Fastest path—but no direct approach."
The car engine roared to life again.
An hour later—
They stood outside the location.
An abandoned research facility.
Old. Isolated. Forgotten.
Or at least—
That's what it looked like.
Ariana stared at the building, something deep inside her tightening.
"This place…" she whispered.
Adrian glanced at her. "You've been here before?"
Ariana nodded slowly.
"Not inside," she said. "But I remember this area… from before I escaped."
That wasn't a coincidence.
That meant—
This was connected.
Everything was connected.
Adrian's expression hardened. "Then we're not walking into something new," he said. "We're walking into the origin."
That word—
Hit differently.
Origin.
Ariana clenched her fists.
"Then we end it here."
Inside—
The building was darker than expected.
Silent.
Too silent.
Their footsteps echoed faintly as they moved forward.
Every corridor looked the same.
Cold. Empty. Watching.
Ariana's heartbeat grew louder with every step.
Something about this place felt wrong.
Familiar—
But wrong.
"Stay close," Adrian said quietly.
Ariana nodded.
They turned a corner—
And stopped.
A door.
Different from the rest.
Metal. Reinforced.
Unlocked.
Ariana stepped forward slowly.
Her hand hovered over it.
Then—
She pushed it open.
The room inside—
Wasn't empty.
It was filled with screens.
Data.
Files.
And in the center—
A chair.
Facing away from them.
Someone was sitting there.
Still.
Waiting.
Adrian raised his gun instantly.
"Don't move."
The chair turned slowly.
And there he was.
The man.
The one from the screen.
The one from Ariana's past.
He looked exactly the same.
Calm.
Unbothered.
Like none of this surprised him.
"You're right on time," he said.
Ariana stepped forward before Adrian could stop her.
"Where is she?" she demanded.
The man smiled slightly.
"Straight to the point," he said. "I always liked that about you."
"Don't," Ariana snapped. "Don't talk like you know me."
His expression didn't change.
"But I do," he said.
A pause.
Then—
"Better than you think."
Ariana's anger flared. "Then you know I won't leave without her."
The man leaned back slightly.
"I know," he said. "That's why you're here."
Adrian stepped beside her.
"Enough games," he said. "Where is the girl?"
The man glanced at him briefly.
Then—
Back to Ariana.
"She's safe."
Ariana's patience snapped again.
"Stop saying that!"
Her voice echoed through the room.
For the first time—
The man's expression shifted.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something else.
Something almost… serious.
"Do you even know what she is?" he asked quietly.
Ariana froze.
"What does that mean?" she whispered.
The man stood up slowly.
Walked closer.
Each step deliberate.
"You've been asking the wrong question," he said.
A pause.
Then—
"You keep asking where she is…"
He stopped in front of Ariana.
Close enough to see every reaction.
"But you should be asking—"
His voice dropped.
"—what she is."
Silence.
Heavy.
Unsettling.
Ariana's heart started racing again.
"No," she said immediately. "She's my daughter."
The man tilted his head slightly.
"Yes," he said.
A beat.
Then—
"But she's also something else."
Adrian stepped forward, his voice turning lethal.
"Explain. Now."
The man didn't look at him.
His eyes stayed on Ariana.
"Your daughter," he said slowly,
"is the result of a program."
Everything stopped.
Ariana's breath caught.
"A program…?" she repeated.
The man nodded.
"Designed," he continued,
"to create the perfect successor."
Ariana shook her head.
"No… you're lying…"
But her voice—
Wasn't as strong anymore.
Because deep down—
Something felt…
Too real.
Too possible.
The man took a final step back.
And said—
"She was never meant to be just your child."
Cliffhanger:
👉 Ariana whispers in shock—
"Then… what did they do to her?" 😈
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