Chapter 10 · Traceless - Chapter 10: The Girl Who Wasn't Supposed to Live

Cole's hand was still on the monitor when the file loaded.

Layla watched his knuckles go white. The screen showed a string of names she didn't recognize—subjects, numbered, dates of birth that didn't match anything she knew about herself. Dr. Petra Grey's name sat at the top of every report.

"Your mother ran the genetics division," Cole said. His voice came out flat. "She wasn't just on the team. She designed the baseline sequencing."

Layla's throat closed. "That doesn't mean—"

"Look at the attachment."

He clicked. A birth record opened. No hospital name. Just coordinates, a timestamp, and a single line: *Subject N-07 / Grey, L. / Viability: Unconfirmed.*

Her birthday. Her initials.

"Viability," Layla repeated. The word tasted like metal. "They didn't know if I'd live."

Cole turned to face her. "You weren't supposed to. None of the Nulls were. The program was shut down because the survival rate hit zero after the sixth month. They pulled the funding, scrapped the lab—" He stopped. His jaw worked. "Your mother kept you anyway."

Layla's hands started shaking. She shoved them into her pockets. "So what.