Chapter 14: Bloodborne Secrets
1037 Words
(Arianna’s POV)
---
I used to think my silence was a weapon.
Now, I know—it’s my last defense against the chaos that claws inside my mind.
Because after Sanctum burned, I wasn’t free.
I was exposed.
---
Leo sat across from me in the safehouse.
A dim, crumbling cottage tucked into the hills of Naples, far from eyes and ears that served the Bianchi name.
He’d been quiet since Luka died in his arms.
Even quieter after we read the file.
The one Luka handed to me with his last breath.
I hadn’t opened it for hours.
Because I knew once I did, nothing would be the same again.
But silence couldn’t delay fate.
So I opened it.
And read.
> Project DAHLIA.
Second Overseer: Dr. Regina Volkova.
Location: Rostov, Russia.
My hands trembled.
I hadn’t heard that name in years.
But I remembered her.
Steel-gray eyes. Crimson lipstick. A Russian accent that could cut through steel.
She was the one who oversaw the punishments.
The one who told the younger agents, “Pain teaches obedience.”
Leo saw my face pale.
"You know her."
I nodded once.
Then signed: She used to run tests on the younger children. Psychological reprogramming. She liked to break them. Watch who snapped first.
"Is she dangerous?"
I met his eyes. Cold. Steady.
She built monsters like Crow only dreamed of.
He didn’t ask again.
Just stood up and said: “Then we find her. And we end it.”
---
The plan was simple.
We go in as a ghost team.
Me. Leo. Silas.
No backup. No trace.
The less we left behind, the better.
Because wherever Volkova was hiding, it wouldn’t be alone.
She had time to rebuild.
And power to protect her.
We had one shot.
---
The jet landed in a field of ice.
Rostov greeted us with a wind that tasted like blood and rust.
Silas met us at the extraction point.
He didn’t joke this time.
"There’s a lab. Buried under a fake psychiatric hospital. Guards are ex-military, loyal to Volkova. Civilians above. We go loud, we get innocent people killed."
Leo looked at me.
I nodded.
We go silent.
---
That night, we infiltrated the hospital.
Dressed as staff.
Silas forged IDs.
Leo pretended to be my handler.
I was the mute patient—easy to underestimate.
They didn’t check us too hard.
But beneath the hospital… the air changed.
It was colder.
Sharper.
The halls smelled of antiseptic and secrets.
We passed doors marked with codes. No names.
And I saw them.
Children.
Just like we were.
Sitting in silence.
Hooked up to monitors.
Eyes blank.
Dreams gone.
Leo’s jaw clenched.
"We pull them out after we finish Volkova."
I nodded.
But inside… my blood boiled.
Because Volkova didn’t stop Sanctum.
She recreated it.
And perfected it.
---
We found her in the observation room.
Glass panels overlooked the labs.
She stood at the center, looking down.
A cigarette between her fingers.
Hair pinned back.
Older now.
But unmistakable.
"Arianna," she said without turning. "You survived longer than expected."
I didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to.
She turned around.
"Still mute, I see. Shame. I would’ve loved to hear your last words."
Leo stepped beside me, gun drawn.
"Give me one reason not to shoot you right now."
She laughed.
Cold and elegant.
"Because you haven’t seen the real lab yet."
She pressed a button.
The wall behind her shifted.
Opened.
And what I saw made me freeze.
Tanks.
Filled with fluid.
Inside them—replicas.
Of me.
Not exact.
But close.
Same hair.
Same build.
Same scars.
Hundreds of them.
"You were just the alpha," Volkova said softly. "Now, I have an army."
---
Leo opened fire.
The bullet struck glass.
Volkova was already gone.
The room locked down.
Sirens blared.
"She's going underground!" Silas shouted through comms. "I'm tracking her."
I ran.
Through the lab. Past glass cases.
Past horror.
Every footstep echoed with betrayal.
Because I wasn’t unique.
I wasn’t one of a kind.
I was a blueprint.
A product.
But I could still be something more.
---
I found her in the lower hangar.
Boarding a chopper.
Guards opened fire.
I moved faster.
Danced between bullets.
Knives flew from my sleeves.
Two guards dropped.
Leo joined me, covering my flank.
Volkova screamed, “You think killing me stops this? It’s too late. They're already active. All over the world."
I launched at her.
She pulled a syringe.
A blade struck her wrist, knocking it away.
I slammed her into the steel.
She struggled.
But I pinned her.
And for the first time… I spoke.
I didn’t sign.
I didn’t stay silent.
I used my voice.
Barely above a whisper.
But enough.
"You don’t get to speak for me anymore."
Her eyes widened.
Then—
I plunged the blade into her throat.
Blood gurgled.
Silence won.
Again.
---
We burned the lab.
Freed the children.
Took every file and turned it over to Interpol through Silas’s contacts.
No trail back to us.
No survivors loyal to her.
Just ashes.
And replicas that would never wake.
Because I wasn’t a ghost anymore.
I was fire.
---
Back at the safehouse in Italy, I stood on the balcony.
Wind brushing my hair.
Leo stepped behind me.
Wrapped his arms around my waist.
"You're not a weapon," he whispered. "You're a woman. My woman."
I turned to him.
Touched his scarred hand.
Signed:
You gave me my voice back. But I chose to use it. That’s mine. Not yours. Not theirs.
He nodded.
"I know."
We kissed.
Slow.
Fierce.
And for the first time, I felt whole.
Even if the world wasn’t.
---
But peace has a price.
Because that night, Silas handed us one last file.
A message intercepted from the remains of Sanctum’s network.
Not from Crow.
Not from Volkova.
But from a third name.
One I’d never seen before.
But Leo had.
He went pale.
"Enzo Ricci."
"He used to be my father’s second. Everyone thought he died during the family war. But he's alive."
"And if he’s behind Sanctum too..."
I signed: Then this isn’t just my war anymore. It’s ours.
Leo nodded.
"Then we finish it. Together."
- Writer
