"𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐀 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥"

XVII/The Awakening

Amelia woke with a throbbing pain in her head, the kind that made her feel as if her skull were about to split open. The darkness was thick, her mind foggy, and she could barely remember where she was. Gradually, the dim light of her surroundings filtered through her eyelids. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision. Her hands gripped a rough blanket, and she realized she was lying in a bed. Not a luxurious one, but a bed nonetheless.

She struggled to sit up, every movement causing her head to throb more painfully. She closed her eyes and tried to recall the events of the previous night. Fragments of memory began to piece together—the hidden floor, the three boys who found her, their intense gazes. One of them had emerald green eyes, strikingly vivid against the backdrop of the dimly lit room. The other two bore a resemblance to her, an uncanny familiarity that unsettled her.

Amelia's thoughts sharpened. One of them had known her name. Her heart raced as she remembered the boy with the green eyes and the two others who looked like her. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, her head buzzing with each step she took. She scanned the room, noticing three beds in total. This wasn't just a storage room—it was a makeshift living quarters.

Steeling herself, she moved toward the door. When she stepped outside, the scene was familiar yet eerie: the old floor she had discovered last night, filled with training equipment. The air was thick with the sound of exertion. Her eyes were drawn to a figure pummeling a punching bag, his back a canvas of scars, each one telling a story of pain and survival. He was tall, muscular, and his blonde hair glistened with sweat. He wore only loose shorts, his physique imposing.

He turned to face her, and their eyes locked. Amelia felt a shiver run down her spine as she met his emerald green gaze. There was an intensity there, a depth that both unnerved and intrigued her. His eyes traveled over her, and she could feel her anxiety rising. This was different from fear; it was a disorienting mix of anxiety and something she couldn't quite place.

She tore her gaze away, seeking an escape from his penetrating stare. Her eyes found the other two boys, who had stopped their training to watch her.

Her mind raced. Oh my God, they look so much like me. How can this be possible? Who are they? Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice the three boys standing in front of her. She took a step back, but the slightly shorter boy held out a hand.

"Wait, don't be afraid of us. We will explain everything to you," he said gently.

"Who are you guys?" she demanded, her voice trembling.

"I'm Taiga," he introduced himself, gesturing to the boy next to him. "This is Ares." Finally, he pointed to the boy with the green eyes. "And this is Theo. We won't hurt you."

Amelia's skepticism flared. "How can I trust you? All killers say that."

"Why do you look like me?" she asked, her voice breaking.

We aren't like the others," Taiga assured her. "We are... we are your brothers."

Her mind went blank. "What? No, what are you saying? I don't have a family that I know of. I was born in this place, in this organization."

Ares spoke up for the first time. "The organization told us that you are our sister."

She was frozen, her mind swirling with disbelief. "What?" she asked, shock reverberating through her. "How do you know? How can you be sure?How do you know you're my brothers? Maybe this, how we look, it's a coincidence"she asked hurriedly and panicked her mind full of thoughts.

Theo, who had been silent until now, spoke up. "Come on, sit down here. We'll explain everything. We won't harm you."

There was something in his voice, a deep, melodic quality that made her want to trust him despite herself. She found herself sitting down, her gaze locked with his, and for the first time, she felt a strange, unfamiliar warmth at the sound of someone's voice.