The Choice

Jessica sat in the ruined church, staring at the flickering candlelight. Iacopo’s words still echoed in her mind.

“You are the one who was never supposed to leave.”

“Because someone let you go.”

She could still hear Mr. Black’s voice in the back of her mind. The cold, measured tone. The way he had always seemed two steps ahead of her, even in death. She had thought she killed him to end the game. Now, she was starting to wonder if she had only made his final move for him.

Leanna exhaled sharply beside her, “Tell me you don’t believe all this.”

Jessica let out a quiet breath, rubbing her thumb against the side of her glass. “I don’t know what I believe.”

Olivia leaned forward, her voice measured. “This is bigger than Vanguard, Jess. Bigger than Lazarus.”

Jessica didn’t respond right away. She had spent years chasing the ghosts of her past. Now, the past was chasing her. And the worst part?It wasn’t just hers.

Jessica looked at Iacopo, “What do you remember?”

The old man smiled faintly. “More than I wish.” He leaned forward, resting his hands on the worn wooden pew. “The first time, I was a soldier.”

His gaze was distant, lost in something far older than the church around them, “The second time, a scholar.”

He exhaled. “The third, a prisoner.”

Jessica felt a slow chill crawl up her spine. Iacopo met her gaze. “Every time, I was someone different.” A pause. Then, “But I was always me.”

Jessica swallowed. “And you remember all of them?”

Iacopo nodded. “Not at first. But over time, the memories return.”

Jessica inhaled. She had spent years haunted by memories that didn’t belong to her. She had always thought it was Vanguard. The experiments. The rewriting of her mind. But what if…what if it had never been Vanguard at all?

What if the memories had always been there? Waiting. Leanna shook her head. “Even if this is true, what does it mean?”

Iacopo smiled faintly. “It means you can’t run from yourself forever.”

Jessica exhaled slowly. “And if I don’t want to remember?”

Iacopo studied her carefully. Then, softly, “Then you are lucky.”

Jessica swallowed. He was right. Because she had spent her whole life searching for answers. And now, standing at the edge of something older than she could comprehend, she realized that she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Because if she truly remembered, she might not be Jessica Sanchez anymore. And if she wasn’t Jessica… who was she? The girl who ran? The experiment? The ghost with someone else’s name? She didn’t know. And maybe that was what terrified her most.

Iacopo exhaled. “You have a choice.”

Jessica raised an eyebrow. Iacopo nodded toward the door. “You can leave now. Pretend this never happened. Go back to your life.” His gaze darkened slightly. “Or you can see how far this goes.”

Jessica’s fingers curled into fists.

There was no real choice. There never had been. She exhaled. “What’s the next step?”

Iacopo smiled. “You go deeper.”

Jessica let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head. “Of course we do.”

Olivia smirked. “I think I need another drink before we sign up for this.”

Leanna muttered, “Try three.”

Jessica took a slow breath. She didn’t know what came next. But she knew one thing. She wasn’t walking away. She was done chasing ghosts. Now, she would confront them.