Elena woke before dawn to the faint sound of rain against the glass; soft, steady, almost hypnotic. The city below still slept, a mosaic of lights fading into gray mist.
Adrian was already up, sitting at the edge of the bed, bare-backed and silent. The early light traced the lines of his shoulders, but it was the stillness in him that made her chest tighten.
She sat up slowly. "You didn't sleep again."
He didn't turn around. "I keep seeing his face. Crane's. And now… my father's."
Her voice softened. "You think they were connected?"
"I don't think," he said quietly. "I know they were."
He reached for his watch on the nightstand; a heavy, old-fashioned piece of tech with faint scratches on the metal. "My father wore this every day. I never questioned why he guarded it like a secret. After he died, my mother told me to keep it locked away. But now"
He pressed a hidden latch. The back popped open, revealing a microchip embedded beneath the glass.
Elena leaned closer. "Is that?"
"A data key," he said grimly. "Encrypted. My father must've hidden something inside it. Something he didn't want anyone, not even my mother to find."
"Can we access it?"
He nodded. "But if what Ryan said is true, there's a chance this data links him, and you to whatever started all this."
Elena met his eyes. "Then we need to know."
They brought the watch to the underground lab, a private one Adrian kept off Phoenix's grid. Only two people knew it existed: him and Elena.
The hum of machinery filled the air as he placed the chip into the reader. Streams of code flickered across the screen, lines of numbers and encryption locks.
"It's old tech," he murmured. "Manual ciphers. Pre-quantum encryption. He wanted to make sure no one could break this easily."
"Except his son," Elena said quietly.
He glanced at her, a small, sad smile. "Maybe."
For the next hour, they worked in silence. Elena typed commands while Adrian decrypted sequences. Slowly, the screen began to clear.
A single folder appeared.
PROJECT REBIRTH.
Elena's heart skipped. "What is that?"
Adrian double-clicked. A list of files unfolded; audio logs, documents, encrypted photos.
He opened the first video.
The footage was grainy, old. A man in his fifties sat at a desk, stern face, cold blue eyes, the resemblance to Adrian unmistakable.
"Date: June 11th, 2015," the man's voice said. "Subject: Phase One complete. Test subjects stable. Integration successful."
Elena frowned. "Test subjects?"
Adrian's expression darkened. "My father ran advanced neurological trials for military purposes. But these… they were never approved."
They watched as the man continued:
"We've achieved partial memory re-sequencing. Subject E responded well to the procedure. I've decided to halt further trials until the asset is safely relocated."
Elena froze. "Subject E?"
Adrian looked at her sharply. "Elena…"
Her breath hitched. "That's my initial."
He replayed the clip. The man's tone was clinical, detached — but underneath, there was a tremor.
"I can't let Crane get to her," he said. "If he finds out who she really is, everything collapses. I'm moving her off-record. I've erased her data from the registry. She'll live a normal life… if the memories hold."
Elena's pulse pounded. If the memories hold.
She stared at the screen, at the man's face. Adrian's father, and whispered, "He was talking about me."
Adrian didn't answer. His expression was unreadable, torn between disbelief and realization.
"My father… erased your past?" he murmured.
Elena's voice cracked. "He took everything from me; my identity, my memories, my family. And you're telling me he did it to protect me?"
Adrian reached for her hand, but she pulled back, eyes wet. "I've spent years trying to remember who I was, Adrian. Now I find out your father turned me into a stranger?"
He stood, pacing. "You don't understand, if Crane wanted you dead, there had to be a reason. My father must've known something we don't."
She rose too, trembling. "Don't you see? I wasn't just a witness, Adrian. I was part of it. Project Rebirth! I was one of them.
Silence filled the lab, heavy as fog.
Adrian finally said, "Then we find out what happened to the others."
He opened another file, an encrypted roster labeled REBIRTH PARTICIPANTS.
Six names appeared.
Five marked Deceased.
The last one… Elena Brooks.
Status: Unknown.
And next to her name, another tag: Linked Asset: Adrian Cole.
Elena's breath caught. "Linked asset? What does that mean?"
He scrolled down. A short note blinked on-screen, dated eight years ago.
> "Subject E and Cole are neurologically bonded via synthetic mnemonic pairing. The process is untested, but stable. If one is compromised, the other will experience sympathetic recall."
Elena stepped back. "Neurologically bonded, you mean?"
"Your memories," Adrian whispered, stunned. "They're tied to mine."
Her heart pounded. "That's impossible."
But as the words left her lips, a flash hit her ; bright, disorienting.
A hallway.
Men in black suits.
A hand gripping hers.
And a voice; his voice, saying, 'Run, Elena. Don't look back.'
She gasped.
Adrian caught her just as she staggered. "Elena, what is it?"
"I... I saw you," she whispered. "But you were younger. You were there that night. You told me to run."
He froze. "That's not possible. I don't remember"
"Because he made you forget too," she said hoarsely. "Your father must've erased it. That's why Crane hates you both. He knows the truth."
For a long moment, they stood in silence, two people tied together by a secret neither asked for.
Finally, Adrian whispered, "We were never supposed to find this."
Elena nodded weakly. "But we did."
He stepped closer, his voice low. "You're not just part of my past, Elena. You are my past."
Their eyes met; raw, frightened, but unbreakable.
Before she could speak, the lab lights flickered; once, twice, then went dark.
The screens went black.
The security system rebooted.
A voice echoed from the intercom, calm and almost mocking.
"Congratulations, Adrian. You finally opened the box your father died to protect."
Elena's blood ran cold. "Crane."
The voice laughed softly. "Oh, not Crane, darling. Someone far closer."
Adrian moved toward the control panel, overriding the security lock. "Identify yourself!"
The intercom buzzed. Then a face appeared on the screen, pixelated, smirking.
Ryan.
"Miss me?"