> "They said if I became the villain, I'd lose everything. I say—what's left to lose?"
---
The photo was still everywhere.
News sites. Headlines. Hashtags.
"#AMAYDENLEAKED"
They called it scandal. She called it betrayal.
Amaris sat in her living room, knees drawn up to her chest, staring at the dark screen. The air felt heavy. Hollow.
She hadn't spoken in hours.
Not since she saw Elliot's name as the sender.
---
Zayden's Voice Broke the Silence
"You don't have to face him."
"I do," she murmured.
"You're shaking."
"I'm deciding," she said quietly, "whether I want him erased… or just forgotten."
---
Elliot Came to Her Door Unannounced
He stood there—pale, tired, eyes rimmed in guilt.
She opened it slowly. No emotion on her face.
"May I come in?" he asked.
She stepped aside. Wordless.
He walked in like a man stepping into a church he burned down.
"I didn't mean for it to be public," he said. "It was supposed to pressure Zayden's father, that's all."
"You sent it to the press, Elliot."
"I—" he swallowed. "I made a mistake."
"No," she said. "You made a decision."
---
She turned.
"You were supposed to be the one who stayed."
"I did stay."
"No," she snapped. "You stayed behind me. In my shadow. You let me bleed alone and called it support."
His face hardened. "And what about you? You used me as a shield. As a weapon. As your obedient little hacker, like I didn't exist outside your pain."
"I made you," she hissed.
"No," he said. "You broke me."
They stood in silence, both breathing hard. Both knowing what came next.
---
"I still love you," Elliot said.
Amaris's eyes shimmered—but her voice didn't waver.
> "Then you shouldn't have betrayed me."
She stepped forward. Gave him one chance.
"Tell me where Verena is. Now."
He hesitated.
And that was his answer.
---
"I see," she said, voice cold. "You've chosen your side."
"Verena says there's more," he whispered. "More to your past. She wants you to remember."
"I remember enough."
"No," Elliot said. "She said the last memory will make you stop."
"Or start something worse," Amaris replied. "That's what she's hoping."
---
Suddenly—Pain
Her body buckled.
A sharp scream left her lips.
Zayden rushed in from the hall. "Amaris?!"
She fell to her knees. Her hands clawed at her temples.
A noise pierced her mind—like static laced with needles.
She looked up—
And saw it.
A projection on the wall.
A hidden projector Elliot had activated with his phone.
And on the wall:
A memory.
---
The Final ACE File
> Amaris, age 15. Strapped to a chair.
Doctors circling. Electrodes embedded in her arms.
Her mother watching silently behind glass.
The doctor asks: "She's ready for imprint?"
Her mother nods.
"Begin trauma loop."
And then:
A screen.
A fire.
A death.
> A young boy screaming. Flames swallowing the walls.
Amaris crying, "No! Please stop! I didn't mean to—"
Zayden gasped. "What is that?"
Elliot whispered, "They made her think she killed someone."
---
Amaris collapsed. The projection ended. The silence after was louder than a scream.
Zayden held her as she shook violently.
Elliot moved forward—but Zayden blocked him with a glare.
"You've done enough."
---
Later That Night
She finally spoke.
Zayden sat beside her.
"They made me think I set the fire. That I killed someone."
"You didn't."
"But I believed I did."
She looked at her hands.
"All this time, I was punishing myself for something I never did."
---
Elliot's Exile
She met him on the rooftop the next day. No security. No backup.
Just two people who had once trusted each other with their lives.
"You want to say goodbye?" he asked.
She handed him a phone. A clean passport. A bank card.
"Leave the city."
He didn't argue.
He just asked, "Do you hate me?"
She hesitated.
"No," she said. "But I can't love you either."
And she turned and walked away.
---
Meanwhile – Verena's Lab
"She saw the file," Celeste said, pacing. "She didn't break."
"She will," Verena replied. "Because the real twist isn't what she remembers—it's what she doesn't."
Celeste frowned. "What do you mean?"
"She thinks she never killed anyone," Verena said. "But I faked the footage for her benefit."
Celeste's eyes widened. "You mean…"
"She did. And when she finds out I lied to protect her… she'll finally lose the last piece of her humanity."
---
Final Scene – Amaris's Revenge Plan Begins
In her penthouse, Amaris stood before a massive blackboard of names.
Verena. Celeste. Zayden's father. Three board members. Two scientists. A judge.
She drew an X through Elliot's name.
Not dead. But erased.
She turned to Zayden.
"It's time I finished this."
He met her eyes. "What are you going to do?"
Her voice was steel.
> "Everything I promised I wouldn't."
"No more mercy. No more rules."
"If they want a villain—"
"Then I'll be the last one they ever meet."