Chapter 15: The Last Bride
The message remained on the wall.
Three words.
Written in blood.
STOP DIGGING, EMILY.
Nobody spoke.
The abandoned station was silent except for the distant sound of sirens approaching.
Emily stared at the words.
Not because she was afraid.
Because she finally understood.
This was no longer about Amina.
It was no longer about Nadia.
It was no longer about the Circle.
It was about her.
Somewhere along the way, she had stopped being a witness.
She had become a target.
"They took Sara."
Adam's voice broke the silence.
He looked around desperately.
"They took her."
Marcus walked toward the broken projector.
He examined the room carefully.
"No."
Adam turned.
"What do you mean no?"
Marcus pointed at the shattered screen.
"They didn't take her."
Everyone looked at him.
"They wanted us to think they took her."
Emily frowned.
"Explain."
Marcus picked up a small piece of metal from the floor.
"A smoke device."
He held it up.
"The gunshot wasn't an attack."
A pause.
"It was a distraction."
Emily looked around.
"Then where is Sara?"
Marcus looked toward the wall.
"She left."
Adam stared.
"She left?"
Marcus nodded.
"Someone helped her."
Emily felt a chill.
"Who?"
Nobody answered.
Then Nadia spoke.
"Elias."
Everyone turned.
Nadia looked toward the blood message.
"He's always been better at moving people without them knowing."
Three hours later.
A hidden room beneath the old Rahman mansion.
Emily stood in front of Sara.
Alive.
Unharmed.
But different.
The fear was gone.
The weakness was gone.
She looked calm.
Almost prepared.
Adam stared at her.
"You knew this would happen."
Sara nodded.
"I did."
Emily felt anger rising.
"You knew someone would take you?"
"Yes."
"And you let us believe you were kidnapped?"
Sara looked at her.
"I needed Elias to believe I was afraid."
Emily crossed her arms.
"Why?"
Sara looked at Nadia.
Then answered:
"Because Elias doesn't reveal secrets to enemies."
A pause.
"He reveals them to people he thinks he controls."
Emily understood.
"You were spying on him."
Sara nodded.
"Years."
Adam looked confused.
"Why?"
Sara looked at him.
"Because your family wasn't the only one destroyed by the Circle."
She touched her chest.
"My family was too."
The room became quiet.
Sara took a small device from her pocket.
A recording.
"I found this in Elias's private archive."
She pressed play.
A man's voice filled the room.
Old.
Distorted.
But familiar.
Emily recognized it immediately.
A voice from the past.
A voice from the Rahman family.
A voice belonging to Adam and Amina's father.
The recording began:
"Project Eden is complete."
Emily frowned.
"Project Eden?"
Sara continued.
"The Circle's final plan."
The recording continued.
"If society depends on identity, then identity can be controlled."
The man's voice spoke calmly.
"Names can change."
"Records can change."
"Families can change."
"But one thing cannot be replaced."
A pause.
"Memory."
The recording ended.
Emily looked at Sara.
"What does this mean?"
Sara answered:
"Elias wasn't trying to take control of the Circle."
A pause.
"He was trying to finish the project."
Suddenly, the door opened.
Everyone turned.
Amina stood there.
Alive.
But no longer wearing the confident expression from the broadcast.
She looked exhausted.
Adam immediately moved.
"Amina."
She stopped him.
"Don't."
Her voice was quiet.
Everyone froze.
Emily stepped forward.
"Why did you do it?"
Amina looked at her.
"The broadcast?"
Emily nodded.
"The Circle."
"The wedding."
"Making everyone believe you were dead."
Amina looked down.
"Because I needed Elias to trust me."
Adam stared.
"Trust you?"
Amina looked at him.
"I was never joining him."
A pause.
"I was getting close enough to destroy him."
Everyone became silent.
Emily shook her head.
"Then why frame Adam?"
Amina's eyes filled with guilt.
"Because Elias would only reveal the truth if he thought Adam was his enemy."
Adam looked hurt.
"You sacrificed me."
"I protected you."
"No."
His voice cracked.
"You used me."
Amina had no answer.
Because he was right.
Then the lights turned on.
A screen appeared.
Everyone froze.
Elias.
Live.
Smiling.
"Beautiful."
His voice echoed.
"Truly beautiful."
Amina turned pale.
"Elias..."
He laughed.
"I knew about the plan."
Silence.
"What?"
Elias looked at them.
"Did you really think you were hiding from me?"
He smiled.
"I allowed every move."
Emily felt cold.
"No."
Elias continued.
"The fake bride."
"The morgue."
"The DNA test."
"The broadcast."
He smiled.
"Everything."
Adam stepped forward.
"Why?"
Elias looked at him.
"Because I needed one final experiment."
A pause.
"And Emily was the perfect subject."
Emily froze.
"Me?"
Elias nodded.
"You spend your life examining the dead."
A smile.
"But I wanted to know..."
"Can someone bring the truth back to life?"
The screen changed.
A file appeared.
SUBJECT: EMILY CARTER
Her heart stopped.
"What is that?"
Elias answered:
"Your file."
Emily stepped closer.
"I don't have a file."
Elias smiled.
"You do."
A pause.
"You just don't remember."
The screen showed an old photograph.
A hospital room.
A little girl.
A doctor.
A woman.
Emily stared.
Because the little girl in the photo...
was her.
Nadia whispered:
"No..."
Emily looked at her.
"You know this?"
Nadia looked terrified.
"Emily..."
A pause.
"You were the first child involved in Project Eden."
Nobody moved.
Elias smiled.
"Welcome back."
The screen went black.
And for the first time that night...
Emily wasn't searching for someone else's secret.
May you like
She was searching for her own.
END OF CHAPTER 15
