Sera sat alone in her dorm room, the stack of documents Damian had handed her spread across her desk. The dim glow of her desk lamp cast long shadows over the pages, but her focus remained razor-sharp as her amber eyes scanned the classified information before her. Outside, the faint murmurs of students passing through the hall barely registered in her mind—this discovery demanded her full attention.
Project Aegis.
The name alone sent a cold wave through her veins. She had suspected something—her suppressed potential had never been natural—but this… this was bigger than she had ever imagined.
Her hands trembled as she flipped through the reports. The League of Academic Pioneers wasn’t just monitoring students. They were controlling them. Suppressing them.
Sera’s pulse pounded in her ears as she found her own name. Seraphina Villanueva – Cognitive suppression: Analytical and strategic functions.
Her breath hitched. Her entire past life had been plagued with frustration, the constant feeling that she was missing something—something just out of reach. Now, she understood why. How much had they stolen from her? How much of her achievements could have been greater, her struggles fewer, if she had never been tampered with?
Her fingers trailed down the document until she reached another familiar name.
Elise Cruz – Creative suppression: Artistic and design aptitude limiters applied.
Elise, her best friend. The girl who had struggled for years to prove herself in fashion design, always doubting her own talent. Had it all been because of this?
Sera swallowed hard and kept going.
Damian Castillo – Cognitive suppression: Mathematical and logical functions.
Her rival. Her most frustrating opponent. A genius in his own right, but had he also been restrained? Had they clipped his potential just enough to keep him from being too great?
Her fingers moved frantically through the files. Who else? How many more?
A knock at her door made her jump.
She quickly shoved the documents into a folder just as the door swung open. Alexander stood there, his silver-gray eyes narrowing the moment he caught sight of her expression.
“Sera.” His voice was low, unreadable. “What did you find?”
Without a word, she handed him the files. He flipped through them, his normally impassive face tightening as he read.
Then he stilled.
Sera saw his grip tighten around the paper before he turned it to face her.
Alexander Lorenzo – Emotional suppression: Social-emotional intelligence limiters applied in childhood.
A deafening silence filled the air. The realization hit her like a brutal storm.
Alexander had always been cold, calculated. A perfectionist without weakness. But had that been his true nature? Or had they decided he would be better that way?
She met his eyes, her own filled with turmoil. “Alexander…”
His expression didn’t falter, but she could see it—the way his fingers gripped the paper just a little too hard, the barely perceptible clench of his jaw. He wasn’t unaffected.
Then, before she could stop herself, she reached out and grasped his wrist. “They took something from you, too.”
His breath was slow and measured. “It doesn’t matter.”
She shook her head, amber eyes flashing. “It does. They didn’t just take our intelligence or abilities. They took choices. They decided who we would become.”
The weight of it all pressed on her chest, suffocating. She had been fighting to reclaim what was stolen from her—but now, she realized it wasn’t just her battle.
Her fists clenched. “They robbed you of something essential. Of your ability to feel freely. To connect. They turned you into what suited them best.”
Alexander’s gaze flickered, his composed mask wavering for a fraction of a second. “Sera—”
“No,” she interrupted, voice unsteady but firm. “This isn’t just about me anymore. They stole from you. From Elise. From Damian. From all of us. And I won’t let them get away with it.”
A gloved hand cupped her cheek, warm despite the tension in his body. “Sera,” Alexander said softly, his thumb brushing away a tear she hadn’t realized had fallen. “You’re not alone in this.”
She closed her eyes for a brief second, allowing herself to breathe, to ground herself in his presence. In this moment, in this terrifying discovery, he was her anchor.
But before either of them could say another word—
BANG.
The door to the dorm slammed open, making both of them jump.
Damian stood at the entrance, disheveled and breathless. “You two,” he huffed, a mix of irritation and urgency in his eyes. “I don’t know what the hell you just found, but we have a problem.”
Sera wiped at her face, steeling herself. “What happened?”
Damian strode forward, slamming his palm against the stack of files. “Someone else is looking for these.
And they’re not as subtle as you two.”
A chill ran down Sera’s spine. If others knew about Project Aegis… if the League was aware they were uncovering the truth—
Then they were in danger.
Alexander’s gaze darkened, his arm moving subtly in front of Sera in a protective gesture. “Who?”
Damian scoffed, but the usual arrogance in his voice was laced with genuine concern. “Who do you think?
The ones who made us into their little experiments.”
Sera tightened her grip on the file in her hands.
The League of Academic Pioneers wasn’t just a distant name anymore. They were watching.
And now, they knew she was watching back.
Alexander’s fingers tapped against the desk in thought. “We can’t just sit and wait for them to make the next move.”
Damian smirked, though there was no amusement in his expression. “For once, I agree.”
Sera inhaled sharply, pushing aside her fear. If they wanted to win this game, they had to be the ones to strike first.
Alexander’s gaze met Damian’s, a silent understanding passing between them.
They were going to uncover the truth about Project Aegis—before the League silenced them first.