The door to the East Wing creaked open, the sound echoing like a warning down the narrow, red-lit corridor.
The air was different here. Still and heavy like it hadn't been touched in years.
Karen clutched Alex's hand as they stepped inside. Behind them, Luca scanned the hallway with his flashlight, each flicker revealing metal doors and smeared writing on the walls none of it legible, all of it wrong.
They reached the end of the corridor, where a large, locked door pulsed with a faint red glow from a cracked keypad. It had no numbers, just a single blinking cursor.
Karen stepped closer.
The screen lit up with a message:
"SPEAK HER NAME TO OPEN"
Alex nodded at her. "Say it."
Karen swallowed. "Karen wright."
The keypad turned green and the door clicked.
Inside was a wide, sterile room, all white, circular, and cold. In the center sat a chair made with steel, strapped down, worn from use.
Karen stopped breathing.
A monitor on the wall activated with a low beep, automatically playing an old recording.
She watched herself walk into the room. Not a child but younger, maybe 18. Her eyes were vacant, her wrists were already bruised.
A woman in a lab coat stood behind her in the video.
"Subject 7A. Trauma retention high. Progress: unresponsive to identity prompts."
The younger Karen didn't speak. Just stared at the floor.
The woman continued, flipping through a file.
"Test scheduled for memory suppression. Prepare injection."
Karen stepped back in horror.
"This is real," she said. "This… this actually happened."
Luca moved beside her, grim. "You were part of their experiment. They weren't trying to clone you or copy you, they were trying to erase you. Piece by piece."
Alex's fists were clenched at his sides. "Project HER wasn't a system, it was a plan to destroy your mind."
Karen's voice broke. "And rebuild it into someone I never agreed to be."
The screen went dark, and a soft chime echoed in the room.
They all turned toward the opposite wall where hidden panels slid open with a hiss.
Inside were files, stacks of them that had pages marked confidential, with photos of Karen throughout her life, moments she didn't remember.
Photos of her walking into the company for the first time.
Photos of her… here.
Karen trembled. "They've been watching me since the beginning."
Alex moved to her side, pulling her into his arms. "Not anymore, we're done running from this."
Luca walked up with a final folder in his hand. "And we're not the only ones who know now."
He held up the file. Inside:
A signed fund transfer.
From: Gerald Okon.
To: Avalon Research Division.
Alex's voice turned sharp. "He paid for all of this."
Karen looked at him, eyes burning.
"Then we make sure he pays for every second of it."