Chapter 6: Classified subject
1821 Words
SEBASTIAN'S POV
The machines hadn’t stopped working since the day she closed her eyes—until the day she opened them again.
Down here, underneath the island where no sunlight reached and no outsider could ever find us, time moved differently.
This entire place wasn’t a lab—it was a vault. Buried deep in the ground, far from the bustling city.
I built this facility years ago, mainly for biotech development. The Whitlock Group had been producing high-quality lab equipment and expanding into scientific research—thriving even now. I had funded a brilliant scientific team led by my good friend, Callum Keller—head scientist of Project Genesis.
This team specialized in cloning. But the project was still classified. If their experiments succeeded, I planned to introduce it to the world.
I never expected tragedy would strike, forcing Bella to become the first subject. I was devastated back then—desperate to bring her back. With Callum’s genius and incomparable skills in science, we recreated her.
And this time, I made sure she would remember only me.
I stood in front of the thick observation glass in Callum’s office, arms crossed over my chest. My eyes locked on the monitor intently, while my mind was heavy with thoughts.
She was there, ling still on the bed—breathing.
Alive.
It had taken nearly a year to bring her back successfully.
“She’s stabilizing better than we.expected,” Callum said from behind his desk. “Her vitals are steady. Brain activity’s normal. Stronger than we predicted.”
I didn’t look at him. My eyes stayed on the monitor. “She spoke my name.”
“That’s a good sign,” he replied, more carefully this time. “She’s responding exactly as we programmed her to. The memory conditioning worked. She sees you as someone she trusts.”
I tilted my head slightly, eyes narrowing. “She doesn’t just see me. She feels like her.”
Callum raised a brow but didn’t respond immediately—just stayed quiet.
Then I turned to him with a probing look. “I can tell when something’s off,” I continued. “But with her… my wolf won’t question it. That’s not just memory work. That’s something deeper.”
This Bella felt real. With my sharp senses and wolf instincts, I could identify anything unusual.
She didn’t have the mark, but the wolf in me screamed she was ours. Everything in me knew it was her.
Callum leaned back in his chair with an earnest look. “We didn’t just copy her, Sebastian. We recreated her—cell by cell. Every genetic strand was extracted from the samples you gave me. Her skin. Hair. Blood. The entire process preserved her biological essence.”
I didn't retorted him. Callum was right. Maybe I had just been clinging to the idea that Bella could still be alive. Well, now she was. Again.
Reborn.
He continued explaining, “We used accelerated cellular scaffolding. Her body matured in months—physically identical to the original. Combined with synthetic growth hormones and tailored neuro-mapping, we triggered selective memory imprints… not all, but enough to anchor her to you.”
I stared at him with a solemn look. The guilt still gnawed at every cell of my body.
“She wasn’t just born again,” he added quietly. “She was rebuilt. You asked me to bring her back. This was the perfect way.”
I looked back at the monitor, observing her chest rose and fell gently.
My Bella…
I didn’t argue further. I trust Callum's intelligence.
“This project stays buried,” I said after. “No one talks about it. If even a whisper leaks, I’ll burn this place down myself.”
Callum nodded quickly. “Understood. No one here will say a word, I assure you. Everyone’s loyal.”
I looked at him a second longer before stepping away from the glass.
“You know why I did this,” I muttred under my breath.
Callum hesitated, but then asked, “And if she finds out the truth?”
I paused at the door, my hand tightening on the knob. “Then I’ll deal with it myself.”
I left without another word.
*****
Bella had finally been discharged from the facility. Callum had finished running all the necessary tests and confirmed she was completely stable—fully recovered, and safe to come home with me.
For now, I brought her back to the fortress—the place where I once kept her locked away.
I only meant for it to be temporary. We would return to Blackvale soon, once everything felt truly settled—especially for her.
She was still struggling with the missing pieces of her memory, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop worrying about it.
First, for her condition. And second, for the fear that if any part of the past ever came back to her, she might hate me all over again.
The thought haunted me.
But Callum had assured me it wouldn’t happen. They had successfully erased everything—her memories of Riven, and all the tragedy that came with it.
I trusted Callum’s work. I believe I did. So why did this unease still sit in my chest like a stone?
I stood by the doorway, watching her sleep.
She looked too peaceful.
Lying there, with sunlight brushing across her skin.. Her breathing was slow and steady—like nothing bad had ever touched her. Like this place held no shadows. No past. No scars.
I didn’t want to wake her. Not when she looked like that—soft, calm, and untouched by the darkness I still carried.
I’ve stood here before, countless times. Back then, I was a man in desperation. Haunted by my choices. By her resistance to me.
But today felt different. It was less cruel.
Almost closer to being kind.
Still, guilt lived in me every day— quiet, but constant. I carried the weight of what I did—of what she no longer remembered.
There are things I’ll never forget. Things I don’t deserve to forget.
But she… she’s been given a clean slate.
Maybe that’s a mercy neither of us deserved, but one I’m selfish enough to keep.
I took a quiet step forward.
She didn’t stir—not even when I brushed my thumb across her cheek. Her skin was soft and warm beneath my touch.
Real.
We’d been here a week now, but sometimes I still couldn’t believe it. That she was here. That she didn’t look at me with defiance whenever she saw me. That her eyes no longer held fear and hate when they met mine.
But I could tell when she was struggling. Even if she didn’t speak of it, I saw it in the way her fingers sometimes twitches in her sleep, or how she hesitated when the silence stretched too long—like something deep inside her was trying to claw its way out.
Still... she trusted me now. That’s what mattered, wasn’t it?
I sat down beside her on the bed. The mattress dipped as I leaned in closer to her.
She stirred then, her curly lashes fluttering before her eyes opened slowly.
She blinked up at me sleepily.
Then, she smiled. Uncertain—but real.
“You’re here…”
“I’m always here,” I replied softly.
She reached for me—her fingers brushing against mine like it was second nature.
“How do you feel?” I asked, locking eyes with her.
She stretched, glancing around the room. Her brow furrowed slightly, as if she couldn’t decide whether the space was new or familiar.
“Okay... I think. Just a bit tired.”
Her gaze drifted toward the balcony, where the sea shimmered far in the distance.
“This place... it’s very beautiful. Have I been here before?”
“Yes,” I answered quietly. “A long time ago.”
“I don’t remember it,” she murmured.
I didn’t speak right away. My throat felt tight, like it always did when she brushed up against something she wasn’t supposed to remember.
She turned back to me. “Was I happy here?”
I looked at her for a long moment.
“You are now.”
She nodded slowly, like that answer was enough.
Maybe it was.
“You said I can go back... to Blackvale,” she said after a while, studying my face. “I miss them.”
She was talking about my family. The people who loved her like their own—because she was.
Bella’s parents were dear friends of ours. When they died in a tragic accident, my parents took her in and raised her as one of us.
I was fifteen, and she was eight.
But even before that—our fate had already been sealed by the Moon Goddess.
I have loved her from the moment she came into this world.
She grew into the most stunning woman I’d ever seen. When she told us she wanted to become a model, we supported her with everything we had, unconditionally.
She started her career early—just fifteen—and quickly rose to fame.
I was always her rock. Her protector. Her strong pillar.
To her, I was an older brother.
But to me… she was everything.
Then I found out about him. Her childhood sweetheart.
Riven.
I hadn’t known at first. But even when I did... I endured it. I kept hoping she’d see it—that I was the one who truly loved her. That no one in this world could love her more than I do.
But I was wrong.
It was on her twentieth birthday—when Riven proposed—and I broke.
My love twisted into something darker. I made the cruelest decision of my life. I abducted her. Imprisoned her here. Tried to force her to love me, to accept our bond.
To make her completely mine.
And she suffered for it.
I snapped out from my long thoughts when I felt her soft hand against mine.
"Is there something wrong?" She asked softly, her amber eyes fixated on me.
I simply offered a faint smile under her hopeful gaze. “If you want to go back... you can.”
“Will you come with me?” she asked, her voice still soft.
I didn’t hesitate. “Of course.”
I brushed my knuckle across the tip of her nose, like I used to do.
She smiled again and leaned her head against my shoulder like it always belonged there.
I let her.
I wrapped an arm around her and held her close.
She didn’t remember what I did.
But I did.
And I still don’t know if that’s better or worse.
All I knew was—she was here.
And for now… that was enough.
- Writer
