Noa stood frozen in front of the screen. The live feed flickered slightly like static bleeding into reality but it was real. It had to be. A tiny, crumbling cell. Steel walls, bloodstains soaked into the corners. Chains bolted to the floor. And in the center of it all…
Him.
Or someone who looked too much like him to deny.
But not the clone.
Older. Emaciated. Eyes sunken, hair wild, body covered in old surgical scars stitched like someone had tried to take him apart and forgot to put him back together. His mouth moved, but no sound came through the feed.
Noa leaned closer. “Ivy, can you boost audio?”
“Already trying. Give me a sec.”
Alessio’s eyes stayed locked on the screen, his voice tight. “That can’t be another clone. That’s something else.”
“It’s not a clone,” Noa said. “It’s t
