Chapter 17: Old Wounds
973 Words
Quiet never lasted.
I should have known better than to trust it.
Three weeks after Kade took over Enforcement, the safehouse door opened at two in the morning.
Kade walked in covered in blood.
Not his.
I knew because he'd stopped reacting to his own injuries years ago.
The look on his face worried me more.
I'd only seen it once before.
Viper's Nest.
"Get up."
Lucien was already on his feet before the words fully left Kade's mouth.
The vampire moved with unnatural speed, instantly alert.
"What happened?"
Kade didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he dropped a thick folder onto the table.
My name was printed across the front.
Every instinct in my body went cold.
Slowly, I opened it.
Photos.
Reports.
Medical evaluations.
Council records.
My eyes stopped on a symbol stamped across every page.
The Morrow Family Crest.
The room disappeared.
For a moment, all I could see was that symbol.
Twelve years.
Twelve years since I'd seen it.
Behind me, Maya inhaled sharply.
"Ava..."
I turned another page.
Project Ledger.
The words blurred.
"What is this?"
My voice barely sounded like mine.
Kade's expression hardened.
"Truth."
The answer wasn't reassuring.
I kept reading.
Names.
Dates.
Experiments.
Assessments.
Recommendations.
The deeper I went, the worse it became.
Finally, Kade spoke.
"Your parents didn't die in a car accident."
The room fell silent.
"They were executed."
My hands froze.
"No."
Kade nodded.
"The council ordered it."
Something shattered inside me.
Not loudly.
Quietly.
The way old wounds break open.
Lucien stepped closer.
Close enough that I could feel his presence beside me.
Cold.
Steady.
Dangerously controlled.
"Explain."
His voice was soft.
Which somehow made it worse.
Kade looked exhausted.
"Project Ledger wasn't a file."
He tapped the folder.
"It was you."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"The council wanted a living archive."
His gaze met mine.
"A person who couldn't forget. Someone capable of retaining massive amounts of information. Tracking connections others missed."
Maya looked horrified.
"No."
Kade didn't look away.
"Your memory. Your instincts. Your recall."
His jaw tightened.
"None of it happened by accident."
The words hit harder than any punch.
"They altered you."
The room tilted.
My stomach twisted.
All those years.
All those questions.
Every time someone called me gifted.
Every time I wondered why I remembered things nobody else could.
Not talent.
Design.
I closed the folder.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Because if I didn't, I might throw it through a wall.
"And my parents?"
Kade swallowed.
"They refused to hand you over."
Silence.
"They ran."
Another silence.
"They didn't get far."
Maya's hand found mine beneath the table.
I barely felt it.
The anger was too loud.
The grief louder.
Lucien rested a hand against my shoulder.
"Ava."
I looked at him.
The concern in his eyes almost broke me.
"Doesn't this change everything?"
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then:
"No."
I laughed once.
Harsh.
Disbelieving.
"No?"
His gaze never wavered.
"It explains things."
The words were quiet.
Careful.
"It doesn't define you."
I looked away.
"It was all planned."
"No."
The answer came immediately.
"What they did was planned."
His hand tightened slightly.
"You weren't."
Something inside me settled.
Not healed.
Not even close.
But steadier.
"I didn't fall for a project."
His voice dropped.
"I fell for you."
The room became very quiet.
Even Kade stopped talking.
Maya looked suspiciously emotional.
I ignored her.
Barely.
Kade cleared his throat.
"There's more."
Of course there was.
There was always more.
I leaned back.
"Tell me."
His expression darkened.
"Vance wasn't acting alone."
Every muscle in Lucien's body tensed.
"Who?"
Kade hesitated.
A rare occurrence.
That alone made my stomach sink.
Finally:
"Marcus."
The name landed like a bomb.
"No."
Lucien's response was immediate.
Absolute.
Kade didn't flinch.
"I found the records."
"That's impossible."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Lucien looked furious.
Not explosive fury.
Something colder.
Older.
The kind that took centuries to build.
"He saved Maya."
Kade nodded.
"I know."
"He exposed Vance."
"I know."
Lucien's eyes narrowed.
"Then explain."
Without a word, Kade slid a tablet across the table.
The video began playing.
Marcus appeared on screen.
Three days before the council vote.
Three days before Maya was released.
My pulse hammered.
Then Marcus spoke.
"You make sure she signs."
Vance nodded.
Marcus continued.
"I don't care how."
Silence.
Then:
"If she refuses, the girl dies."
My stomach dropped.
"And we blame Viktor's remnants."
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Maya looked sick.
I felt worse.
Lucien stared at the dark screen.
Completely motionless.
The kind of stillness only vampires managed.
Predatory.
Dangerous.
Unnatural.
Finally, he spoke.
One word.
"Why?"
Kade exhaled.
"Because Marcus built Enforcement."
His gaze shifted to me.
"He built Project Ledger."
Then to Lucien.
"And he helped create the system that kept you under council supervision."
The implication hit hard.
This wasn't about Vance.
Or Viktor.
Or the cells.
This went deeper.
Much deeper.
I looked down at the folder.
At the words stamped across the front.
Project Ledger.
My entire life reduced to a program.
A weapon.
An investment.
I looked back at Kade.
"Where is he?"
Kade already knew who I meant.
"West Territory."
Lucien stepped forward immediately.
"Then we're going."
I shook my head.
"No."
His eyes snapped to mine.
"Ava—"
"If Marcus is behind this, he's expecting all of us."
Maya stood.
"So what? We hide?"
"No."
I looked between them.
Between my sister.
My partner.
My family.
"We finish it."
The words felt different this time.
Not like a mission.
Not like a debt.
Like a choice.
Lucien studied me for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
Once.
Slowly.
"Together."
The word settled between us.
Certain.
Final.
Outside, the city slept.
Inside, old ghosts had finally come home.
And this time, we were ready for them.
- Writer
