The Conspiracy That Erases You

Chapter 1: The Nameless Letter

The night was heavy with rain, the kind that drowned out the city's usual noise and left only the rhythmic drumming against glass and asphalt.

Adrian sat in his dimly lit apartment, the glow from his desk lamp casting long shadows against the walls. He had been working late, sifting through notes and articles related to his latest investigative piece—another corruption scandal involving powerful figures in the city.

Nothing particularly unusual.

That was until he noticed the envelope.

It was tucked just beneath the door of his apartment, half-hidden by the shadow of the entryway. At first, Adrian thought it was just another piece of junk mail.

But something about it felt... off. There was no postage, no address, and most notably, no sender. The paper was rough to the touch, slightly damp from the humidity.

He flipped it over and saw only a single sheet inside, folded hastily.

Unfolding the paper, his eyes narrowed as he read the message scrawled in bold, black ink:

"If you want to know the truth, come to the old alley behind the Valencia Hotel. Midnight. Don’t bring anyone."

No name. No further instructions. Just those few words.

Adrian felt his pulse quicken. Over the years, he had received countless anonymous tips—some helpful, others leading nowhere. But this was different.

There was an urgency in the handwriting, a sense of secrecy that sent a ripple of unease through him. Who had written this? And more importantly, what truth were they referring to?

He glanced at the clock. 11:27 PM.

It was late, but not too late. If he left now, he could make it in time.

For a moment, he considered ignoring the message. It could be a trap. A journalist like him made plenty of enemies.

Yet, there was something about this that felt too important to dismiss. If someone had gone through the trouble of delivering this note personally—directly to his apartment—then they wanted to make sure he saw it.

His instincts, honed through years of uncovering secrets, told him that whatever was waiting for him in that alley was something he couldn’t afford to miss.

Adrian stood, grabbing his coat from the chair. As a precaution, he opened his desk drawer and retrieved a small pistol—an old but reliable SIG Sauer P238, compact enough to carry unnoticed. He had never had to use it before, but given the circumstances, he wasn’t taking any chances.

Stepping out into the corridor, he locked his door behind him and descended the stairs quickly.

Outside, the rain had not let up. It poured relentlessly, drumming against the rooftops and pooling in the cracks of the pavement. The streetlights flickered, casting an eerie glow on the empty sidewalks.

The Valencia Hotel wasn’t far—about fifteen minutes on foot if he took the backstreets. With his hands in his pockets, he walked briskly through the city, the sound of his own footsteps mixing with the distant hum of late-night traffic.

As he neared the meeting place, doubt crept into his mind. What if this was a setup? What if the sender never intended for him to find the truth but rather to silence him before he could?

But Adrian wasn’t the type to turn back once he had started something. He had spent too many years exposing the hidden rot in this city to be deterred by a little fear.

When he reached the alley behind the Valencia Hotel, the air was thick with the scent of wet stone and old trash. A single flickering streetlamp cast weak light over the narrow passage, illuminating only enough to see the damp brick walls on either side.

He took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Midnight had arrived.

And so had he.

Chapter 2: A Shadow in the Alley

Adrian stood at the entrance of the alley, his breath slow and measured. The rain had softened to a drizzle, but the ground remained slick, reflecting the pale glow of the flickering streetlamp above.

Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

He stepped forward cautiously, his shoes making soft splashes against the wet pavement. The alley stretched deeper into darkness, the buildings on either side towering like silent sentinels. The air was thick with the scent of damp brick and decaying trash, a stark contrast to the upscale luxury of the Valencia Hotel, which loomed just beyond.

A gust of wind rattled a loose metal sign overhead, the sudden noise making him tense.

Was this a mistake?

Adrian had encountered informants in strange locations before—secluded bars, empty train stations, even an abandoned parking garage once. But this alley felt different. It felt... abandoned.

Just as he was about to turn back, a sound emerged from the darkness ahead.

Footsteps.

Slow. Deliberate.

Adrian stiffened, instinctively reaching into his coat pocket where his pistol rested. He didn’t draw it yet, but his fingers wrapped tightly around the grip.

From the shadows, a figure emerged.

A man in a long, dark coat, hood pulled low over his face. He moved with a certain stillness, as if he was completely unbothered by the tension in the air.

Adrian remained silent, waiting for the man to speak first.

The stranger stopped just a few feet away, standing where the dim light barely touched him. For a moment, there was only the sound of raindrops tapping against the rooftops.

Then, the man exhaled slowly.

“You actually came.”

His voice was deep, rough—like someone who had spent too many years smoking or shouting in the cold.

Adrian studied him closely. The man’s posture was relaxed, but there was something calculated about it, like he was waiting to see what Adrian would do next.

“Who are you?” Adrian finally asked. “Did you leave the letter?”

The man tilted his head slightly. “That’s not important.”

Adrian frowned. “Then what is?”

The stranger reached into his coat pocket. For a brief second, Adrian’s muscles tensed, his grip tightening on his pistol. But the man didn’t pull out a weapon. Instead, he held a worn, brown folder—edges frayed, corners bent, as if it had been handled too many times.

“This.”

Adrian didn’t move.

The stranger extended the folder toward him. “Open it, and you’ll understand.”

Adrian hesitated. There was a dangerous weight behind those words, as if whatever was inside the folder couldn’t be unseen once revealed.

His journalistic instincts clashed with his survival instincts.

Then, the man spoke again, voice lower now, almost a whisper:

“They will come for you after this. Be careful.”

Adrian’s stomach tightened.

“Who?” he asked.

The stranger didn’t answer. He simply turned, retreating back into the darkness of the alley. Within moments, his figure disappeared completely, swallowed by the shadows.

Adrian was alone again.

The only thing left was the folder in his hands—an object that now felt heavier than it should.

He exhaled sharply, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder.

Whatever he had just walked into, it was too late to turn back now.

Chapter 3: Secrets in the Folder

Adrian sat at his desk, the dim glow of his desk lamp illuminating the folder in front of him. He had locked the door, shut the blinds, and turned off his phone. Even with all those precautions, he couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling crawling up his spine.

The stranger’s words echoed in his head:

“They will come for you after this.”

What the hell had he just gotten himself into?

With a deep breath, he flipped the folder open.

Inside, there were several old photographs. Black and white. Faded at the edges. They showed a group of men seated around a long table in a dimly lit room. Their faces were shadowed, but Adrian could make out some details—sharp suits, expensive watches, a few recognizable figures from the political scene.

A secret meeting. But of what?

As he flipped through the images, a loose sheet of paper slid out. Adrian caught it before it could fall to the floor.

On it, written in a hurried scrawl, were just a few words:

“Project Argus, 1998. They know. There is no way out for those who expose it.”

Project Argus.

Adrian frowned. He had never heard of it before.

He opened his laptop and began typing, searching for any mention of those words in city records, online databases, news archives.

Nothing.

Not a single result.

That was unusual. Even classified government projects often left some kind of digital footprint. But this? It was as if it had never existed.

He went back to the photographs, studying them more closely. One face stood out—a man partially obscured by the shadows, but still somewhat visible.

Adrian’s breath hitched. He knew that face.

Dr. Leonard Kasim.

A brilliant scientist who had vanished twenty years ago.

The story had been a big deal back then—Leonard was said to be working on a top-secret government project before he mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Some believed he had been murdered. Others thought he had fled.

And now his face was here.

In a secret meeting.

Adrian’s pulse quickened. This was big. Bigger than anything he had ever uncovered before.

Then, his phone rang.

He froze.

The screen displayed Unknown Number.

Slowly, he reached for it, pressing the phone to his ear without saying a word.

A voice came through—low, urgent.

“If you want to stay alive, burn that folder. Now.”

The line went dead.

Adrian remained frozen, his mind racing.

Someone knew he had the folder.

Someone was watching.

And that meant he had just made himself a target.

Chapter 4: A Hunt in the Dark

Adrian’s hands tightened around the phone, his heartbeat loud in his ears. The call had lasted no more than five seconds, but it was enough. Someone knew.

He immediately shut his laptop, stood up, and crossed the room to check the window. The blinds were drawn, but that didn’t ease the uneasy feeling creeping up his spine. Someone was watching him. He was sure of it now.

His mind raced. Burn the folder? No. That wasn’t an option. This was the biggest lead he had ever come across. If someone was willing to kill to keep Project Argus a secret, then it meant he was closer to something important. Something dangerous.

Taking a deep breath, Adrian grabbed the folder, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and shoved it inside a compartment in the false bottom of his desk drawer. He had learned a long time ago to prepare for situations like this.

Then, he did something he rarely did—he reached for his gun and slid it into the waistband of his jeans. He had never been the kind of journalist who carried a weapon on a daily basis, but tonight, something told him he would need it.

A movement outside caught his eye.

Through a small gap in the blinds, he saw it—a black car, parked across the street. It had no visible license plate.

It had been there for the past hour. He had noticed it earlier but brushed it off. Now, it felt like a silent threat.

As he watched, the engine of the car roared to life. The headlights flicked on, illuminating the rain-soaked street.

Then, the car started moving—slowly.

It wasn’t leaving.

It was circling the block.

Watching.

Waiting.

Adrian knew he had a choice to make. Stay inside and risk getting cornered? Or move first?

He grabbed his jacket, shoved his laptop into a bag, and made his decision.

It was time to disappear before they could make their move.

The Escape

Adrian took the stairs instead of the elevator. He moved quickly but not in a way that would attract attention. If they were watching the building, he couldn’t make it obvious he was running.

The moment he stepped onto the street, he pulled his hood up and merged with the late-night crowd walking along the sidewalk. The city was never truly asleep, even at this hour. He needed that anonymity now.

A glance over his shoulder confirmed his suspicion—the black car had turned onto the street again.

They were following him.

Not fast. Not recklessly. But they were there.

He took a sharp turn into a narrow alley, cutting through a network of side streets and back lanes. The rain had eased, leaving the pavement damp and slick. The smell of wet asphalt mixed with the distant scent of food from late-night street vendors.

Keep moving. Stay unpredictable.

He turned again, this time into a smaller alley between two rundown buildings. For a moment, everything was silent.

Then, behind him—

Footsteps.

Adrian froze.

He wasn’t alone.

Slowly, he turned his head, his fingers brushing against the concealed grip of his pistol.

A shadow loomed at the alley entrance.

And then—

A figure stepped forward.

Not from the street. From the darkness of the alley itself.

Someone had been waiting for him.

This wasn’t just surveillance. This was an ambush.

Chapter 5: Betrayal in the Shadows

The figure stepped closer, and as the dim streetlight illuminated his face, Adrian’s breath caught in his throat.

It was Rafi.

His best friend. His colleague. The man he had trusted for years.

But something was wrong.

Rafi’s expression was unreadable, his dark eyes locked onto Adrian with an unsettling calmness. He wasn’t dressed like himself either—his usual casual clothes replaced by something more calculated. Darker.

A shadow of hesitation flickered across Adrian’s face.

“Rafi?” he whispered, barely believing what he was seeing.

His friend didn’t answer.

Instead, he pulled a gun.

Adrian reacted instantly, stepping back, his own hand already on his weapon.

“Don’t,” Rafi warned, his voice colder than Adrian had ever heard it before.

A pause.

The night stretched between them.

Then, Rafi exhaled slowly.

“You weren’t supposed to dig this deep,” he said.

Adrian’s mind was racing. “What the hell is going on?”

Rafi tilted his head slightly. “You really don’t get it yet, do you?”

And that’s when Adrian finally understood.

This wasn’t just some corrupt government operation. It wasn’t just about a secret experiment.

Rafi was part of it.

The betrayal cut deep.

But Adrian couldn’t afford to feel it.

Right now, he needed to survive.

Chapter 6: A Painful Truth

The rain had stopped, but the alley remained damp, the scent of wet brick and old garbage lingering in the air. Adrian’s heartbeat pounded in his ears as he stared down the barrel of Rafi’s gun.

His best friend. His colleague. The man who had once risked his life chasing the truth alongside him—now pointing a weapon at his chest.

Adrian didn’t move. He didn’t even blink.

“You’re part of this,” he finally said, his voice steady despite the betrayal searing through him.

Rafi’s expression remained blank. “I tried to keep you out of it, Adrian.”

“Tried?” Adrian scoffed. “By feeding me lies? By pretending you didn’t know what the hell Project Argus was?”

A long silence stretched between them.

Then, Rafi spoke—his voice quieter this time. “Project Argus isn’t what you think it is.”

Adrian narrowed his eyes. “Then tell me what it is.”

Rafi exhaled slowly. He looked... tired. Not the exhaustion of someone who had lost a fight, but of someone who had been fighting for too long.

“The world works in a way that people like you don’t understand,” Rafi said. “You think every mystery needs to be exposed. Every secret deserves to be uncovered.” His grip on the gun tightened. “But some secrets are buried for a reason.”

Adrian’s pulse quickened. “What did they do to you, Rafi?”

For the first time, a flicker of something—regret? Guilt?—crossed Rafi’s face.

“They didn’t do anything.” His voice was barely above a whisper. “I chose this.”

Adrian felt his stomach drop.

This wasn’t brainwashing. It wasn’t coercion.

Rafi had joined them willingly.

The Ghosts of Project Argus

Adrian clenched his jaw. His mind raced through every scrap of information he had pieced together.

A government experiment. A program that erased people from existence. No digital records, no paper trails, nothing.

Was that what had happened to Rafi? Had he been erased?

“Your name is still in the system,” Adrian said, his voice sharp. “You still have an identity. A job. A past. So tell me—what did you give up?”

Rafi’s lips twitched in a ghost of a smile.

“You’re still thinking like a journalist,” he said. “Still looking for a puzzle piece that doesn’t exist.”

Adrian didn’t lower his gun. “Then why are you here? Why warn me? Why not just kill me?”

Rafi let out a slow breath, and for the first time, he lowered his weapon.

“Because despite everything,” he said, “you’re still my friend.”

Adrian’s chest tightened. He wanted to believe that meant something. That Rafi wasn’t beyond saving.

But deep down, he knew Rafi was already lost.

A Choice Between Truth and Survival

“Listen to me, Adrian.” Rafi’s voice was urgent now. “You need to stop. Walk away from this. Burn everything you found and leave the city. This is bigger than you. Bigger than anything you’ve ever investigated.”

Adrian shook his head. “You know I can’t do that.”

Rafi’s jaw tightened. “Then you’ll die.”

Adrian’s grip on his gun remained steady. “Maybe.”

For the first time, something in Rafi’s expression cracked.

A storm passed through his eyes, hesitation flickering in his movements. And then—the sound of approaching footsteps.

Rafi’s eyes darted toward the alley’s entrance.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Adrian knew exactly what that meant.

They weren’t alone anymore.

Rafi took a step back, his gun disappearing beneath his coat. His posture changed, his expression hardening.

“They’re here,” he said. “And they won’t give you a choice.”

Adrian took a slow breath.

The shadows at the end of the alley shifted. More figures emerged.

Dark suits. Cold eyes. No hesitation in their movements. Government agents.

Adrian ran.

Chapter 7: Vanishing Into the Darkness

Adrian’s boots slammed against the wet pavement as he bolted through the back alleys of the city. His lungs burned, but he couldn’t stop.

Not now. Not when he was being hunted.

Gunshots rang out behind him. He didn’t look back. He didn’t have to.

Rafi’s warning echoed in his head—“They won’t give you a choice.”

Project Argus had been erasing people for years. And now, they wanted to erase him.

But Adrian wasn’t going down that easily.

He knew the city like the back of his hand—every hidden passage, every abandoned structure, every blind spot in security cameras.

If they thought they could catch him tonight, they were wrong.

The Final Move

By the time Adrian stopped running, he was miles away, hidden in an old, abandoned train yard. His pulse pounded in his ears, his mind racing through his options.

He had no home to go back to. No safe place left.

But he still had one thing.

The truth.

Adrian pulled out his phone. His fingers were shaking as he opened his laptop, connecting to a secure channel.

Then, he did the only thing he could.

He uploaded everything.

The photos. The documents. The details of Project Argus.

Within minutes, the files were sent to every major news agency in the country.

Even if they caught him—they couldn’t stop what was coming.

The Vanishing Act

By the next morning, the world knew.

The headline spread like wildfire:

“EXPOSÉ: THE GOVERNMENT PROJECT THAT ERASED PEOPLE FROM EXISTENCE.”

Officials scrambled for answers. The public demanded the truth.

But Adrian himself?

He was gone.

No record of him boarding a train. No security footage of him leaving the city.

No trace of Adrian at all.

It was as if he had simply... disappeared.

Some believed he had gone into hiding. Others thought Project Argus had finally caught him.

But those who knew Adrian best?

They knew the truth.

He hadn’t just escaped.

He had beaten them at their own game.

Epilogue: A Name That No Longer Exists

Months passed.

The world moved on. The scandal faded into the background, just like every other dark secret that was too big to fully grasp.

And somewhere, far beyond the reach of government agencies, a man sat in a small café, watching the rain fall outside.

He had no name now. No official records. No past that could be traced.

He was a ghost.

But his mission wasn’t over.

Because if there was one thing he had learned from Project Argus—

It was how to disappear.

And now, he was going to use that knowledge to take them down.

THE END.