(Isabelle's POV)
The world returned in fragments sound before sight, touch before thought.
Beeping.
Soft sheets.
The smell of antiseptic.
Isabelle blinked slowly, her lashes heavy. For a moment, she couldn't tell where she was. Then the memory hit her like a slow-moving wave the courtyard, the rain, Liam's worried face and then nothing.
She turned her head weakly. The hospital lights were dimmed, and the clock on the wall told her it was past midnight.
Her throat was dry, her lips cracked. She reached for the cup of water on the bedside table, but her hand trembled so hard she almost spilled it.
The door opened quietly.
"Easy," Sebastian said, crossing the room in two strides. His voice was low, calm but his eyes told a different story.
He looked like he hadn't slept in days. His hair was messy, his tie gone, the first few buttons of his shirt undone. But what truly caught her was the way his hand shook as he steadied hers.
"You fainted," he said softly. "Scared the life out of me."
She tried to smile. "You should be used to that by now."
He let out a quiet huff of breath, half laugh, half sigh, and brushed his thumb along her jaw. "Don't do that again."
"I wasn't planning to."
He kissed her forehead, lingering for a moment longer than usual as if afraid that letting go might make her vanish again.
"I'll get the doctor," he said, pulling back.
She caught his wrist. "Stay."
That one word seemed to undo him. He sat back down, threading his fingers through hers.
"I'll stay," he murmured. "Always."
But Isabelle wasn't sure she could believe that anymore.
Not when always in his world came with locks, lies, and secrets whispered through walls.
Later, when he thought she'd fallen asleep, he stepped outside to take a call.
She heard his voice through the partially open door low, sharp, controlled.
"No. I don't care what it takes, just keep the name out of the report." A pause. "Yes, I said destroy it. All of it."
Her heart lurched.
She shifted slowly, careful not to trigger the heart monitor, and strained to hear more.
"No one outside the board needs to know Eden was ever active," he continued. "If she asks again, tell her it was a failed investment, nothing more. She can't"
The door creaked slightly under her weight, and the sound made him pause.
For a heartbeat, the silence between them was unbearable.
Then his tone softened. "I'll call you back."
When he stepped inside, she quickly shut her eyes, pretending to sleep. But her pulse was racing.
He lingered at the doorway for a moment, watching her. She felt the weight of his gaze even through her closed lids. Then, slowly, his footsteps retreated, and the room fell quiet again.
Only then did she open her eyes.
Eden.
He'd said it again.
The name that kept surfacing in whispers, in broken conversations, in guarded looks between him and Liam.
Whatever Project Eden was it wasn't just a business.
It was the reason Evelyn died.
And it was the reason Sebastian was terrified of her finding out.
By morning, she'd made her decision.
She would stop waiting for him to trust her. She would find the truth herself.
When the nurse came in to check her vitals, Isabelle smiled politely. "Could you tell me when my discharge papers will be ready?"
The nurse blinked. "Mr. Kane requested an overnight observation."
"Of course he did," Isabelle muttered. Then, more softly: "Thank you. I just need some air when I'm cleared."
Once the nurse left, Isabelle reached for her phone.
Sebastian had taken it probably thinking she wouldn't notice but the nurse's tablet sat on the side counter, unlocked.
She hesitated only a second before swiping it open and typing.
Search: Project Eden Kane Holdings
The results were limited, most hidden behind restricted links. But one headline stood out:
KANE HOLDINGS HALTS GENETIC RESEARCH DIVISION AFTER "MORAL BREACH" – INVESTIGATION SEALED
Genetic research? Her chest tightened. What kind of company was Sebastian running?
She clicked the article, but the text was redacted every paragraph blacked out except one line:
Eden was designed to create perfection until perfection turned deadly.
A chill ran through her.
Deadly.
Her hands trembled as she shut the tablet.
Whatever this was, it was far bigger than business.
By the time Sebastian returned that afternoon, she had already memorized every detail she could find and every word he hadn't said.
He walked in with coffee and a cautious smile. "They'll discharge you this evening. I'm taking you home."
She forced a small nod. "Good."
"You should rest before then."
"I've been resting." Her tone was calm, almost too calm. "Now I need answers."
His smile faltered. "Isabelle"
"Stop," she said quietly. "Stop calling me that like it's supposed to calm me down. You're hiding something from me, and I can't do this anymore."
He set the coffee down slowly. "This isn't the time."
"Then when is the time?" she snapped, voice trembling. "After something else happens? After I collapse again? After our baby is born into a world full of secrets?"
He froze at that word our baby and something inside him cracked.
"You think I'm doing this to hurt you?" he said, his voice suddenly low, raw. "Everything I've done is to keep you safe."
"Safe from what?"
His silence was answer enough.
"Sebastian, if you can't trust me," she whispered, "then you're already losing me."
He flinched, like her words had cut deeper than she realized.
Then his phone buzzed. He looked down, and all color drained from his face.
"What is it?" she asked.
He met her eyes, guilt and fury warring behind them. "Someone accessed the Eden files from a hospital network."
Her stomach turned cold.
He took a slow, deliberate step closer. "Isabelle what did you do?"
She tried to speak, but her throat closed up.
His gaze darkened not with anger, but with something worse. Fear.
"You don't understand what you've walked into," he said softly, almost pleadingly. "Eden isn't a project anymore. It's a weapon. And the people behind it don't forgive curiosity."
Her pulse thundered in her ears. "Then tell me the truth."
He shook his head, jaw tight. "Not here."
Before she could respond, two security guards entered the room.
"Sir," one of them said urgently, "we have a situation outside. Someone's trying to breach the hospital parking lot perimeter."
Sebastian's entire body went rigid. "Get the car. Now."
He turned back to Isabelle. "We're leaving."
She tried to protest, but he was already helping her up, steadying her trembling frame. His grip was firm, protective but she could feel the desperation in it.
He wasn't just getting her out.
He was running.
And as they made their way toward the elevator, Isabelle realized with a sinking heart whatever Project Eden was, it wasn't finished.
And she was now a part of it.
(Scene Shift – Liam's POV)
From the black SUV parked across the street, Liam watched the scene unfold.
He saw the men trying to force their way through the hospital gate not strangers, but familiar faces. Men once hired by Kane Holdings' old security division.
He cursed under his breath and grabbed his phone.
"Tell them to pull the damn footage," he snapped. "If Sebastian sees who's behind this"
A voice cut him off on the other end. Smooth. Cold.
"He already knows."
Liam froze. "What do you mean?"
"You think he doesn't recognize his own creation?"
The line went dead.
He stared out the window at the hospital doors just in time to see Sebastian rush Isabelle into the waiting car, her hand pressed instinctively over her stomach.
For the first time, Liam realized the truth he'd been avoiding.
Eden wasn't a project gone wrong.
It was still alive.
And now, it was coming for both of them.