Alina Reyes pressed the elevator button again, frowning at the flickering numbers. 47.
There was no 47 on the building directory. Nothing.
Her heart thumped. "This… can't be right."
The elevator dinged. The doors slid open. Silence.
No office chatter. No hum of computers. Just a dimly lit hallway stretching forward, polished marble reflecting the soft golden lights.
"Hello?" she called, her voice echoing unnaturally.
Nothing.
Curiosity outweighed caution. She stepped out.
The elevator doors slammed shut behind her, too fast. A shiver ran down her spine.
At the end of the hallway stood a black door, slightly ajar.
It felt… deliberate. Waiting.
Alina hesitated. Then, against every instinct, she pushed it open.
The room inside wasn't an office. It was precise. Minimal. Controlled. Sleek leather furniture, walls lined with objects that seemed… personal, almost human.
"You lasted longer than expected."
The voice came from behind her. Low, calm, and sharp.
Alina spun around. A man stood there. Tall. Impeccably dressed. Eyes like knives, studying her.
"I… I didn't mean to—"
"You weren't supposed to survive that long," he interrupted.
Her chest tightened. "What do you mean?"
He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he pressed a button on a small device in his hand.
A section of the wall shifted, sliding open. Screens lit up—dozens of them—all showing her: every step she had taken from the elevator.
"You've been watching me?" Her voice shook.
"Observing," he corrected, calm as ever.
Fear and anger surged. "I'm not… I'm not part of some game!"
"You already are."
Alina's pulse raced. "Why me? There are thousands of employees in this building!"
His gaze locked onto hers, cold and calculating. "Because you didn't panic. You didn't break. And that makes you… interesting."
She stumbled back, heart hammering. "You can't just trap me here!"
"I didn't trap you. You entered."
Her stomach dropped. "I—I was lost!"
"No," he said quietly. "You're part of something bigger. And now, there's no turning back."
Alina's breath caught. Her phone was dead. The elevator doors wouldn't open. The hidden floor wasn't just a room—it was a world of its own.
And she was trapped.
"Welcome to my experiment," he said.
Her hands trembled. Her mind raced. And for the first time in her life, Alina realized she wasn't just in the wrong place…
She was in the wrong world.