The clinic didn't exist on any map.
The car slowed as they turned off the main road, the city fading behind them. Tall iron gates rose from the darkness, wrapped in ivy and shadows. No sign. No name. Just silence.
Chloe's chest tightened.
"I've been here before," she said.
Lucas's hands tightened on the steering wheel. "You don't remember."
"I feel it," she replied. "Like a scar I can't see."
The gates opened without a sound.
Inside, the building stood pale and imposing, its windows dark, its presence heavy. Chloe felt a pressure behind her eyes, a dull ache growing stronger with every step she took toward the entrance.
"This is where Elise hid you," Lucas said quietly. "And where she tried to bury the truth."
Chloe stopped walking.
"You brought me back to the place she destroyed me," she said.
Lucas turned to her. "I brought you to the place where she failed."
The doors opened.
Inside, the clinic smelled of antiseptic and dust. Old lights flickered overhead, illuminating long white corridors that felt endless. Chloe's footsteps echoed, each sound triggering something deep inside her chest.
A memory trying to surface.
Her breath became shallow.
"Slow down," Lucas said gently, placing a hand on her back. "You don't have to rush this."
Chloe shook her head. "If I stop, I'll lose it."
They reached a room at the end of the hall.
The door was marked with a number.
13.
Chloe's heart slammed against her ribs.
"This one," she whispered.
Lucas frowned. "How do you know?"
"I just do."
Lucas unlocked the door.
The room was small. Clinical. Empty — except for a single chair in the center and a large mirror fixed to the wall.
Chloe stared at the mirror.
Her reflection stared back.
And then — it moved.
Not like a reflection.
Like a memory.
Her vision blurred.
She saw flashes:
White lights.
Restraining straps.
A woman's voice — calm, cold, familiar.
"You won't remember the pain," Elise whispered. "Only the purpose."
Chloe gasped and staggered back.
Lucas caught her. "Chloe."
"I was awake," she said, shaking. "She didn't let me sleep."
Lucas's jaw clenched.
Chloe's voice trembled. "She stood right there."
Her gaze locked on the mirror.
"She told me I was necessary," Chloe whispered. "That I was made to finish what she started."
Lucas's voice was rough. "I should have stopped her."
Chloe turned to him.
"You didn't," she said quietly. "But I'm still here."
The room felt smaller.
The mirror flickered.
A message appeared, written slowly across the glass, as if traced by an invisible hand.
You came back.
Chloe's blood ran cold.
"She's here," Chloe said.
Lucas stepped in front of her. "No."
Another line appeared.
You always do.
Chloe pushed past Lucas, standing directly in front of the mirror.
"No," she said firmly. "I don't belong to you."
The glass cracked.
A final message appeared.
Then prove it.
The mirror went dark.
The lights shut off.
Silence swallowed the room.
Lucas grabbed Chloe's hand. "We're leaving. Now."
But Chloe didn't move.
Her head lifted slowly.
"I remember something," she said.
Lucas froze. "What?"
Chloe's eyes met his.
"She didn't erase everything," Chloe said. "She hid something."
Lucas's voice dropped. "What did she hide?"
Chloe swallowed.
"A promise," she said. "One you made… to me."
Lucas's breath caught.
Before he could respond, footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Slow.
Unhurried.
Intentional.
Lucas turned toward the door.
"Elise," he said.
A voice echoed softly from the darkness.
"Hello, Lucas," Elise said.
"Did you miss me?"
Chloe squeezed Lucas's hand.
For the first time, she wasn't afraid.
She was ready.