Chapter 10: The Truth Beneath Her Name
1044 Words
The air between them changed.
“You’re the reason it exists.”
Alexander’s words didn’t just echo—
They settled.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Isabella stared at him, her heart pounding so loudly it felt like the entire room could hear it.
“…What does that mean?” she asked.
Her voice was quieter now.
But more dangerous than before.
Alexander didn’t answer immediately.
And that silence?
It hurt more than anything.
“Say it,” she pushed. “No more riddles. No more secrets.”
Sophia stood frozen near the desk.
Liam didn’t move.
Everyone was waiting.
Alexander exhaled slowly.
Then finally—
“Before the project began,” he said, “there was a prototype.”
Isabella’s stomach twisted.
“A prototype… of what?”
“Of you.”
Her breath caught.
“That doesn’t make any sense,” she said quickly. “I wasn’t even part of anything back then. I was just a kid.”
“Yes,” he said.
“And that’s exactly why they chose you.”
The room went still.
“They found you before you even knew who you were,” Alexander continued. “Before you had a life. Before you had a choice.”
Her mind spun.
“No,” she whispered. “I would remember something like that.”
“You don’t,” he said. “Because they made sure you wouldn’t.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“What did they do to me?”
Alexander’s jaw tightened.
“They studied you first,” he said. “Your brain activity. Your reflexes. Your pattern recognition.”
Her hands began to shake again.
“Why me?”
His answer came quietly.
“Because you were already different.”
Silence.
Deep.
Terrifying silence.
Isabella’s thoughts raced back through her life.
All the moments she had brushed off.
All the times people had called her “too observant,” “too quick,” “too aware.”
It hadn’t been normal.
It had never been normal.
“They didn’t create you from nothing,” Alexander said. “They enhanced what was already there.”
Her voice cracked.
“So I was… a mistake?”
“No,” he said immediately.
“Then what am I?!”
The question broke out of her.
Raw.
Painful.
Real.
Alexander stepped closer.
His voice softened.
“You’re the only one who survived what they were trying to do.”
Her chest tightened.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“It does,” he said.
She shook her head.
“No—it just makes it worse.”
Sophia stepped forward gently.
“Isabella…”
But Isabella held up a hand.
“No. I need to hear this from him.”
Her eyes locked onto Alexander’s.
“You said I’m the reason the project exists.”
“Yes.”
“Then explain it.”
He hesitated.
And that hesitation said everything.
“Alexander.”
His voice dropped.
“They didn’t start the project to create something new.”
Her heart pounded harder.
“They started it,” he said, “to replicate you.”
The words hit like a shockwave.
Isabella’s vision blurred.
Replicate… her?
“They wanted to understand what made you different,” he continued. “And then recreate it.”
Her breathing became uneven again.
“So all those people…” she whispered.
“They were experiments,” he said quietly.
Her stomach twisted violently.
“And most of them didn’t survive.”
“No…” she whispered.
Her legs felt weak.
The room felt like it was tilting.
“They used me?” she said.
“They studied you,” Alexander corrected.
“That’s not better!”
Her voice rose.
Emotion is finally breaking through completely.
“They ruined lives because of me?!”
“No,” he said firmly.
“They ruined lives because of them.”
Tears streamed down her face now.
“But it started with me,” she said.
Her voice broke.
“And now it’s still happening.”
Before anyone could respond—
A sudden loud noise echoed from the hallway.
All four of them froze.
A crash.
Then voices.
Shouting.
Security.
And something else—
Gunfire.
Sophia gasped.
“They’re here.”
Liam moved instantly.
“We don’t have time,” he said. “We need to move—now.”
Alexander grabbed Isabella’s hand without hesitation.
“Come with me.”
She didn’t resist.
Not this time.
Because fear had replaced everything else.
They rushed into the hallway.
The once-secure penthouse was no longer safe.
Footsteps echoed from multiple directions.
Voices shouting orders.
The sound of something breaking.
“They’re inside,” Sophia said, panic rising.
“No kidding,” Liam muttered.
Alexander pulled Isabella toward a hidden panel along the wall.
He pressed something—
And a door slid open.
A concealed passage.
Her eyes widened.
“You had a secret exit this whole time?!”
“I planned for worst-case scenarios,” he said.
“Feels like we’re there!”
“Move,” he ordered.
They entered the narrow passage.
Dimly lit.
Silent.
Too silent.
Alexander led the way, Isabella right behind him, Sophia and Liam following close.
Her heart raced as they moved deeper.
“How far does this go?” she asked.
“To the lower garage,” he said.
“And then?”
“We disappear.”
But just as they turned a corner—
A figure stepped into their path.
Blocking the exit.
Tall.
Calm.
Dangerous.
Isabella’s breath caught.
Because she recognized him immediately.
Even though she had only seen his face once—
In a photograph.
Victor Hale.
Alexander’s father.
“Well,” he said smoothly, his voice cold and controlled.
“This saves me the trouble of finding you.”
Sophia froze.
“Dad…”
Liam swore under his breath.
Alexander stepped forward instantly, placing himself in front of Isabella.
“Get behind me,” he said quietly.
But Isabella didn’t move.
Because Victor’s eyes weren’t on Alexander.
They were on her.
Sharp.
Interested.
Possessive.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for you,” Victor said.
Her chest tightened.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” she replied.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
- Writer
