> "The worst betrayals come not from enemies—but from those who once held your trembling hands."
---
The room was quiet, too quiet.
Amaris sat at the edge of the bed in Elliot's apartment, staring at nothing, while Zayden leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, waiting for Elliot to explain.
Elliot didn't move.
Didn't speak.
Because he knew.
She already knew.
Amaris finally turned her head.
Her voice was flat. Controlled. Dangerous.
> "Subject Twenty-One?"
The silence stretched.
Zayden looked between them, confused. "What is she talking about?"
Elliot's jaw clenched. "Amaris…"
"Don't," she cut in sharply. "Don't say my name like it still belongs in your mouth."
Zayden stepped forward. "Elliot?"
Elliot reached for the laptop on the table and pulled up the file—the one labeled "Override."
He played the clip.
Amaris didn't blink.
> "We'll test the neural bonds again. Subject Seventeen is forming unhealthy attachment patterns to Twenty-One."
> "We need her loyal. But not emotional."
The video ended.
No one moved.
Zayden finally broke the silence. "You were part of ACE?"
Elliot's voice cracked as he answered, "I didn't remember. Not until recently. I was a test subject like her—except… they made me forget."
Amaris stood slowly. "No. You're not like me. You watched them break me, and you took notes."
"I was drugged. Programmed. Like you. We were children, Amaris—"
"You were watching." Her voice rose like a scream under control. "You stood behind glass while I begged to go home."
He stepped closer. "But I came back. I saved you when no one else did."
"You came back out of guilt," she said. "Don't romanticize your penance."
---
FLASHBACK – The Night Elliot Found Her
Rain. Blood. Fear.
She had collapsed behind a train station. Elliot had found her half-conscious, barely breathing.
He didn't recognize her at first.
But when he looked into her eyes, something clicked.
A phantom memory.
The girl behind the glass.
> "You're the one who sang," he whispered.
"You used to sing through the glass."
"Songbird."
---
Present
"You knew what I was," she said now, trembling. "You knew and still let me fall for you."
"I didn't want you to fall," he said, eyes pained. "I wanted you to rise. I've been trying to help you rise."
Amaris's laugh was sharp and hollow. "You don't help someone rise by building them a throne made of lies."
Zayden stepped between them. "Amaris—"
"I need air," she muttered, pushing past both of them.
---
Rooftop – Elliot's Apartment
The wind hit her like a slap. Cold. Cleansing. Cruel.
The city below sparkled like a lie.
Zayden followed after a few moments, stopping a few feet behind her.
"I didn't know he was part of it," he said softly.
"I know."
"Are you okay?"
She turned slowly. "Zayden, I haven't been okay since I was fifteen. But I'm functioning."
"That's not the same."
"No," she agreed. "But it's all I've got."
---
He moved closer. Slowly. Deliberately. Until they were nearly chest to chest.
"You don't have to be a villain," he said. "Not to me."
"I already am."
"Not yet."
She looked up at him. So close she could feel the heat of his breath.
"You're standing very close to a broken thing," she whispered.
Zayden's hand grazed hers.
"Maybe I want to see what happens when it's not scared of breaking anymore."
Their eyes locked.
But Amaris pulled back.
Not yet.
Not here.
---
Celeste's Secret Meeting
She met the woman in a private suite at an underground hotel.
Tall. Red lips. Sunglasses indoors. The scent of clove cigarettes.
"Who are you?" Celeste asked.
"Someone who doesn't like Amaris Lane."
"Name?"
The woman smiled. "Call me Verena."
Celeste narrowed her eyes. "Why should I trust you?"
"Because I'm the one who trained Sera," Verena purred. "And unlike her—I don't fail."
"What do you want in return?"
Verena leaned forward, her smile sharp. "Blood. And a broadcast."
---
Amaris's Apartment – The Next Day
A box sat at her door.
No return address. No label.
Inside: a cassette. A red ribbon. And a note.
> "You forgot me. I never forgot you."
– V
She stared at it for a long time before sliding the cassette into the player.
Static. Then a voice.
> "Do you remember the room with the blue lights?"
"Do you remember what they made you forget?"
"Because I do. And I'm going to make sure the whole world remembers with me."
---
Elliot was silent as she played it for him.
"That voice," he whispered. "That's Verena. She was the lead override scientist."
"She's alive."
"And working with Celeste."
Amaris's eyes were fire.
"Then it's time I give them something to fear again."
---
Emergency Broadcast – 3:17 a.m.
News channels blinked to life across the city.
A video aired across public televisions, social feeds, stock tickers.
Footage of Project ACE. The labs. The doctors. The wires.
Children crying.
Data trails.
Voiceovers.
> "This is not fiction. This is Edenrose's hidden truth."
And in the final seconds—
Amaris Lane's voice.
> "They turned me into a weapon."
"Now I'm aiming back."
The screen went black.
The city went still.
---
Final Scene – Kross Estate
Zayden's father threw his whiskey at the screen. "She just destroyed everything!"
An assistant rushed in. "Sir—there's a protest forming outside. Edenrose board members are resigning. Investors are threatening to pull out. They're calling for a federal investigation into the ACE cover-up."
And the name on every protest sign?
> "AMARIS LANE WAS RIGHT."