THE THIRD PARTY

She woke to the sound of waves.

Not the crashing chaos of a storm, but the rhythmic hush of water pulling back and returning—like breath. Gentle. Unsettling.

Adelina opened her eyes.

The room was unfamiliar. Elegant, but simpler than the Gavrila estate. Cream-colored curtains fluttered in the sea breeze. A glass of water sat on the nightstand. Her shoes had been removed.

She wasn't alone.

The woman stood by the window, back turned, hair pulled into a sleek knot. She looked like a painting—still and haunting.

"You're awake," the woman said.

Adelina sat up slowly. Her head ached.

"Where am I?"

"A safe house. Technically still part of the Gavrila holdings, but Nathan won't find you here—not unless I let him."

Adelina's heart pounded. "Who are you?"

The woman turned.

And Adelina saw her face again—her own face, but older. Sharper. More tired.

"My name is Elena Koslov. And you and I are not strangers."

Adelina wrapped the blanket tighter around her. "You said they thought you were dead. That you weren't Ileana."

Elena smiled faintly. "I'm not Ileana. But I knew her. Intimately. We were born from the same project—Iliris. Twin strands of the same code."

Adelina's breath caught. "You were created. Like me."

Elena nodded. "Not just created—perfected, then hidden. I was the prototype they couldn't control. The one that didn't smile when told. So they discarded me."

Adelina stared. "You're saying I'm version two?"

"Version three, actually. The first one never woke up."

She turned her head slightly. "And you… you were the one they raised, molded, presented. You played your role so well. Until you started remembering."

Adelina whispered, "The dreams."

Elena walked toward her. "Those aren't dreams, Adelina. They're memories. Mine. Hers. Yours. They were never fully erased—only buried. Our minds connect through genetic code. Think of it like static between mirrors."

Adelina's throat closed. "So I'm not even whole. I'm—what? A vessel?"

"You're a convergence. The most complete result they ever got. And that's why they all watched you so closely. Victor. Cassandra. Nathan." Elena's eyes darkened. "Especially Nathan."

Nathan.

His name curled in her chest like fire and ice. She had left him behind. She had walked away. And still, he lingered inside her like a secret language.

"He didn't tell me about you," Adelina said.

Elena's jaw tightened. "Of course not. He was never meant to know I existed. But he did. I saw him once, years ago. He looked right through me. The way he looks at you now."

Adelina's breath hitched.

"So what do you want from me?"

"Truth," Elena said simply. "Not just about who you are. But who they are. And what they've done."

She stepped closer.

"Do you want to know what Nathan did to protect you? What he sacrificed? Who he hurt?"

Adelina couldn't answer.

Because yes. She wanted to know. And no. She didn't want to hear it.

Elena softened.

"You don't have to decide now. Rest. Eat. But when you're ready—talk to me. Alone. Not as his creation. Not as their puppet. But as yourself."

She started to walk away.

"Wait," Adelina said.

Elena paused.

"Why now? Why appear now?"

Elena turned halfway, her profile sharp in the low light.

"Because the family's losing control. And when empires fall, the forgotten always come home."

She left the room.

Adelina sat frozen, staring at the door. The waves outside were steady, calm.

But inside her, the tide was turning.

And somewhere far away, she knew Nathan had already felt the pull.

That night, she dreamed again.

But this time, the memory wasn't hers.

A girl—Elena? Ileana? Herself?—screaming inside a white room.

Someone banging on glass.

A voice on the intercom: "Subject destabilizing. Shut it down."

And then darkness.

She woke with a gasp.

Elena was waiting outside her door.

"It's time," she said. "You need to hear the rest."

Adelina nodded slowly.

But as she stepped into the hallway, another voice echoed down the corridor.

Rough. Familiar.

"She's not going anywhere with you."

Nathan stood at the far end of the hall.

His eyes locked on Adelina.

His voice wasn't protective.

It was territorial.

And for the first time, Adelina wasn't sure which of them she feared more.