Chapter 10: The Project Phoenix File
The name haunted me.
Project Phoenix.
It sounded like something that belonged in a science fiction movie.
Not my life.
Not my childhood.
Not the reason my family was destroyed.
I stared at the document on the screen.
My name was there.
Not Wren.
Charlotte Evelyn Whitmore.
A person I was supposed to be.
A person someone had tried to erase.
“What is Project Phoenix?”” I asked.
Nobody answered immediately.
That scared me.
Because Adrian Kane always had an answer.
Except now.
Finally, he spoke.
“I don’t know.””
I looked at him.
“You’re telling me your family was involved in this, and you don’t know?””
“My family has been hiding things from me my entire life.””
His voice was quiet.
“And I’m starting to realize I knew less than I thought.””
Marco looked through the documents.
“Boss, there are references here.””
“To what?””
“Memory recovery.””
The words made my stomach tighten.
“What does that mean?””
Marco hesitated.
“It means someone was studying how to manipulate or suppress memories.””
The room went silent.
I remembered the fire.
The missing years.
The pieces of my childhood that disappeared.
“No.””
Everyone looked at me.
I shook my head.
“That’s impossible.””
Adrian stepped closer.
“Wren.””
“I remember things.””
My voice became shaky.
“But they’re broken.””
I touched my forehead.
“The fire. My mother’s voice. A man carrying me.””
I looked at the document.
“What if someone made me forget?””
Nobody spoke.
Because nobody could tell me I was wrong.
A few hours later, Adrian brought in a specialist named Dr. Elena Cross.
She studied the Project Phoenix files carefully.
Then she studied me.
“You’re not suffering from normal memory loss.””
I swallowed.
“What does that mean?””
“Trauma can affect memory.””
She pointed to the documents.
“But deliberate memory suppression is different.””
Adrian’s expression hardened.
“Can it be reversed?””
Dr. Cross looked at me.
“Yes.””
Hope appeared for one second.
Then disappeared.
“But it can be dangerous.””
“How?””
“Because forgotten memories are forgotten for a reason.””
I looked away.
“I need to know.””
Adrian watched me.
“You’re sure?””
“Yes.””
“Even if the truth hurts?””
I looked at him.
“The lies already did.””
Dr. Cross began the process.
She asked simple questions.
Colors.
Sounds.
Places.
Names.
At first, nothing happened.
Then she showed me an image of the Whitmore mansion.
The world shifted.
I wasn’t in the room anymore.
I was there.
The smell of smoke.
The sound of glass breaking.
My mother holding my hand.
“Charlotte, listen to me.””
I was a child again.
My mother was crying.
“Your father was right. They found out.””
A younger me asked:
“Who?””
My mother looked toward the hallway.
Then whispered:
“The Kanes.””
I gasped.
The vision changed.
My father appeared.
He was holding a small black box.
“Evelyn, take her now.””
“What about you?””
“I’ll stop them.””
Then a man entered.
Not Vincent.
Someone older.
Someone with the same cold eyes as Adrian.
Richard Kane.
My breathing stopped.
He looked directly at me.
“You should have been removed years ago.””
My mother screamed.
Then—
The memory shattered.
I opened my eyes.
I was back in the room.
Adrian was kneeling beside me.
“Wren.””
I pushed his hand away.
Not because I hated him.
Because I was afraid.
“You knew.””
His face changed.
“What?””
“My family was afraid of yours.””
Adrian looked destroyed.
“I didn’t know.””
“But your name was there.””
“I know.””
“You’re a Kane.””
He closed his eyes.
The words hurt him.
But they were true.
Dr. Cross quietly stepped away.
“I think there’s more.””
Adrian looked at her.
“What?””
“The memory didn’t end naturally.””
“What does that mean?””
She looked at me.
“Someone interrupted it.””
I froze.
“Someone?””
She nodded.
“Your mind is protecting a specific memory.””
“What memory?””
Dr. Cross looked at the Project Phoenix file.
“The reason they needed you alive.””
That night, Adrian didn’t sleep.
Neither did I.
Around midnight, I found him standing on the balcony.
“You’re blaming yourself.””
He didn’t turn.
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because my family did this.””
“Not you.””
“But my blood.””
I stepped beside him.
“Adrian.””
He looked at me.
“My whole life, I thought monsters looked like strangers.””
A pause.
“Turns out sometimes they share your last name.””
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Adrian’s phone rang.
Marco.
Adrian answered.
“What happened?””
The color drained from his face.
“Are you sure?””
A pause.
Then:
“Send me the location.””
He hung up.
“What?””
He looked at me.
“We found Vincent.””
“And?””
Adrian grabbed his coat.
“He’s not alone.””
“Who is with him?””
Adrian stared at the city.
“The person who has been controlling him.””
My heart sank.
“Who?””
May you like
His answer was barely a whisper.
“My father.””
