Blackwood Psychiatric Center stood on a hill like a forgotten god.
Tall iron gates. Grey walls. Windows like empty eyes.
Eliza felt her stomach twist as Aaron parked the stolen car behind a line of dead trees.
"That's it," she whispered. "That's where she is."
"And where Mara is," Aaron added.
Fog crawled over the ground, hiding their feet as they moved closer.
"Once we go in," Aaron said, "we don't run unless I tell you to."
"I won't run," Eliza said.
He looked at her. "That's what scares me."
Inside Blackwood
They entered through a broken side door Nova had unlocked remotely before disappearing from the network.
The building smelled of medicine and fear.
Distant screams echoed through the halls.
Eliza hugged herself. "They're not treating patients. They're hiding them."
A nurse walked past without looking at them.
Her eyes were empty.
"They drug everyone," Aaron whispered. "No resistance. No witnesses."
They reached the third floor.
Room 312.
The door was locked.
Aaron forced it open.
Inside, a woman sat on the bed, staring at the wall.
Her hair was long and silver-streaked.
Her face thin.
Her eyes… still burning.
"Lillian," Eliza whispered.
The woman turned slowly.
"Who sent you?" Lillian asked weakly.
"No one," Eliza said. "We came."
Lillian's eyes filled with tears.
"He didn't kill me," she said. "Because he wanted me to watch."
Eliza knelt beside her. "We're taking you out."
Lillian laughed softly. "He won't allow that."
Victor Hale's Voice
Speakers cracked to life.
Slow clapping echoed through the hall.
"Well done," a calm voice said. "You reached the heart of my museum."
Eliza froze.
"Victor Hale," Aaron growled.
"You always were predictable, Aaron," Hale said. "Still playing hero."
Eliza shouted, "Where is Mara?"
"Alive," Hale said. "For now."
Lillian whispered, "He enjoys this."
Hale continued, "You came for a madwoman and a hostage. But I brought you something else."
Screens on the walls lit up.
Video footage appeared.
A woman working at a desk.
Eliza gasped. "That's my mother."
Victor's voice smiled. "Yes. Alive. Somewhere."
Eliza screamed, "You liar!"
"Am I?" Hale said. "You want her back? Walk deeper into Blackwood."
Aaron grabbed Eliza's arm. "It's psychological warfare."
"I don't care," she said. "I need to know."
The Test
They followed arrows that lit up on the floor.
They reached an operating theater.
Mara sat tied to a chair.
Alive.
Eliza ran to her.
A door locked behind them.
Victor appeared on a screen.
"One dies," he said. "One lives."
"Let them go," Eliza shouted.
"Choose," Hale said. "Your mother… or this woman."
Two doors appeared on screen.
Left: MOTHER
Right: MARA
Eliza shook violently.
"This is evil," she cried.
Aaron whispered, "He's lying. Both doors are traps."
Victor laughed. "Choose or I choose."
Eliza closed her eyes.
She remembered her mother's voice.
She remembered Mara's kindness.
She opened her eyes.
"I choose… neither," she said.
She smashed the camera with a chair.
Sirens exploded.
Guards rushed in.
Aaron fired.
They escaped with Lillian and Mara through a service tunnel.
Gunfire followed them like rain.
The Truth
Outside, Lillian collapsed into Eliza's arms.
"My child," Lillian whispered. "Your mother is not alive."
Eliza's heart shattered.
"What?"
"He showed you recordings," Lillian said. "Old ones. She died trying to save me."
Eliza screamed into the night.
Aaron held her tightly.
Victor Hale's voice came through Eliza's phone:
You failed the test.
Now you will lose someone you love.
A shot rang out.
Eliza turned.
Aaron was bleeding.
He fell to his knees.
"Eliza…" he whispered.
She caught him.
"Stay with me," she cried. "Please."
His blood soaked her hands.
And in the distance, Victor Hale smiled behind glass.