Lexi sat curled on the cold kitchen floor, the stone and its cryptic message clutched tightly in her hand.
She cast a nervous glance toward the hallway. Jessica's laughter floated down from upstairs; Aunt Catherine's voice drifted from the living room. For now, they were distracted.
Lexi flattened the paper on the floor, heart pounding.
-.. --- / -.-- --- ..- / .-- .- -. - / - --- / ..-. .. -. -.. / -.-- --- ..- .-. / .--. .- .-. . -. - ...
Morse code.
Lexi whispered the translation:"Do you want to find your parents?"
Her pulse raced. Someone knew the truth. Someone was reaching out.
She forced herself through the day, scrubbing and cleaning with numb hands, her mind elsewhere.
When night fell and the house settled into uneasy quiet, Lexi slipped outside under the excuse of trash duty.
The heavy summer air pressed around her. Beyond the backyard fence, the woods loomed — dark, whispering, almost vibrating with tension.
Lexi spotted it: a small stone near the fence, marked with a faint chalk arrow pointing into the trees.
Without hesitation, she slipped through the gap.
The woods swallowed her whole.
The deeper she went, the stranger it felt. The air grew cool, crisp, almost metallic. Her skin prickled with unseen energy.
Symbols were etched into trees: a triangle, a circle with a line through it.
A trail.
Lexi followed it until she stumbled into a small clearing bathed in faint blue light.
Waiting for her was a boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen, tall and scrappy with sharp gray eyes and a bracelet on his wrist softly pulsing with light.
"You came," he said.
Lexi eyed him warily. "Who are you?"
"I'm Jace," he said. "I know the truth about your parents."
Lexi's breath caught.
"They're alive?" she whispered.
Jace smiled faintly. "They're not just alive. They're powerful. They're two of the wealthiest, most influential people on the planet."
Lexi shook her head. "Then why... why did they send me here? Why let me live like this?"
Jace's eyes hardened. "They were trying to protect you."
He knelt down, pressing a palm against the ground. The earth shimmered, and a holographic map flickered into existence — a sprawling web of names, symbols, corporations.
"They made enemies, Lexi. Powerful ones. People who would've used you — or worse."
He pointed to a glowing mark labeled PROJECT EDEN.
"They created something special," Jace said. "Not just wealth. Technology. Secrets that could change humanity itself. And you—" he looked her straight in the eyes— "are a key to it."
Lexi backed away, dizzy.
"This is insane," she muttered.
"You think it's coincidence you're faster, smarter, stronger than the others around you? You were built to inherit it."
Built.
The word echoed in her mind.
"But Catherine... she said my parents didn't want me—"
Jace's face twisted with anger. "She lied. Catherine's been keeping you hidden, under control, making sure you never realize who you are."
A soft hum grew around them.
Jace tensed, glancing at the trees.
From the darkness, sleek shapes emerged — small, floating drones with scanning lights.
"They found us," he muttered. "We have to move."
"Who are they?" Lexi demanded.
"The ones who want what's inside you," Jace said grimly. "And they don't ask nicely."
Without warning, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the far side of the clearing, where a panel of earth slid open, revealing a staircase spiraling underground.
Lexi didn't think. She ran.
Behind them, the drones fired up their engines, red lasers sweeping the clearing.
As Lexi descended into darkness, one thought burned into her mind:
Her parents were alive. They were powerful. And someone would kill to get to her first.