A cold wind swept across the abandoned hospital grounds.
The massive brick building stood in complete silence, its broken windows reflecting the gray afternoon sky. Ivy climbed the cracked walls, and rusted iron gates creaked with every gust of wind.
Emily stepped out of the SUV and looked up.
"It feels like the building is watching us."
Victoria locked eyes with the hospital.
"My father only came here once."
"You were with him?"
Victoria nodded.
"I was sixteen."
"He made me promise never to return."
Walker loaded his pistol.
"Then we're probably in the right place."
The front doors groaned as Luca forced them open.
A wave of stale air rolled out.
The reception hall was frozen in time.
Wheelchairs stood abandoned.
Patient records lay scattered across the floor.
Old clocks had stopped years ago.
Emily swept her flashlight across the room.
"No signs of recent activity."
Victoria wasn't convinced.
"Volkov is here."
Emily looked at her.
"How can you be so sure?"
Victoria pointed toward the dusty floor.
Fresh footprints.
At least six people.
"They're waiting for us."
The team moved carefully through endless hallways.
Every sound echoed through the empty hospital.
Suddenly...
A child's laughter drifted through the corridor.
Emily stopped.
"Did you hear that?"
Walker frowned.
"This place has been abandoned for decades."
Luca slowly shook his head.
"It's a recording."
Victoria spotted a small speaker hidden in the ceiling.
"He's playing with us."
As if on cue, Volkov's voice echoed through the hospital.
"Welcome."
"I hope you enjoy memories."
The speakers went silent.
They entered what had once been the children's ward.
Faded paintings of animals still covered the walls.
Tiny beds stood neatly in rows.
Victoria noticed one room at the end of the hallway.
The door was marked:
Room 12
She froze.
Emily stepped beside her.
"What is it?"
Victoria whispered,
"This was Gabriel's room."
She pushed the door open.
The room was almost untouched.
A wooden train rested on the windowsill.
A faded blanket covered the bed.
On the wall hung a drawing.
A little girl holding the hand of a little boy beneath a bright yellow sun.
Emily looked at the signature.
Victoria & Gabriel
Victoria picked up the drawing with trembling hands.
"I drew this..."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"I remember."
Across the hospital, hidden behind a one-way mirror...
Gabriel watched everything.
He saw his sister holding the drawing.
He saw her crying.
His own eyes filled with emotion.
"She remembered."
Volkov stepped into the room behind him.
"She's pretending."
Gabriel didn't answer.
Volkov continued,
"She abandoned you."
Gabriel slowly turned.
"If that's true..."
"...why did she keep my drawing?"
Volkov remained silent.
For the first time in years...
He had no answer.
Walker examined the room carefully.
"There's something behind this wall."
Emily noticed faint scrape marks on the floor.
"A hidden door."
Luca searched until he found a loose brick.
He pressed it.
With a heavy rumble, part of the wall slid aside.
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
Victoria looked at Emily.
"This is it."
Emily nodded.
"We go together."
One by one, they disappeared below.
None of them noticed the small camera hidden above the doorway.
On a monitor elsewhere in the hospital, the staircase entrance blinked green.
Volkov smiled.
"They've found it."
He turned toward Gabriel.
"It's time for you to meet your sister."
Gabriel's heartbeat quickened.
He had imagined this moment for twenty years.
He wasn't sure whether he was about to embrace her...
Or point a gun at her.
Deep below the hospital, Emily instinctively reached for Victoria's hand as they descended the ancient stone steps.
Victoria looked at their hands, then at Emily.
Neither of them said a word.
But neither let go.
For the first time, holding on to each other felt completely natural.