Episode 13
The blaze behind them still raged, casting flickering shadows across the snow. But Iris's gaze was fixed on the blinking red light embedded in a charred panel, half-buried in ice.
Lucien followed her stare. "It's probably just a dead signal."
"No," Iris said softly. "It's a marker. A trail."
And sure enough, when she knelt and wiped away the frost, a hidden compartment clicked open. Inside: a small metallic cube. Lightweight. Pulsing faintly.
Engraved on its side was a single word in fine script: PANDORA.
Lucien exhaled. "What the hell did Alec leave behind now?"
Iris tucked the cube into her coat. "Whatever it is… it's for me."
---
One Week Later – Blackridge Estate
Iris hadn't slept well since their return. Nightmares haunted her. Not of Alec—but of herself. Standing in a mirrored room, surrounded by hundreds of versions of herself, each whispering her secrets. Her lies. Her past.
Lucien had increased the mansion's security, adding biometric locks, EMP shielding, and new surveillance. But Iris remained restless.
The cube hadn't opened.
Until tonight.
As midnight fell, a soft hum echoed from her desk. The cube unraveled like petals opening, revealing a holographic interface.
And Alec's voice.
> "If you're seeing this, Theta-7, then you've survived the purge. Good. That means you're finally ready to know everything."
---
The Pandora Protocol
The hologram shifted—showing files, maps, and video feeds.
Iris watched in silence as images flashed before her eyes: her as a child in a lab. Her first kill. Her training. Her conditioning.
She hadn't just been a subject.
She had been Alec's weapon.
"You weren't just created to be perfect," Alec's voice explained. "You were created to eliminate imperfection. And you succeeded. Hundreds of times."
"No…" Iris whispered. "I didn't… I wouldn't."
But the footage didn't lie.
She watched herself murder a man in a glass room. Calm. Precise. Her eyes—empty.
Lucien entered, alerted by the noise. He froze as the scene played.
"Iris… what is this?"
"My past," she said hoarsely. "The parts I was never supposed to remember."
---
The Hidden Vault
Among the files, Alec left coordinates to a second site—a hidden vault beneath the ruins of an old monastery in Romania.
Not a lab.
Not a bunker.
But a safehouse. Built for her.
Lucien glanced at the data. "Do you want to go there?"
Iris didn't hesitate. "Yes."
---
Romania – The Forgotten Monastery
The monastery stood crumbling atop a misty cliff, its spires twisted by time. No monks remained. Only silence, moss, and the howl of wind.
They found the vault beneath the chapel, hidden behind an altar.
As Lucien pried the old mechanism open, Iris braced herself.
Inside was not a lab or a weapon cache.
It was… a nursery.
Cribs. Toys. Books.
She stared in disbelief.
"Alec… he was going to raise them."
"Who?" Lucien asked quietly.
"Us," Iris said. "The clones. The final generation. Meant to blend into society. Quiet. Perfect. Invisible."
Lucien found a book—her name on the cover: Thea.
It was a diary.
---
A Mother's Words
The diary wasn't written by Alec.
It was written by Dr. Elenora Vale—Iris's biological mother.
In it, she detailed how Alec manipulated her into donating genetic material. How she tried to run. How she was caught. How, before she died, she left behind one message:
> "If you ever find this, my daughter—know that you were never a mistake. You were made from love, stolen by cruelty. Find your truth. Burn his world down."
Tears rolled down Iris's cheeks.
She wasn't just a lab rat. She was someone's child.
"I have a family," she whispered.
Lucien reached for her hand. "And now you have a choice."
---
The Crossroads
Back at Blackridge, Iris stood before a table of files.
One path led to vengeance—to hunting down every remaining Lazarus cell Alec left behind.
The other led to healing—to finding out who she was without Alec's shadow.
Lucien leaned against the wall. "Whatever you choose, I'm with you."
She looked at him—really looked at him.
"You never once doubted me."
"Never will."
Iris closed the diary, her voice steady. "Then it's time to finish this."
She picked up the file marked Phase Three.
Her name was on it.
But beneath it, in Alec's handwriting, were three haunting words:
> "Project Seraphim Initiated."