Chapter 70

Before the Vows Break

Two Days Before the Wedding – Midnight

Lex moved through the palace like a ghost, silent and focused. In his hand was a worn photograph — one he'd stolen from a hidden archive beneath a Cartwright-owned hospital in Vienna just hours ago.

A girl in the photo.

Same eyes. Same scar above the right eyebrow.

Different name.

Muri.

The file was sealed. Top-level access only. Test Subject #9. Memory alteration trial. Untraceable escape.

But he knew now.

Rhea Sharma… had once been Muri Langford.

And Lex… had known Muri years ago.

---

Palace Basement – Abandoned Wine Cellar

Lex pushed open the old wooden door. Dust swirled in the moonlight as he stepped into the cold stone room. Rhea was already there, arms wrapped around herself, pacing nervously.

"You said you had something to tell me," she whispered.

Lex didn't speak at first. He just looked at her.

"You lied to me," he finally said, voice sharp with pain. "All this time, you pretended not to know me."

Rhea froze. "What are you talking about?"

He pulled the photo from his pocket and held it up.

"This is you. From Vienna. Your name was Muri then. Muri Langford."

The color drained from her face.

"You were in Cartwright's records," Lex went on. "You weren't just kidnapped, Rhea. You were part of something dark. And I think… you volunteered at first."

"No—" she shook her head, stumbling back. "I don't remember that—"

"But I do," Lex snapped. "You were the girl I met in Berlin. You told me your name was Muri. You saved my life once in an alley behind the train station. And then one day, you just vanished."

Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I didn't remember you, Lex. I swear I didn't. Not until… recently. And by then, everything was too broken to fix."

"So you let me think you were someone else? That I was just going crazy for thinking you felt familiar?" His voice cracked. "I waited years to find you again."

"I didn't ask to become Muri," she cried. "I didn't ask to be taken or changed. Everything after that month is just noise in my head — flashes, pain, screaming, syringes—"

She gasped suddenly, one hand shooting to her lower stomach.

Lex rushed forward, catching her just before her knees buckled.

"Rhea—hey, breathe. What's wrong? Is it the baby?"

She shook her head, teeth clenched. "It's okay. Just… a cramp. Happens sometimes."

Lex stared at her, his arms still around her. "The baby's… mine?"

Rhea's silence answered before her words did.

"No," she whispered. "It's Manik's."

Lex stiffened.

"After you left that night… I was broken. He was there. It wasn't meant to happen like that. But he's been kind. Steady. I didn't want to lie to you, Lex."

Lex slowly let go, stepping back like her words had physically hit him.

"Then why are you here with me now?"

"Because despite everything," she said through tears, "part of me still feels like I'm yours."

They stood in the silence, the weight of unspoken years pressing between them.

Finally, Lex looked away.

"I don't care whose child it is," he said. "I'll protect you both. But if Cartwright finds you before I do… none of this will matter."

She nodded, wiping her tears. "Then what do we do?"

He looked back at her, the fire returning to his eyes.

"We stop pretending this wedding is real… and we start preparing for war."

---

Outside, in the Shadows of the Palace Walls

A voice crackled through a hidden earpiece.

> "Subject has been identified as Muri. Pregnancy confirmed. Begin extraction on the wedding night."

The plan had changed.

And time was running out.