Chapter 66 —
Lyra's POV
"Run, Lyra!"
Ally's voice echoed through the abandoned facility.
For a second—
I couldn't move.
My sister.
Alive.
Breathing.
Standing in front of me.
After years of grief.
Years of searching.
Years of believing she was dead.
And now—
She was protecting me.
Again.
The White Masks charged.
Gunfire erupted.
Ally drew a weapon from beneath her coat with terrifying familiarity.
The first man fell instantly.
The second never even managed to fire.
"Move!" she shouted.
I hated it.
Hated leaving her.
Hated that after finding her—
I was losing her again.
"Ally—"
"Go!" she snapped, eyes fierce behind the golden mask she had put back on. "They're not here for me."
A White Mask lunged toward me.
Instinct took over.
I fired.
He dropped.
Another.
Then another.
Chaos consumed the hallway.
And in that chaos—
I lost sight of Ally.
One second she was there.
The next—
Gone.
As if she had never existed at all.
I searched.
Called her name.
Nothing.
Only silence.
And blood.
Three hours later.
I sat inside my car outside Eden-Crest Elite Hospital.
Motionless.
My hands still trembled.
Not because of the gunfight.
Because of Ally.
Because everything I believed about my life had just been shattered.
My sister was alive.
Project Echo was real.
And someone had erased my memories.
My phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
I answered immediately.
"Miss Vale?"
A nurse.
"Mr. Voss regained consciousness."
Everything else disappeared.
"I'm coming."
I walked into the VIP ICU still wearing the same clothes from the facility.
Dust covered my coat.
A small cut marked my temple.
I looked terrible.
I didn't care.
The room was quiet.
Machines beeped steadily.
And there he was.
Kieller Voss.
Alive.
His face looked pale.
A bandage wrapped around his forehead.
Bruises darkened his jaw.
But his eyes—
His infuriatingly sharp silver eyes—
Were open.
He looked toward the door.
Toward me.
For several seconds neither of us spoke.
Then—
"You look terrible."
I stared.
Disbelief.
Relief.
Anger.
All at once.
"That's your first sentence?"
His gaze traveled over me slowly.
Too slowly.
"You're bleeding."
I glanced toward the cut.
"It's not mine."
Silence.
Then I said quietly,
"You almost died."
Kieller held my gaze.
"Yet somehow, you look like you've fought a war."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead, I stepped closer.
"Someone sabotaged your car."
"I know."
My eyes narrowed.
"You know?"
"I knew before I got inside."
I froze.
"What?"
Kieller looked away.
For the first time since I'd met him—
He looked tired.
Truly tired.
"I didn't expect the explosion."
Explosion.
Not accident.
Explosion.
My pulse slowed.
"You knew someone wanted to kill you."
"Yes."
"And you still got into the car?"
Kieller finally looked at me.
Cold.
Calm.
Terrifying.
"If I hadn't, someone else would've died instead."
Silence filled the room.
I hated that answer.
Because it sounded exactly like him.
Self-destructive.
Arrogant.
Protective.
Stupid.
I reached into my coat.
Removed the file.
And placed it on his bed.
Project Echo.
Subject Seven.
Kieller's expression changed instantly.
Barely.
But enough.
Enough for me to know.
"You know what this is."
He didn't answer.
My heart sank.
"You know about Project Echo."
Still silence.
The machines beside him continued their steady rhythm.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
I took another step forward.
"How much do you know?"
Kieller closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them again—
There was something in them I'd never seen before.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
"Lyra."
His voice was low.
Dangerously low.
"You need to stop investigating."
I laughed.
A sharp, bitter sound.
"Absolutely not."
"Lyra—"
"My sister is alive."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Kieller stopped breathing.
Just for a second.
And that second told me everything.
"You knew," I whispered.
His jaw tightened.
"You knew Ally was alive."
"Lyra—"
"You knew."
The betrayal hit harder than I expected.
Harder because somewhere along the way—
I'd started trusting him.
And trust was always fatal.
I stepped backward.
Slowly.
"How long?"
Kieller remained silent.
Wrong answer.
Again.
My eyes filled despite my efforts.
"How long, Kieller?"
He looked away.
And quietly said—
"Since the beginning."
The world shattered.
Unknown Location.
A masked figure watched the hospital security footage.
Watched Lyra leave Kieller's room.
Watched Kieller close his eyes in silent defeat.
A soft chuckle echoed through the darkness.
"Excellent."
A white rose was placed beside an old photograph.
Two little girls smiling at the camera.
Lyra.
Ally.
"Phase Three has officially begun."
The figure looked toward another monitor.
Detective Rael Callen.
"Bring me the detective."
The screen went black.