The snow hadn't stopped for three days.
Thick, heavy flakes blanketed the forest in eerie silence. From the outside, the safehouse looked like an abandoned bunker—cold, impenetrable. But inside, tension swirled like a living thing.
Alina stood by the shortwave radio, still reeling from Elara's voice hours earlier.
"To the world that tried to bury me—I am not your mistake. I am your mirror…"
She hadn't heard that voice in years. A part of her had hoped Elara was dead—gone with the ashes of Project Sanctum. But hearing her again was like being pulled into a past she'd tried to entomb.
Leonard was already pacing, his jaw tight.
"She wants a response," he muttered. "And she knows we're listening."
"She's challenging me," Alina said. "Not the world. Not governments. Me."
Leonard stopped. "Then we need to talk about what she really wants."
Alina looked up slowly. "Lily."
The name hung in the room like a curse.
Down the hallway, Lily was drawing with crayons on the cabin floor. Baxter, the golden retriever, lay sprawled beside her, tail thumping softly. The child was humming—utterly unaware of the war that had begun again.
Leonard watched her from the doorway, then turned to Alina.
"We need a new plan," he said quietly. "The Denmark bunker won't hold if Elara's broadcasting openly. She's provoking a global response."
Alina's eyes didn't leave her daughter. "We can't keep running forever."
"No. But if we don't run now, we won't have a choice."
She finally looked at him, her voice steely. "Then we go to her."
Leonard's brow furrowed. "You want to walk into her trap?"
"I want to end this. On my terms."
"You mean kill her."
Alina hesitated. "If it comes to that."
Later that night, Rafe appeared through the trees like a shadow—frost on his hood and wind in his wake.
He threw a drive on the table. "Encrypted satellite traces. We got a rough lock on her broadcast hub—abandoned research station, Norilsk region."
Leonard swore. "She's tucked herself into a nuclear wasteland."
"Exactly," Rafe said. "That station's off-grid. No supply routes. No local traffic. It was decommissioned two decades ago."
"Perfect for her experiments," Alina muttered. "And perfect to bury us if we're not careful."
Rafe nodded grimly. "You're not going alone."
Leonard agreed before she could protest. "We go together."
Alina stared at both of them, then at the map Rafe had spread across the table. "We leave in 48 hours."
Two Days Later – Somewhere Over Eastern Europe
The private cargo plane roared above thick cloud cover.
Alina sat near the rear, dressed in thermal black and strapped into a jump harness. Across from her, Leonard double-checked a rifle. The soldier in him had reawakened.
Rafe passed a sealed folder to her. "Intel's outdated, but here's the last schematic of the station. Multiple levels, one main access tunnel. If she's in there, it's built to keep her safe—and you out."
Alina flipped the folder open. "What about biological containment?"
Rafe's face darkened. "You think she's been testing on people again?"
"She always was," Alina said coldly.
Leonard said nothing, but his grip on the weapon tightened.
The pilot's voice crackled over the comm. "Ten minutes to drop."
Alina took a breath and reached into her coat—pulling out Lily's drawing. A crude image of a house, snowflakes, and three smiling figures. Mommy. Daddy. Lily.
She folded it once, tucked it to her heart, and stood.
Ground Zero – Norilsk Ruins
They landed two kilometers out, parachuting into whiteout conditions.
The wind howled like a living beast, visibility near zero. But Alina moved as if she could see the bones of the earth itself. Leonard and Rafe flanked her as they trekked silently across frozen terrain toward the half-buried facility.
The main access hatch was rusted over, barely visible under snow.
Rafe ran a scanner across the panel. "She's re-routed power. This thing's still alive."
Alina knelt and entered a passcode—one she hadn't typed in seven years.
With a hiss, the door slid open.
Leonard stared at her. "You still remember that?"
"She used my research. My codes."
They stepped inside.
The station reeked of old chemicals and ozone.
Long hallways stretched like veins through the underground. Broken lights flickered overhead, casting long, haunted shadows. Alina walked ahead, her boots silent against the grated metal floors.
They passed rows of shattered glass tanks—failed prototypes. Inside, long-dried blood clung to the cracks like rust.
Rafe muttered, "Christ…"
Alina didn't blink. "She was trying to clone organics. Human-compatible bio-tissue. But she couldn't stabilize them. They broke down after two days."
"You helped build this?" Leonard asked quietly.
She stopped. "I helped stop this. And she punished me for it."
They reached the core chamber.
Lights flicked on.
And she was there.
Elara Voss.
She stood at the far end, dressed in white, her auburn hair tied back in a surgical knot.
"You came," Elara said, as if they were meeting for tea.
Alina stepped forward. "What do you want?"
Elara smiled. "I wanted to see your face. Before the world realizes you were never the victim."
Leonard aimed his gun, but Elara didn't flinch.
"I was your best friend," Elara continued. "Your sister in science. And you betrayed me for a man who locked you in a golden cage."
Alina's voice didn't shake. "You betrayed humanity."
"I perfected it!" Elara snapped, stepping closer. "Do you know how many governments tried to recreate Lily's genome? Failed, again and again. But she's still here. Alive. Because of me."
"She's not your daughter," Leonard growled.
"No," Elara said calmly. "She's our legacy."
Alina fired.
The shot hit the wall beside Elara's head.
"I'm not here to debate," Alina said. "I'm here to end this."
But Elara didn't flinch.
Instead, she pressed a switch—and a nearby chamber lit up.
Inside… was a girl.
No older than Lily.
Pale. Sleeping.
Alina's heart stopped. "What… what is that?"
Elara whispered, "Her sister."