Victor slowly inhaled a puff of his cigarette, the smoke curling around him in delicate tendrils. His gaze settled on the small bell hanging from the edge of the table, his eyes clouding with memories. As he exhaled, the smoke drifted into the dim room, and he began to speak, his voice heavy with the weight of the past.

“That bell… it belonged to my daughter when she was little,” he murmured, his fingers absentmindedly brushing against the edge of the table. The bell, still shiny and new, hung quietly inside the cabinet.

Ethan’s eyes widened in surprise as they followed Victor’s gaze. “Victor, you had a daughter?”

“Yes,” Victor replied, his voice tinged with a melancholy that only deepened as he continued. “She must be a grown woman by now, maybe even with children of her own.”

“Why haven’t you seen her since?” Aria asked, her curiosity piqued, sensing a deeper story behind Victor’s words.

Victor sighed deeply, the memories pulling him back thirty years.

#Flashback#

“Thirty years ago, I was captured by a mysterious organization, the same one that now runs Fortress Omega. They promised me a hefty sum if I worked for them for just one year. Back then, I was just an electrician in a small factory, barely making ends meet. My wife was pregnant at the time, so I agreed, thinking I could give my family a better life. But when I arrived, I realized nothing was as simple as it seemed. Every day, I saw men in white coats pushing advanced equipment through the halls, and they never allowed me to get too close.

Then, one afternoon, while repairing the wiring in a control room, I accidentally stumbled upon their operations. Hidden in the shadows, I watched as two men in lab coats brought a person out of one of their machines. I was shocked when the man sat up—it was the Minister of Tel Aviv, someone I recognized from the news. He was highly respected, his face familiar from countless reports.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. That was when I realized I was part of something far more sinister than I had imagined. I crept closer, trying to hear more about the experiment.

One of the scientists began to speak, his voice filled with a twisted pride. ‘After three attempts, we’ve finally succeeded. This clone of the Minister will satisfy him. When he needs organs, we’ll be able to sell them for a good price.’ My blood ran cold. The man I had seen was not the real Minister but a clone, created here in this secret lab.

In my panic, I accidentally knocked over a cart. They found me and dragged me to an office. I curled up in a corner, expecting the worst. But they didn’t kill me. I was the first outsider to discover their secret, but they spared me because they still needed someone to maintain the electrical systems. However, they threatened my family, using my daughter’s life as leverage to keep me quiet. I had no choice but to stay and work for them, terrified of what they might do if I disobeyed.”

Ethan and Aria listened in stunned silence, their minds racing to connect the dots. Everything they had experienced suddenly made sense, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.

“So… we’re clones,” Aria whispered, struggling to steady her voice as the shocking truth settled in. It was almost too much to bear.

Ethan’s thoughts raced back to everything they had been through—the upper lab, the chosen ones forced to bear children, the cold metal boxes in the hands of the doctors after Subject 299’s death. It all fit together now, a dark revelation about the true purpose behind their existence.

“I’m sorry, Victor. I sympathize with what you’ve been through, but we need to leave now. If we don’t act quickly, Aria won’t survive,” Ethan said, his voice calm but urgent, his mind already working on a plan.

Victor’s voice trembled, weighed down by guilt. “Ethan… I’m so sorry. I’ve kept this from you for so long,” he confessed, his eyes avoiding Ethan’s, as if the guilt was too heavy to bear.

“It’s not your fault, Victor. We’ll escape, and we’ll make it out of here,” Ethan replied, his eyes burning with determination, his gaze steady and unwavering as he faced Victor’s uncertainty.

Victor stood up, his movements slow and deliberate as he opened a drawer and pulled out a small pouch wrapped in oiled paper. He handed it to Ethan. “Take this. It’s gunpowder. It might come in handy when you need it most. And… if you make it out, please find my family. Tell my wife I’m sorry, and tell my daughter that her father loves her… always.” The dim light in the room caught the tears in Victor’s eyes, making them glisten as he spoke.

“I will. You can count on us, Victor. We’ll get out of here,” Ethan said, turning to Aria, who was still processing everything.

“We have to go, Aria. We need to move quickly,” Ethan urged.

Aria and Ethan stepped out of the dim room, their minds heavy with the knowledge of their origins. Though the truth was hard to accept, it fueled their resolve. Ethan pocketed the gunpowder and hurried toward the upper levels, mapping out their escape route...