Two versions of the truth

Elena didn't stop running until she was sure she wasn't being followed.

She ducked into a side street, her back pressing against the cold brick wall, her pulse still hammering in her throat.

She forced herself to breathe. To think.

There is someone else who looks exactly like me. Someone who tried to kill me.

She touched her ribs where the blade had nearly sliced through her. If she had been a second slower…

Her mind spun. None of this made sense.

Unless—

Her gaze dropped to the rusted key still clenched in her fist.

Someone had led her here. Someone had wanted her to find that file, to find the truth.

But which truth?

Had she been reborn? Had she somehow replaced another version of herself? Or was it the other way around—was she the copy?

A sharp gust of wind cut through the alley, and for a brief moment, she imagined another Elena standing just outside the shadows. Watching. Waiting.

She shuddered.

She needed answers.

And she knew exactly where to start.

The Man Who Knows Too MuchThe apartment door opened a fraction of an inch. Then, a familiar voice—gruff, edged with suspicion.

"Elena?"

She swallowed. "Yeah. It's me."

A pause. Then the door opened fully, revealing Daniel Carter.

He looked rougher than she remembered—eyes shadowed with exhaustion, stubble creeping across his jaw. He had always been the one person she could trust, the one who had helped her disappear after that night.

But now, looking at him, she wasn't so sure.

Because Daniel had secrets, too.

And she was beginning to wonder if he had known more than he ever told her.

Daniel exhaled, stepping aside. "Get in."

She hesitated for half a second, then crossed the threshold.

The apartment was dimly lit, cluttered with files and papers, the scent of stale coffee hanging in the air. He shut the door behind her, locking it.

"You look like hell," he muttered, moving toward the kitchen.

Elena didn't sit. She stayed by the door, arms crossed, still gripping the key in her palm.

"I saw her," she said.

Daniel froze mid-step.

Slowly, he turned back to her. "Saw who?"

She met his gaze. "Me."

Silence.

Then, instead of the disbelief she had expected, Daniel just closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them, there was something unreadable in his expression.

"…Tell me everything."

Elena's stomach twisted.

Because that reaction told her something important.

Daniel already knew

Elena barely remembered falling asleep.

One minute, she had been sitting in Daniel's apartment, trying to make sense of everything. The next, she was here.

The space around her was endless—soft, shifting shadows stretching in every direction. A place that wasn't quite real, but wasn't entirely unreal either.

And just ahead, standing in the distance, was him.

Adrian.

Elena barely remembered falling asleep.

One minute, she had been sitting in Daniel's apartment, trying to make sense of everything. The next, she was here.

The space around her was endless—soft, shifting shadows stretching in every direction. A place that wasn't quite real, but wasn't entirely unreal either.

And just ahead, standing in the distance, was him.

Adrian.

Elena's breath caught.

He was clearer than before. Not just a ghostly figure at the edges of her dreams—solid, present. His dark hair moved slightly in a nonexistent breeze, his expression unreadable, as always. But this time, something was different.

This time, she could feel the weight of his presence, as if the space between them had thinned.

"Adrian."

Her own voice startled her. How long had it been since she'd actually spoken his name?

He didn't answer. He just watched her.

Frustration twisted inside her. "I know you can hear me. You always do." She took a step closer, her pulse hammering. "Tell me what's happening to me. Who—what—is she?"

Adrian's expression flickered—something like pain crossing his features.

"Elena." His voice was rough, distant, as if carried from somewhere far away. But this time, she heard it.

A rush of something cold surged through her.

"You do know," she whispered.

He exhaled, running a hand through his hair. "I told you to stay away."

Elena froze.

"No," she said slowly. "You never told me anything."

His jaw tightened.

"You don't remember."

Her stomach twisted. "Remember what?"

Adrian took a step forward. For the first time, the space between them actually seemed to close.

"Elena," he said, voice low and urgent. "You need to wake up."

A sharp crack split the air.

The ground beneath her lurched.

The dream shattered around her—

And Elena woke up gasping.

Daniel studied her. "Who is he?"

She hesitated. The truth sat heavy on her tongue.

"I don't know," she admitted.

Daniel watched her for a long moment, then rubbed a hand over his face. "This just keeps getting better."

Elena frowned. "Why?"

He reached for something on the table beside him—a thin folder.

And then he slid it toward her.

Elena hesitated before picking it up.

Inside was a photo.

A grainy surveillance image. A man in a dark coat, walking through the city late at night.

Elena's breath caught in her throat.

Adrian.

Daniel leaned back. "I don't know who he is," he said. "But someone else is looking for him."

The Man Who Shouldn't ExistElena stared at the photo, her mind scrambling for an explanation.

Adrian had always been a dream. A presence that haunted her sleep, a voice just beyond her reach. He wasn't supposed to be real.

Yet here he was.

Captured in a grainy surveillance image, walking alone through the city—somewhere she had probably walked herself a hundred times.

She forced herself to look up at Daniel. "Where did you get this?"

Daniel didn't answer right away. He leaned back, watching her like he was waiting for her to put the pieces together.

Finally, he said, "That depends. When's the last time you saw him?"

She hesitated.

"Before tonight?" she said carefully. "Never."

Daniel exhaled through his nose, like he wasn't sure whether to believe her.

"This photo was taken two nights ago," he said. "Downtown. Near the old train station."

A memory flickered—that place felt familiar. But she couldn't place why.

Daniel tapped the edge of the folder. "And here's where it gets interesting. There are no records of him. No ID, no paper trail, nothing."

Elena frowned. "So? Maybe he's just off the grid."

Daniel shook his head. "Not off the grid. Never existed."

The words sent a chill through her.

She looked back at the image, tracing the outline of Adrian's face with her eyes.

He wasn't a stranger.

He was someone she should remember.

She swallowed hard. "Who's looking for him?"

Daniel hesitated just long enough to make her stomach twist.

Then he said, "The same people who were looking for you."

Elena's fingers tightened on the photo.

Her double. The missing memories. The impossible dreams.

And now, Adrian—real, walking around a city where he shouldn't exist.

None of this was coincidence.

She exhaled sharply and stood. "Where was this taken exactly?"

"Elena—"

"I need to find him."

Daniel ran a hand through his hair, looking like he wanted to argue. But instead, he just sighed. "Fine. But you're not going alone."

She should have expected that.

But the uneasy look in his eyes told her something else.

Daniel wasn't just worried about who Adrian was.

He was worried about what finding him might mean.

And deep down, so was she.