The door handle rattled violently.
Metal against metal.
Loud.
Urgent.
“Open the door!” the voice shouted again.
The pawn dealer backed away like he wanted to disappear.
“I—I didn’t tell anyone!” he stammered.
Victor didn’t even look at him.
His eyes were locked on the door.
Calculating.
Timing.
“How long?” I whispered.
“Minutes. Maybe less.”
My chest tightened.
“Who are they?”
Victor’s jaw clenched.
“The ones who never stopped searching.”
The words hit harder than anything else.
“For me?” I said.
He turned to me sharply.
“For what you are.”
The lock gave a sharp CRACK.
I flinched.
“They’re not supposed to find you alive,” Victor continued, his voice low now. Controlled. Dangerous. “That was the agreement.”
“Agreement with who?!” I demanded.
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he grabbed my wrist.
“Listen to me very carefully,” he said. “Whatever happens next—do not let them take the necklace.”
My eyes flicked down to it instinctively.
“Why?”
Victor’s grip tightened.
“Because that’s the only thing proving who you are.”
The door slammed open.
Wood splintered.
Lock shattered.
Three men stepped inside.
Not thugs.
Not criminals.
They were clean.
Precise.
Dressed like professionals.
The kind of men who didn’t need to raise their voices.
The one in front scanned the room—
Then his eyes landed on me.
And everything stopped.
“There she is,” he said quietly.
No surprise.
No hesitation.
Like he had been expecting this moment.
Victor stepped in front of me.
“You’re too late.”
The man smiled faintly.
“We’re right on time.”
My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear anything else.
“What do you want?” I shouted.
The man looked at me.
Really looked.
And something about his expression made my stomach twist.
Recognition.
“Miss,” he said calmly, “we’ve spent twenty years cleaning up a mistake.”
I froze.
“And you,” he continued, “are the last piece.”
Victor’s voice cut in sharply.
“She’s not yours.”
The man didn’t even glance at him.
“She never was yours to keep.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Then—
The man reached into his jacket.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Victor tensed.
I held my breath.
But instead of a weapon—
He pulled out a thin file.
And tossed it onto the counter.
It slid across the surface—
And stopped right in front of me.
“Open it,” he said.
I didn’t move.
Victor shook his head slightly.
“No.”
“Open it,” the man repeated.
Something in his tone—
Not forceful.
Certain.
My hands moved before my mind caught up.
I opened the file.
Inside—
Documents.
Photos.
Records.
And at the top—
A name.
My name.
But not the one I grew up with.
A different one.
Stamped.
Official.
“SUBJECT: ELIARA V.”
My breath hitched.
“What is this?” I whispered.
The man answered—
“That’s who you really are.”
I flipped the page.
And felt my world shatter.
Because the next document wasn’t just records.
It was a report.
On me.
From birth.
Tracking.
Monitoring.
Marked with one word, repeated over and over:
“ASSET.”
“No…” I whispered.
“This isn’t real…”
Victor stepped closer.
“Don’t listen to them.”
But the man in front smiled slightly.
“She’s already starting to understand.”
I looked up.
My hands shaking.
“Why… are you looking for me?”
The man’s answer came without hesitation.
“Because you were never meant to live a normal life.”
My chest tightened.
“Then what was I meant for?”
He held my gaze.
And said—
“To replace him.”
The room went silent.
I blinked.
“Replace who?”
Slowly…
Very slowly…
The man lifted his hand—
And pointed—
Directly at Victor.
“You.”
I turned toward Victor.
And for the first time—
I saw something I hadn’t noticed before.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Guilt.
To be continued in Part 05 end
Click Here : [ Part 05 ] I brought my late grandmother’s old necklace to a pawn shop — when the dealer saw it
