bChapter 310 /b

AG (89)

I stood frozen, staring at the man who looked identical to Dusk. My blood ran cold as memories flooded back.

i“/iiA /ifew more years, Jade, and we’ll leave ithe /iShadow Organization ibehind/i,” Dusk had once whispered, his voice soft in the darkness after a mission. “We’ll live like normal people. Settle down in whatever icity /iiyou /iwanti./ii” /i

I’d only smiled then, never giving him a clear answer. Now, it was one of my deepest regrets–not telling him yes when I had the chance.

The Shadow Organization had been my entire world since childhood. Unlike others, I never resented their brutal training or their survival- of–the–fittest philosophy. They gave me opportunities to learn every skill imaginableb, /bto be the best. I thrived in their systemb, /brising to be Shadow–their perfect creation.

Through it all, Dusk had been there. Cold and distant to everyone else, but different with me. In an organization built on calcted loyalty, he was the only genuine warmth I’d ever knownb. /b

I quickly regained myposure, forcing rationality to override emotion. My palm stung, and I realized my nails had broken the skin.

“You… cloned him,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

This wasn’t Dusk. Dusk was dead–buried by my own hands. The man before me was just a shell, an abomination created from stolen gic material.

I had always believed I was the Shadow Organization’s first experiment–their first attempt at cloning an operative. But now, staring at Dusk’s perfect replica, I realized how naive I’d been.

When Selene had asked me in the cell, bi“/i/bIs ithis how /iiDusk /iidied /itoo?” I’d been momentarily confused. Now her words made horrifying sense.

The thought of what they must have done to him made bile rise in my throat. I knew firsthand what being theirb rat entailed–the endless tests, the excruciating pain as they extracted gic material, the dehumanizing experiments. And I had experienced this when their techniques were rtively refined. What had Dusk endured when their methods were still crude and experimental?

“When?” I demanded, my voice gaining strength from rage. “When did you do this to him?”

QC’s lips curved into a cruel smile as she studied my reaction. “Before Shadow,” she said, savoring each word. “Getting Dusk to obey was much easier than controlling Shadow. Everyone in the organization knew Shadow was Dusk’s weakness. They never had a chance to leave. Even if they had tried, they would have spent their lives running, looking over their shoulders, never sleeping soundly.”

The pieces started falling into ce. The year before Dusk died, we had spent less time together than ever before. He had disappeared for four months, and when he returned, he had lost weight.

For those two days after his returnb, /bhe had been different–following me everywhere, watching me with an intensity I couldn’t understand. It was summerb, /byet he wore long sleeves. I hadn’t questioned it then, but now I realized–he had been hiding needle marks.

Then he was gone again, for even longer. Eight months without contact. Eight months while they kept him in ab, experimenting on him. And I had never suspected a thing.

“Dusk was your doing,” I said, the revtion hitting me like a physical blow. “You killed him.b” /b

QC’sugh was cold and empty. “No, he died for Shadow.”

9:54 Thu, bOct /bb2 /b

“What do you mean?”

QC’s eyes glinted with malicious pleasure. She was enjoying this–watching me unravel as she revealed the truth.

“Poor Dusk thought too highly of himself,” she sneered. “He tried to bargain with the Organization. Wanted us to spare Shadow.”

She took a step closer, her voice dropping to a theatrical whisper. “To save Shadow from the pain of gic extraction, from being reced by a clone, to save her miserable life–he told us he was the one nning to leave the organization.”

QC’sugh was brittle. “His clone was ready to emerge. He would have been reced and eliminated anyway–his life meant nothing to us. Yet he thought he could bargain.”

I remembered ourst mission together. Dusk had insisted on apanying me, which was unusual. We had split up at the target location, and just before parting, he had embraced me.

“Jade, he had said, his voice unusually serious, “iif /iI idon’t /ie iback /ifrom a mission somedayi, /iileave /iithe /iiShadow /iiOrganization/i. Leave immediately. iPromise /ime.”

“He knew her nature,” QC continued. “bHe /bknew she wouldn’t leave if he simply told her about the cloning. He knew we wouldn’t let her go. So he, facing death either wayb, /bchose a foolish solution–using his death to make Shadow leave the organization willingly.”

Her eyes bored into mine, relishing each word. “After helping Shadowplete the mission, he killed himself.”

The words hit me like a physical blow. The room seemed to spin as past and present collided violently in my mind.

b89 /b

Why had I agreed to the organization’s gic extraction? Not just out of loyalty or to repay my debt to them for raising me. I had agreed because I wanted to sever all ties with the Organizationpletely. As long as I lived and the organization existed, I would never truly be free of them.

To have the normal life Dusk had wanted, to fulfill his wish, I had allowed them to create my clone. I hadn’t heeded his final request to “leave immediately.” Instead, I had gone to that ind and voluntarily entered theirboratory. fnfca8 The rightful source is FιndＮovel/fnfca8

Dusk had died never knowing that his sacrifice had led me straight into the fate he had tried to save me from. And I had died in my previous life never knowing that his suicide had been for me.

“What a tragic pair of star–crossed lovers,” QC mocked, her voice dripping with false sympathy.

Rage boiled up inside me, white–hot and all–consuming. “I’ll make all of you pay for what you did to him,” I snarled.

QC’s smile widened. She had achieved her goal–destabilizing me emotionally, “Dusk,” shemanded, “kill her.”

The clone on the second floor leapt down,nding gracefully in front of me. Up close, the resemnce was even more unsettling. Every feature was identical to the man I had buried, yet his eyes remained cold and lifeless–a machine in human form.

I lunged forward without hesitation, channeling my fury into each strike. Dusk had been second only to Shadow in the Shadow Organization, and our fighting styles were remarkably simr–we had trained together for years.

The clone’s movements matched Dusk’s perfectly. My rage fueled my strength, making each blow devastating. The clone struggled to counter my relentless assault.

What the clonecked in raw powerb, /bit made up for in emotional detachment. While my fury made me stronger, it also made me less

9:54 Thu, Oct 2

precise. The clone remained calm, calcting, waiting for openings.

We exchanged blows in a deadly dance, neither gaining a clear advantage. Finally, Inded a powerful side kick that sent the clone staggering back. It quickly regained its bnce, drawing throwing darts from its belt,

The clone charged, darts in band, ready to strike, QC watched the battle with cold satisfaction,

“Selene, OC called sharply. Help him. Now.”

Selene hesitated, her eyes reflecting conflict. Then, slowly, she drew her short knife and stepped forward, “Yes, bma’am/bb. /b

Her eyes held somethingplex beneath their icy surface as she joined the fight, two against one,

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