Chapter 23 – The Cage Rebuilt
Darkness.
A deep, suffocating blackness swallowed everything.
Adrian's instincts screamed at him. Move. Fight. Survive.
But there was nothing to fight.
Just cold, crushing silence.
Then—light.
A blinding, artificial glow flooded his vision, forcing his eyes to adjust. His arms burned, pulled tight above his head by metal restraints. Steel cuffs. A familiar weight. Too familiar.
He was restrained.
Again.
His breath slowed. Controlled. Measured. Panic was useless. He counted—one, two, three seconds—as his surroundings came into focus.
A cell.
Concrete walls. One metal door. No windows. No way out.
He had been here before.
Not here exactly—but places like it.
And Lucien knew that.
The restraints were intentional.
A message.
"Welcome home, Adrian."
---
The Experiment Continues
He forced himself to take stock. His weapons were gone. His gear stripped away. But his mind? That was still his own.
A groan echoed in the small space.
Evelyn.
She was slumped in the corner, her wrists bound behind her back, her head tipped forward. A bruise darkened her temple.
Adrian's stomach twisted.
"Evelyn," he rasped. His throat was dry. How long had they been unconscious?
She stirred, blinking slowly. "Adrian?"
He exhaled. "I'm here."
She lifted her head, taking in their surroundings. Her eyes sharpened. "They took us alive."
Adrian clenched his jaw. "Lucien doesn't kill his investments."
Evelyn's breath hitched. "Then what does he do?"
The metal door slid open.
A familiar figure stepped inside.
Lucien.
Impeccable as ever, dressed in a charcoal suit, his silver cufflinks glinting under the artificial lights.
"Good," he said smoothly, his gaze sweeping over Adrian. "You're awake."
Adrian didn't move. Didn't speak. Just watched. Calculated. Measured the distance between them.
Lucien clasped his hands behind his back. "Do you know why you're here?"
Adrian's voice was ice. "Because you're afraid of what I'll do to you."
Lucien laughed softly. "Afraid? No, Adrian." He stepped closer, eyes gleaming with something calculated. "I'm proud."
Evelyn tensed. "Proud?"
Lucien's smirk never wavered. "Look at you. Everything I trained you to be. A predator. A survivor. The perfect weapon."
Adrian's blood ran cold.
Lucien crouched beside him, his voice low. Intimate.
"You think you escaped Blackgate," he murmured. "But you never left the program. You never left me."
Adrian forced his breathing to stay even. "You're delusional."
Lucien tilted his head. "Am I?"
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device.
A remote.
Adrian's muscles coiled.
Lucien pressed the button.
Pain.
A white-hot agony ripped through his skull.
Adrian gritted his teeth, his body locking up, his mind flashing with static.
No.
No, no, no—
It wasn't real.
He forced himself to breathe. To push past it.
And then—
It stopped.
Lucien exhaled, looking almost disappointed.
"You're resisting."
Adrian's breath came in sharp bursts. His skin burned, his pulse roaring in his ears.
Lucien stood. "Good. That means the conditioning isn't fully settled yet."
Evelyn's voice shook with fury. "What the hell did you do to him?"
Lucien glanced at her, almost amused. "Do you really want to know?"
She clenched her fists. "Tell me."
Lucien turned back to Adrian.
"How much do you remember about Blackgate?"
Adrian's stomach twisted. "Everything."
Lucien's smirk deepened. "Are you sure?"
A pause.
A slow, suffocating silence.
Adrian's hands curled into fists.
Because beneath his rage—beneath his hatred—was something he hadn't felt in years.
Doubt.
Lucien had planned this. He had orchestrated everything. And now, he was setting his final piece into motion.
A whisper of a thought crept into Adrian's mind.
What if he was right?
Lucien watched him carefully. Waiting.
Then, he smiled.
"You're not here so I can kill you, Adrian." He stepped back, pressing the button again.
The door behind him slid open.
"You're here so I can finish what I started."
Adrian felt it in his bones.
The real experiment had just begun.