CHAPTER 5: THE GIRL WHO WASN'T MEANT TO LIVE
1135 Words
🖤(Chloe’s POV)
I didn’t wait for morning.
People who wait for answers usually get fed lies.
I wanted the truth.
The hallway outside my room was silent, the kind of silence that only existed in places built on secrets. Guards stood at intervals, pretending not to watch me.
Pretending.
I walked anyway.
Not hiding.
Not sneaking.
Because if they wanted to stop me—
They would have already tried.
And they hadn’t.
Which meant one thing.
They were curious.
Good.
So was I.
I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for.
But instinct?
It never failed me.
The deeper I moved into the estate, the colder it felt. Less like a home… more like a place where things were stored.
Hidden.
Forgotten.
Buried.
Then I found it.
A door.
Unmarked.
Unwatched.
Unlocked.
Too easy.
I pushed it open.
Inside—
Darkness.
Cold air rushed past me as I stepped in, the door closing quietly behind me.
Lights flickered on automatically.
And what I saw…
Wasn’t a room.
It was a record.
Files. Screens. Old documents sealed behind glass.
Names.
Dates.
Bloodlines.
Experiments.
My chest tightened slightly.
“…What is this?”
I stepped closer, scanning the nearest file.
And then—
I saw my name.
Not “Chloe.”
Another name.
Subject C-17
My fingers stilled.
Slowly… I opened it.
Inside—
Photos.
Me.
As a child.
Younger than I remembered.
But that wasn’t the problem.
The problem was—
I didn’t remember taking them.
A sharp breath left my lips.
“No…”
I flipped through the pages faster.
Test results.
Observations.
Notes written in cold, clinical detail.
Subject shows abnormal resilience
Pain response suppressed
Instinctive combat adaptation observed
My pulse slowed.
Not faster.
Slower.
Colder.
Because this?
This wasn’t discovery.
This was confirmation.
“I was never lost…” I whispered.
“I was placed.”
A sound behind me.
Soft.
Deliberate.
I didn’t turn.
“You move fast,” Kael’s voice came from the shadows.
Of course.
He was always watching.
“Not fast enough,” I replied, holding up the file. “Care to explain why I have a serial number instead of a childhood?”
Silence.
Then footsteps.
He stepped into the light slowly, his expression unreadable.
“You weren’t supposed to find this yet.”
Yet.
Interesting word.
“So it’s true,” I said quietly. “I wasn’t switched by accident.”
“No.”
The word landed heavy.
Definitive.
“Then say it clearly,” I pushed, my voice sharp now. “What am I?”
A pause.
Long enough to matter.
Then—
“You’re a weapon.”
Silence.
Absolute.
Complete.
Something inside me… stilled.
Not fear.
Not shock.
Recognition.
“So that’s it?” I asked softly. “You marry weapons now?”
A flicker of something crossed his face.
Not amusement.
Not entirely.
“Only the dangerous ones.”
I stepped closer, closing the space between us.
“And you requested me,” I said. “Why?”
This time—
He didn’t answer immediately.
And that?
That was the first real crack I’d seen.
“…Because you shouldn’t exist.”
My eyes narrowed.
“Explain.”
He exhaled slowly, like he was deciding how much truth I could handle.
“A child was taken eighteen years ago,” he said. “But not you.”
My grip tightened on the file.
“Then who?”
Silence.
Then—
“Selina.”
The world didn’t spin.
Didn’t shake.
But something shifted.
Deep.
Sharp.
Deadly.
“That’s not possible,” I said flatly.
“She was the original,” he continued. “The one marked at birth. The one chosen.”
Chosen.
For what?
“And me?” I asked.
His gaze darkened.
“You were never part of the plan.”
A slow breath left me.
“So what… I’m just a mistake?”
“No,” he said quietly.
“You’re the result.”
Before I could respond—
A sudden pain shot through my wrist.
Sharp.
Violent.
I gasped, dropping the file as I stumbled back.
The mark—
It appeared again.
But this time—
It wasn’t faint.
It burned.
Bright.
Alive.
Lines twisting, shifting, forming a symbol that pulsed with something I couldn’t control.
“What is this—” I choked.
Kael moved instantly, grabbing my wrist before I could pull away.
His touch was firm.
Grounding.
Dangerous.
“It’s awakening,” he said.
“That’s not possible,” I snapped, trying to pull free.
“It is now.”
The light flared—
Then suddenly—
Memories hit.
Not mine.
Not fully.
Flashes—
A woman screaming.
Blood.
A child being taken.
Another being left behind.
A voice—
“Hide her. If they find out… she’ll be killed.”
I froze.
My breath came uneven.
“That wasn’t…” I whispered.
Kael’s grip tightened slightly.
“You’re remembering.”
“No,” I shook my head. “That’s not my memory.”
“It is now.”
The mark dimmed.
Then disappeared.
But the damage?
Done.
Silence filled the room again.
But nothing felt the same.
I looked up at him slowly.
“Selina…” I said, voice colder now. “She was the one they wanted.”
“Yes.”
“And me?”
A pause.
Then—
“You were hidden.”
Understanding clicked.
Sharp.
Deadly.
“They switched us,” I said.
“Not by accident,” he replied.
“On purpose.”
My chest rose slowly as everything aligned.
Selina wasn’t the replacement.
She was the original.
And me?
The one meant to disappear.
A slow, dangerous smile formed on my lips.
“They tried to erase me,” I murmured.
Kael watched me carefully.
“Yes.”
I let out a quiet breath.
Then laughed.
Soft.
Unstable.
Excited.
“Wrong move.”
Because if there was one thing I understood—
It was survival.
And they had failed.
(Unknown POV)
“She’s awakened.”
The voice echoed in the dark.
Selina stood still, her expression unreadable.
“Are you sure?” she asked quietly.
The masked figure stepped closer.
“The mark doesn’t lie.”
Silence.
Then—
Selina smiled.
Not sweet.
Not kind.
Something else.
Something sharper.
“Good,” she said softly.
“Then it’s finally time.”
(Chloe’s POV)
I stood there, staring at my wrist.
At the place where the mark had been.
Gone again.
But not forgotten.
Not hidden.
Not anymore.
“They wanted me gone,” I said quietly.
Kael didn’t respond.
“They failed.”
A pause.
Then I looked up at him.
And for the first time—
My smile wasn’t calm.
It was dangerous.
“So now,” I continued softly…
“Let’s see what happens when their mistake… fights back.”
- Writer
