The drive back to the city was silent.
Rain streaked across the windshield in silver lines, flashing with every strike of lightning.
Emma stared out the window, her reflection fractured by the storm.
Every word Daniel said echoed in her mind You weren't supposed to wake up again.
Adrian gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white. His silence wasn't calm. It was the kind that carried too many thoughts, too much guilt.
Finally, Emma spoke.
"What are you thinking?"
He didn't look at her. "That I should've burned that lab to the ground when I had the chance."
Her voice was sharp. "Would it have changed anything?"
"Maybe," he muttered. "Maybe you'd still be safe."
Emma turned to face him fully. "Don't you dare blame yourself for this, Adrian. Your father made his choices. Mine did too."
He glanced at her, jaw tight. "And we're paying for both."
By dawn, they reached the Knight estate a sprawling mansion of glass and stone perched above the city. The place looked beautiful from the outside, but to Emma, it felt like a fortress of lies.
Adrian parked in front and exhaled slowly. "He's inside."
"Your father?" she asked.
He nodded once. "He doesn't know we've been to the facility."
"Good," she said. "Then let's see how long it takes for him to start lying."
The doors opened before they could knock.
A tall man with silver hair and piercing gray eyes stood waiting Alexander Knight, Adrian's father.
"Adrian," he said smoothly. "You look exhausted. Business trouble?"
Adrian's tone was cold. "You could say that."
Alexander's gaze shifted to Emma. "Ah. Miss Blackwood. I didn't expect to see you again. You've been… difficult to trace."
Emma's heart pounded. There was something in his voice too calm, too controlled.
Adrian stepped between them. "Cut the act, Father. We know about Lazarus."
For the first time, Alexander's smile faltered. "Lazarus?"
"Don't," Adrian snapped. "Don't lie to me again. I saw the files. I know what you did."
A long silence filled the air. Then Alexander sighed softly, almost sadly.
"So. You finally opened Pandora's box."
Emma's fists clenched. "You played god with people's lives. With my life."
Alexander looked at her not with remorse, but with fascination. "You're proof it worked."
Her voice trembled with rage. "Worked? You call this working?"
"You're alive," he said simply. "And more than that, you're stronger than before. Your body healed itself in ways science couldn't explain. You are a success story, Miss Blackwood."
Adrian's voice cut through the room like ice. "You used her as a weapon."
Alexander's expression hardened. "Don't be naive, Adrian. The world rewards those who adapt. The Lazarus project was never about saving lives it was about creating perfection."
Emma took a step forward, eyes blazing. "Then you failed. Because I'm not your experiment. I'm the woman you tried to erase."
For the first time, Alexander's calm broke. "You think you understand what you are?"
"I understand enough," she shot back. "I understand that you killed me once. You won't get another chance."
Adrian's phone buzzed suddenly a new message.
He glanced at it and froze.
They know you're here. Leave now.
The sender's name made his blood run cold.
Daniel.
He looked around quickly. "Father, what did you do?"
Alexander gave a faint, knowing smile. "You shouldn't have come here without protection."
Before Emma could react, the lights flickered and the mansion's security doors locked automatically.
Emma's heart pounded. "Adrian—"
He grabbed her hand. "We need to move."
They raced down the hall as the alarms began to blare. Red lights flashed overhead, casting shadows that made the walls feel alive.
"Where are we going?" Emma shouted.
"To the back exit there's a private tunnel that leads to the garage."
But when they turned the corner, a line of black-suited guards was already waiting.
"Don't move!" one shouted.
Adrian stepped in front of her. "She's not going anywhere with you!"
The guard aimed a weapon tranquilizer darts, silent but deadly.
Emma's instincts kicked in. She grabbed a fallen piece of metal from the floor and swung, hitting the guard's arm. The dart fired harmlessly into the wall.
Adrian pulled her into the elevator at the end of the hall, slamming the button. The doors shut just as another dart grazed his sleeve.
"Adrian!" she gasped.
"I'm fine," he panted, pressing his back against the wall.
The elevator began to descend, lights flickering.
Emma's pulse raced. "Your father… he planned this."
Adrian's voice was low. "He wants you back in his lab."
She looked up at him and despite the fear, there was steel in her eyes. "Then he'll have to kill me first."
The elevator stopped with a jolt. The doors opened to the underground garage.
Adrian guided her to the car, but as he started the engine, Emma caught something in the rearview mirror a shadow moving at the far end of the garage.
It wasn't a guard. It was Daniel.
He was holding something a phone, glowing faintly in the dark.
And when their eyes met, he mouthed one word:
Run.
The car sped into the night, tires screeching against the wet pavement. Behind them, the Knight mansion went dark then, a second later, exploded in a burst of white light.
Emma covered her face as the shockwave rippled through the air.
Adrian slammed the brakes, staring in horror at the fire rising behind them.
"My father…" he whispered.
Emma looked back at the burning estate, her voice shaking. "He's not dead. Men like him don't die that easily."
And in the flickering reflection of the flames, she saw something that made her blood freeze the faint outline of a symbol glowing in the sky above the smoke.
Lazarus.