ADANNA P.O.V( point of view)
They didn't touch me at first, that was how I knew this wasn't about pain but was about control.
The glass room felt too clean, too bright. Every sound echoed, my breathing, the faint hum of machines behind the walls, the soft tap of a keyboard somewhere I couldn't see.
The man from the car stood behind me now. Another joined him, older, eyes sharp like he'd stopped believing in mercy years ago.
"You know why you're here," the older one said.
"Yes," I replied. My voice surprised me because It didn't shake. "Because my father refused you." I can swear i saw a flicker passed through his eyes.
Good! That's what I want
"You carry his work," he said. "Whether you understand it or not."
They slid the laptop closer.
EDEN LOCK – CORE ACCESS
A cursor blinked..... Waiting.
"Open it," he said.
I shook my head slowly. "I don't have the key."
"You are the key," the younger man snapped.
They expected denial, fear or tears from me but instead, I leaned forward and placed my hand on the trackpad. The screen didn't open but it changed.
Lines of code rearranged themselves..... not unlocking but recognizing.
A low tone sounded through the room and the lights flickered.
"What did you do?" the younger man demanded.
"I didn't do anything," I said softly, staring at the screen. "It's doing it on its own."
My chest tightened as something old stirred in me. Memories I didn't know were memories... my father's hands guiding mine as a child, numbers written on paper, stories about doors that only answered to truth.
The system asked a question.
IDENTITY CONFIRMATION REQUIRED
Below it, a single prompt appeared:
BLOODLINE VERIFIED. VOICE REQUIRED.
They froze...
"Speak," the older man ordered.
I swallowed.
"My name is Adanna," I said. "Daughter of...."
The system chimed.
ACCESS LIMITED GRANTED
The room went silent and their power cracked in that moment and i felt it.
"This is impossible," the younger man whispered.
"No," I said, meeting his eyes. "This is what my father built."
They stepped back, fear finally showing on their faces and deep in my chest, something settled.
Eden didn't belong to them, it never had.
DARIAN P.O.V (point of view)
Blood has a smell..... it was metallic and familiar.
The man on the ground coughed as I stepped back, my knuckles burning. He shouldn't have tried to lie. Old debts don't forgive lies.
"I told you," I said calmly, wiping my hands. "You owe me."
He groaned. "She's not where you think."
"I know," I replied. "That's why you're still breathing."
I moved through the city like a ghost, through places I'd buried along with other versions of myself, backroom bars, shuttered clinics, half-forgotten safe houses.
Every door opened, not because they loved me but because they remembered.
A woman with steel eyes handed me a burner. "North facility, sublevel glass rooms. They're testing her."
My jaw tightened....
"Anyone else?" I asked.
She hesitated. "They've called in the Board."
That tasted like war....
I walked out into the rain and made one last call.
"You were right," I said into the phone. "Eden isn't responding to them."
Azaan's voice was grim. "It won't. It never did."
"She's activating it."
I pause.
Then, quietly, "Then she's stronger than we feared."
I ended the call and checked the weapon in my jacket.
They thought taking her would slow me down.
It didn't but It aimed me.
ADANNA P.O.V (point of view)
They moved me after that, not rough but careful.
Like handling something fragile and dangerous.
In the new room, no glass. No cameras I could see. Just a chair, a table, and silence that pressed too hard.
I closed my eyes.
Darian, I thought. Wherever you are… don't stop.
The door opened and the older man returned alone.
"You were not meant to access even that much," he said.
I met his gaze. "My father didn't build Eden for you."
"No," he admitted. "He built it to stop us."
There it was.... the truth, finally.
"He knew you'd come for me," I said.
"Yes," the man replied. "And he knew you would choose."
I leaned forward. "Then here is my choice." I said as i stood.
"I will never open Eden for you. Not fully.... not willingly."
His smile was thin. "Then we will force you."
"Try," I said. Then the lights dimmed.
Somewhere deep in the facility, Eden responded again... a soft hum, like a heartbeat waking up.
I felt it and for the first time, I wasn't afraid.
DARIAN P.O.V (point of view)
The facility rose out of the rain like a scar.
I watched it from across the street, memorizing patrols, exits, blind spots.
Inside, Adanna was being tested, and inside, Eden was waking.
I whispered into the dark, not sure if she'd ever hear it.
"Hold on."
Because I was coming and when I did, the Syndicate would learn the difference between control…
...and blood.
To be continued…...