No Turning Back
Lexi stumbled backward, her heart slamming against her ribs as if it might burst free.It didn't make sense. How had Catherine found them so quickly? How had she even known where to look?
"Catherine," Jace said coldly, stepping protectively in front of Lexi, his weapon raised. "You're not taking her."
Catherine smiled, the same infuriating, smug smile Lexi had seen too many times growing up.The smile that always came before something awful.
"You don't understand, boy," Catherine said, her voice smooth as silk. "Lexi belongs with me. She's far too valuable to be left to amateurs like you."
Lexi's hands shook.Not from fear—but from rage.
"You lied to me," Lexi said, her voice trembling. "You always lied. About my parents. About everything."
Catherine tilted her head, her sharp eyes glittering."Of course I lied, sweetheart. You needed to be... contained."
"Contained?" Lexi echoed, a bitter taste rising in her throat.
"You are dangerous," Catherine said simply, as if explaining the weather. "You were never meant to live an ordinary life, Lexi. Your parents created something the world would kill to possess. If I hadn't stepped in, you would've been ripped apart before you could even walk."
Lexi shook her head furiously. "You didn't protect me. You trapped me."
Catherine's smile thinned. "I did what was necessary."
The air in the tunnel was thick with tension, the silence stretching until it snapped.
Without warning, Catherine moved—lightning fast, her hand flashing toward her belt.
Jace was faster.
He fired a blast from his stun gun, the blue energy bolt slamming into Catherine's side.She stumbled, but recovered almost immediately, pulling a sleek black weapon from under her jacket.
"Run, Lexi!" Jace barked.
Lexi didn't hesitate.
They bolted down the corridor, feet pounding against the concrete. Behind them, Catherine's gun fired with a sharp, electric crack, searing the air inches from Lexi's head.
She ducked, her heart in her throat, her mind screaming.
There were more footsteps now—more enemies pouring into the bunker, their boots echoing down the halls. Catherine hadn't come alone.
"This way!" Jace shouted, veering toward a side passage Lexi hadn't noticed before.
They plunged into a narrower tunnel, the walls closing in tight around them. Lexi's lungs screamed for air, but she kept running. She had to. There was no going back now.
"You can't outrun me, Lexi!" Catherine's voice chased after them, taunting, filled with cold certainty."You are Project Eden!"
Lexi gritted her teeth, pushing herself harder.
At the end of the narrow corridor, an old service lift waited. Jace slammed the button repeatedly as Lexi skidded to a halt beside him.
"Come on, come on—!" he hissed.
The lift groaned and shuddered, the doors creaking open just as shadows spilled into the far end of the tunnel.
"GO!" Jace yelled, shoving Lexi inside.
He dove in after her and slammed the doors shut.The lift shuddered violently, rising with agonizing slowness.
Lexi pressed herself against the wall, clutching the stun gun so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Jace leaned against the opposite side, breathing hard, his weapon still ready.
"You okay?" he asked between gasps.
Lexi nodded numbly. "I—I think so."
For a moment, the only sound was the grinding of old gears as the lift creaked its way upward.
Then Lexi whispered, "What did she mean? That I'm Project Eden?"
Jace hesitated. His gray eyes were grim when he answered.
"You're not just their daughter, Lexi," he said quietly. "You're their legacy. Their ultimate creation."
Lexi stared at him, struggling to understand.
"Your parents didn't just build tech, or secrets," Jace said. "They built you. You're not just smart, or fast, or strong by chance. You were engineered to be all of it. To inherit everything they left behind. The final phase of Project Eden wasn't a machine."
He locked eyes with her.
"It was you."
Lexi's blood turned to ice.
"No," she whispered. "That's not possible."
Jace looked away, his jaw tight. "It is. Your DNA holds the key to everything they built. To technology that could change the world—or destroy it."
The lift gave a violent lurch, then slowed to a halt.
Above them, an access hatch waited—sunlight streaming faintly through the cracks.
Jace forced the doors open with a grunt, revealing the outside: thick forest, the scent of fresh pine washing over them.
Lexi climbed out, blinking against the sudden brightness. They were free—for now.
Jace hauled himself up beside her, glancing back once at the lift shaft, his face grim.
"They won't stop," he said. "Catherine. The others. They'll keep coming. Until they have you—or until you're dead."
Lexi hugged herself, feeling the weight of the truth settle onto her shoulders.
"So what do we do now?" she asked.
Jace looked at her, really looked at her—and for the first time, she saw not just fear or anger in his eyes, but something else: respect.
"Now," he said, "we fight back."
The trees rustled around them, whispering secrets in the wind.
Lexi took a deep breath, the fear still twisting inside her—but beneath it, something stronger was stirring.
For the first time in her life, she wasn't going to wait for someone else to save her.She wasn't going to be a prisoner anymore.She wasn't going to run.
She was going to become who she was meant to be.
Lexi straightened, her eyes hardening with new resolve.
"Let's end this," she said.
Together, they turned and vanished into the trees—two fugitives against an empire built on lies.
But Lexi knew one thing for certain:
They had no idea what she was capable of.
Not yet.