The world screamed around them.
Stone cracked. Beams groaned. The chandeliers above shattered into glittering shards of death. Gabriel's arms tightened around Aria as the ceiling came crashing down. They hit the ground hard. The impact stole the breath from her lungs. Then — silence.
Heavy. Smothering. Choking.
Only the echo of destruction lingered in the distance.
Aria coughed violently, her lungs filled with dust. Her fingers clawed at Gabriel's shirt. He groaned beneath her, but he was conscious.
"Gabriel," she rasped. "Are you okay?"
He moved slightly. "I've had better days." A weak chuckle. "You?"
She gave a hoarse laugh. "Alive. That's something."
Gabriel shifted, brushing debris off her back. "We need to move. In case there's more."
A red glow flickered through the dust — fire. Somewhere deeper in the estate, flames had begun to spread.
Gabriel looked up. A small gap in the ceiling above them showed a sliver of moonlight. "We're in the east wing. If we cut through the wine cellar, we can reach the garden exit."
He pushed a beam aside and helped Aria up. Her legs trembled but held.
"I'm not leaving you," he said.
"You're not allowed to," she replied with a fierce look.
Together, they staggered toward what was left of the hallway.
---
Outside – Chaos
Fire crews surrounded the estate. Emily stood near the front gate, her face pale, phone pressed to her ear. Sirens blared in the distance, and guards scrambled through the grounds.
"They were inside!" she shouted. "Have they found them?"
"No sign yet," a security officer said, checking his radio. "Thermal scanners just picked up movement in the east wing!"
Emily's stomach flipped. "That's them."
Without hesitation, she ran toward the back garden. She wasn't waiting for confirmation.
Not this time.
---
Underground Tunnel – The Escape
Gabriel kicked open the cellar door. Smoke followed them like a predator. Aria stumbled, coughing hard.
"Come on, almost there," he urged.
The wine cellar walls trembled. Another blast — this one deeper, like a chain reaction.
"Someone really wanted to erase this place," Aria said.
Gabriel nodded grimly. "They weren't just trying to kill us. They wanted to destroy evidence."
He spotted the hatch. "Here!" He dropped to his knees and yanked it open.
Cool air rushed in from the underground passage. He helped Aria through first, then climbed down, sealing the hatch behind them.
Darkness swallowed them.
Gabriel fumbled for his lighter and flicked it on. Shadows danced across stone walls. This tunnel was old — maybe built by his grandfather during the war.
They moved quickly, boots slapping against the damp floor. Finally, a ladder appeared. Above it, daylight.
Gabriel climbed up, forced the trapdoor open—
And was met with Emily's relieved scream.
"You idiots!" she sobbed, pulling them out. "You scared the hell out of me!"
"We're okay," Aria coughed, hugging her. "Mostly."
Gabriel stood, scanning the area. Fire consumed the estate behind them, black smoke rising into the sky like a funeral.
He stared in silence.
Emily followed his gaze. "This was no accident."
"No," he said quietly. "It was war."
---
Later – Temporary Safehouse
They regrouped in a discreet apartment in the city, secured by Gabriel's private network. Inside, the atmosphere was tense.
Emily threw a file on the table. "Security swept the estate ruins. No bodies. No clues."
Gabriel glanced through the folder. "But the charges were military-grade. And placed precisely under the foundation."
"Professional job," Emily said. "Same pattern as the bombing that took down your old research facility last year."
Aria stiffened. "The lab that worked on Project Iris?"
Gabriel's jaw clenched. "The one my father disapproved of."
Emily crossed her arms. "You think he did this?"
"I think he's trying to bury every piece of the past he can — before we uncover it."
Aria sat down, face pale. "We're running out of time."
Gabriel turned to her. "Not if we hit first."
---
That Night – Revelation
Gabriel sat in the living room, fingers moving across an old USB stick Emily had recovered from the estate weeks ago but couldn't access.
"It might've survived the explosion," she said. "Worth a shot."
He plugged it into a secure laptop. Lines of code flashed.
Encrypted.
He typed in his mother's birthdate. Denied.
Then — his own.
Success.
The screen filled with videos and documents.
Gabriel clicked the first one.
A lab recording. Date-stamped 11 years ago. His father stood beside a young man tied to a chair.
"This subject carries the genome variant. If we succeed, we'll rewrite genetic instability forever," his father said into the camera.
Aria leaned closer. "That's… Project Iris."
Emily stared at the video, stunned. "That man — the subject — he looks like…"
Gabriel didn't move. "Me."
Silence.
Gabriel watched as the man in the video screamed. Vials were injected. Monitors spiked.
His father turned to the camera. "This isn't about science anymore. It's about control. And if my son ever finds this…"
The feed cut off.
Gabriel sat back, pale. "He experimented on people. Maybe even me."
Aria took his hand. "We need to stop him. Not just for you — but for everyone he's hurt."
Gabriel's expression hardened. "We will."
---
Next Morning – Message from the Enemy
A knock at the door.
Gabriel approached cautiously. Through the peephole — a young woman. Nervous. Alone.
He opened it slightly.
"I have something for you," she whispered.
She handed him a black envelope. Then ran.
Gabriel opened it.
Inside was a single piece of paper.
"Meet me. Noon. Cathedral ruins. Come alone. Or she dies."
Below it — a photo.
Aria.
Tied. Gagged. Bruised.
Gabriel's blood turned to ice.
Emily looked over his shoulder. "No. This is a trap."
"I'm going," he said.
"Gabriel—"
"I said I'm going."
---
Cathedral Ruins – Noon
Wind howled through the broken arches. Gabriel walked into the crumbled remains of the once-sacred space. It smelled of rain, ash, and time.
He saw her.
Aria. Tied to a pillar. Alive — but barely conscious.
He ran toward her.
"Stop," said a voice.
Gabriel froze.
His father stepped out from behind a column, gun in hand.
"I warned you," he said.
"You'll never win," Gabriel growled.
His father smirked. "I already did. You just haven't realized it yet."
"Why Aria?" Gabriel asked. "What did she do?"
"She made you human. Weak. And I need you to remember who you are."
"You want me to become like you?"
"No," his father said, leveling the gun. "I want you to survive."
Suddenly — gunshots.
Gabriel's team had surrounded the ruins, hidden in wait. Emily stepped out, gun raised. "Drop it."
Chaos exploded.
Bullets flew.
Gabriel dove forward, cutting Aria free.
His father fired — a shot grazed Gabriel's arm.
Emily returned fire, hitting the older man in the shoulder.
He fell.
Gabriel stood over him, panting.
"It's over," he said.
His father laughed, blood on his lips. "Not yet."
He pulled a detonator from his coat.
"RUN!" Gabriel shouted.
He grabbed Aria and bolted.
They reached the steps.
Another explosion — this one inside the cathedral.
The floor buckled.
Gabriel and Aria fell through collapsing stone—
—into darkness.