What if every seven days, you became a stranger to your own life?

Elira wakes up in new lives every week—different names, unfamiliar places, yet the same haunting questions. With memories that don’t belong to her and a face she can’t forget, one man stands at the center of it all: Kael.

He claims to be her anchor—the keeper of her lost past. But as Elira uncovers fragments of truth, she begins to question everything: Kael’s intentions, her friends’ loyalty, and the very nature of her identity.

In a world where memory resets and nothing is what it seems, Elira must choose: reclaim who she was… or risk everything to become who she was meant to be.

"Tethered"

The rain hadn't stopped since they left the motel. It came down in sheets now, smearing the city lights and washing color from everything. Elira sat by the window of the diner, tracing circles into the condensation on the glass. Across from her, Kael stirred his untouched coffee.

Neither of them had spoken since the voice message.

Kael looked up, but his face gave nothing away. "You didn't ask the right question."

He leaned in. "Not what I'm hiding. But why."

Before Elira could answer, her phone buzzed again.

She slipped the phone back into her pocket.

Kael's eyes followed her movement. "You're going to her."

She nodded slowly. "She said she has something I need to see."

Kael flinched—just slightly—but it was enough.

The streets were quiet when Elira arrived at the abandoned botanical garden Christine had pinned.

She waited by the iron gate. A shadow emerged from the fog.

She looked… different. Not scared. Not anxious.

"You came alone?" Christine asked.

Christine smiled, almost sadly. "That depends on what you're ready to remember."

She handed over a small flash drive. "This belonged to you. Before."

Christine didn't answer. "I tried to stop him. But you... you were already too far in."

Elira's heart pounded. "Stop who? Kael?"

Christine's eyes narrowed. "Is that still what he's calling himself?"

"You think you're the only one who forgets?" Christine whispered. "You're not. He's forgotten things too. But his are intentional."

Before Elira could respond, a sound cut through the silence.

Coming from the flash drive now playing through Christine's phone.

> "If you're hearing this… I failed. Someone tampered with the loop. I don't know who to trust anymore—not even Kael. If I try to stop you, don't believe me. This memory was locked for a reason. Watch it. Decide for yourself."

Christine handed her a pair of wireless earbuds. "Watch it in private. No one else can hear this—especially not him."

"But why are you helping me?" Elira asked, voice trembling.

Christine hesitated. "Because once… I was your anchor too."

Back in the motel, Elira said nothing to Kael.

Not about the voice that sounded too much like her—but older, harder, afraid.

She lay awake in the dark, earbuds in, laptop glowing dimly.

She saw herself. A version of her with sharper eyes and a steadier voice.

"They'll tell you I lost my mind. Maybe I did. But I remember why it started. I remember Project Tethered."

"Kael isn't your savior. He was the first test subject. And you... were the second."

Suddenly the screen glitched—audio scrambled, visuals flickering.

"...Christine's the key... not what she seems... truth isn't what you want…"

Her reflection stared back from the black screen—only this time, her reflection was smiling back.

Chapter 8 – The Lie That Felt Like Truth