The wind howled like a warning.
Lena stood at the edge of the cliff where it all began—where Jay's car had vanished into the sea three months ago. Tonight, the waves below were angry, thrashing like they remembered what they had once taken.
Her coat clung to her body, soaked from the rain. Her breath came in short, nervous gasps. She checked her phone again—no messages. No backup. Just the note in her pocket, unsigned, but clearly from him:
"Come alone. Or he dies."
She turned toward the trees.
And he stepped out of the shadows.
The first Jay.
Same face. Same eyes. But different. Something about the way he moved—stiffer, more guarded—made her skin crawl.
"You came," he said softly, like it mattered.
"I had to," she replied. "You threatened him."
He shook his head. "No, Lena. I saved him by bringing you here. It's you I want."
Her heart pounded. "Why?"
"Because I remember who I was. And I remember you. You were mine before he took over."
She stepped back. "You're not the real Jay."
He flinched. "I'm more real than what's living in your apartment. He's a version built to replace me. He doesn't even remember what you wore the day we met."
Lena stared at him. "And you do?"
"A red scarf. You hated it. Said it looked like spilled wine."
She froze. He was right.
Her voice dropped. "Then why leave me?"
He lowered his gaze. "Because they were going to erase me. Dr. Voss said I was unstable. They needed a cleaner copy. One who wouldn't question the mission."
"And what is the mission?"
He looked up, and for the first time, his voice cracked. "To love you... or to let you go. I chose wrong."
Thunder cracked overhead.
A second figure appeared at the ridge behind him.
Jay.
The one Lena had come to trust.
His face was pale. He must have followed her, disobeying her note.
"Lena," he called, breathless. "Step away from him."
But the first Jay pulled a gun.
"Don't!" she screamed.
"I don't want to hurt him," the first Jay said. "But I can't let him take you again."
Jay held up his hands. "This isn't you."
"You don't know me," the first Jay snapped. "You were made."
Lena stepped between them. "Stop! Both of you!"
Rain poured harder. Lightning lit their faces—the same face, split by purpose.
"Let me ask you both one thing," Lena said, eyes burning. "If I chose to walk away—right now—would either of you stop me?"
Silence.
The first Jay lowered the gun. "I wouldn't."
The second Jay's voice cracked. "I'd let you go... but I'd never stop loving you."
Tears ran down her cheeks, lost in the rain. She was trembling, heart tearing in two.
She whispered, "Then I'm choosing neither."
She turned and ran.
Behind her, one Jay cried out her name.
Then—
A gunshot.
She stopped.
Silence.
She turned, slowly.
Only one Jay stood at the edge now—holding the gun, eyes wide.
"Lena..." he whispered. "It was him or me."
He dropped to his knees.
The other Jay lay motionless, his blood mixing with the rain.
Lena screamed.
She didn't know who had died.
And she might never know.