I didn't go home that night.
There was no point. The apartment AlphaCorp gave me was small, safe, and empty like everything they built. I stayed in the lab instead, sitting in the half-dark, watching the monitors fade into standby mode.
The words Project V-01 still burned behind my eyes.
They'd called it research. They'd called it advancement. But it was cruelty in paperwork, and somehow that made it worse.
I told myself finding the file was a victory, proof that everything I'd sacrificed mattered.
But sitting here, it didn't feel like victory. It felt like a warning.
The screen of my wrist comm lit suddenly. The encrypted line blinked twice, our old code.
Sera.
I hesitated before accepting. If anyone tracked this call, we were both done.
Her face appeared in low light, tired but alert. "Lira, what did you do?"
"Good evening to you too," I said quietly.
"Don't play with me." Her voice was sharp. "Your access trail just lit up half of AlphaCorp's internal security. Someone noticed you touched restricted archives."
My chest tightened. "How much did they see?"
"Enough to start asking questions." She glanced off-screen, checking something. "I told you to wait. You've been there less than two days."
"I didn't have time to wait. I found something."
Her eyes flicked back to me. "You found what?"
"Proof."
"Of what?"
"Me," I said.
She froze. "Lira…"
"They catalogued everything, Sera. The pairing, the rejection, the aftermath. They wrote my name into their system like I was an experiment. Code V-01."
Her mouth opened, then closed again. "You can't stay there. Not after that."
"I'm not leaving. Not until I see it through."
"You don't understand." She leaned closer to the screen. "I traced some of the internal memos. That project wasn't just Drayden's family, it's Council-level authorization. You expose this, you're not just going after him. You're going after all of them."
"Good."
"You don't seem to be getting this. Listen to me." Her tone softened, almost pleading. "If they find out who you are, you won't make it out. You're using their own tech against them. That serum might hide your scent, but it's still in you. If the system scans deep enough, it'll read you."
I looked away. "Then I won't let them scan me."
"You're gambling with your life."
"I already lost it once."
Silence stretched between us. I could hear the faint hum of her equipment on the other side of the line.
Finally, she sighed. "Just… promise me you'll slow down. Don't let anger make your choices."
"I'm not angry," I said, though we both knew I was lying. "I'm focused."
"Focused people don't sound like they're trying to convince themselves."
Her words hit too close. I didn't answer.
Sera looked at me for a long time, then said quietly, "You're in deeper than you think. The Draydens built more than a company, Lira. They built a system that protects itself. If you break it, it'll break you back."
Her image flickered slightly. "And if Kael finds out who you are…"
"He won't."
She hesitated, then gave a small nod. "For your sake, I hope you're right."
The call ended. The screen went dark again, leaving me with the reflection of my own face, tired eyes, clenched jaw, the faint glow of the lab behind me.
For a moment, I let myself feel it, the exhaustion, the doubt, the loneliness that came when the adrenaline faded. I pressed my palms against the table and breathed slowly until my heartbeat steadied.
Maybe Sera was right. Maybe I was already in too deep.
But every time I thought of leaving, I remembered the way Kael had looked at me when he said unfit.
I remembered the council's laughter, the silence that followed me out of that hall.
No. There was no turning back.
I straightened, shutting down the last console. The room fell completely silent.
"Deeper than I think," I whispered to myself. "Good. That's where they'll never see me coming."