The ladder shuddered under Liam’s weight as he climbed. Metal rungs bit into his palms. Above him, emergency lights pulsed red through a narrow grill.Ivy climbed behind him. Elias took the rear. No one spoke. The alarms soared higher. Liam pushed the hatch open and rolled onto the cold tile floor of Wing C.White corridor. Frosted glass walls. Rows of secured labs humming with restrained power. Elias whispered, “This wing is biometric-restricted.”Liam already knew. “Avery bypassed it before.”Ivy whispered sharply, “You’re still assuming”The sound of footsteps echoed from the far end of the hall. Running. Multiple. Liam grabbed Ivy, yanking her into a recessed doorway as three armed guards sprinted past. Elias exhaled slowly. “They’re sweeping.”Liam’s eyes lifted to the lab markings. C-17… C-18… C-19His chest tightened. He pointed to the glass door at the far end. “That’s her department.”Ivy grabbed his sleeve. “Liam, listen to me. Whatever you think you saw in those logs”“Stop

The jet’s cabin lights dimmed as the aircraft leveled off over the Atlantic. Liam sat strapped into a medical seat, chest wrapped, IV secured to his arm.His laptop glowed on the tray table in front of him finally retrieved, finally his again. Ivy paced the narrow aisle. “Vitals?”Elias glanced at the monitor. “Stable. For now.”Avery sat opposite Liam, hands clenched together, eyes fixed on the floor. She hadn’t spoken since takeoff. Liam broke the silence. “São Paulo.”Elias nodded. “The test site was a private biotech subsidiary front company. Within forty minutes, the lattice destabilized.”Avery looked up sharply. “Destabilized how?”Liam’s fingers moved across the keyboard. “Cellular acceleration beyond safe thresholds. Tissue regeneration turned malignant.”Ivy swallowed. “Casualties?”Elias hesitated. “Officially, a chemical leak. Unofficially… twelve dead.”Avery pressed a hand to her mouth.Liam didn’t stop typing. “That’s Phase One.”A cold silence followed. Ivy snapped, “Y

The jet touched down just before dawn. No applause. No relief. Only silence heavy and unfinished. Liam sat by the window, wrapped in a blanket someone had given him.He watched the runway lights streak past with mild curiosity, like a passenger arriving somewhere for the first time. Avery hadn’t let go of his hand since the moment he forgot her.Ivy stood a few feet away, arms folded tight, eyes red but dry. Elias spoke quietly with security near the cockpit, already arranging disappearances, cover stories, erasures.The door opened. Cool morning air flooded the cabin. “We’re clear,” Elias said. “No tails. No trackers.”Avery whispered, “He can’t go to a hospital.”“I know,” Elias said. “We have a safe location.”Liam looked up. “Am I in trouble?”The question cut through them. Avery forced a smile that broke halfway. “No. You’re safe.”He studied her face, searching. “Do I know you?”Her breath hitched. “Yes.”He nodded, accepting it without resistance. “Okay.”That hurt more than an

“No.”The word left Avery’s mouth before anyone else could speak. Dr. Marcus Hale didn’t react. He didn’t flinch at Ivy’s raised gun or Elias’s rigid posture.His attention remained fixed on Liam, as if the rest of them were background noise. “Step back,” Ivy ordered. “Slowly.”Hale lifted both hands, palms open. “I’m unarmed.”“That doesn’t make you harmless,” Ivy snapped.Hale smiled faintly. “It never does.”Liam’s head throbbed. The room felt tighter, the air heavier, like gravity itself had shifted toward the man standing in the doorway. “You said,” Liam began, voice strained, “you helped me build something.”Hale nodded. “Yes.”Elias cut in sharply. “That’s impossible. Liam built the lattice alone.”Hale finally glanced at him. “That’s the story he chose to remember.”Avery stepped closer to Liam, grounding him. “You’re lying.”Hale looked at her kindly. That made it worse. “I wish I were,” he said. “But your faith in him is… selective.”Liam squeezed his eyes shut. Fragments pr

The door slid open. Not all the way just enough to reveal Ava. She stood alone in the corridor, hands visible, posture calm.No weapons. No armor. Just a long black coat and eyes that locked onto Liam the instant the door cracked. He felt it again. Not pressure. Gravity. “Liam,” she said softly.Avery’s grip tightened on his arm. “Don’t answer.”“I’m not here to hurt you,” Ava continued. “And before anyone says it yes, I know how suspicious that sounds.”Ivy didn’t lower her gun. “You’ve got ten seconds to explain how you found us.”Ava didn’t look at her. “You changed the routing twice, Elias.”Elias stiffened. “That information isn’t public.”“No,” Ava agreed. “But it used to be mine.”Liam’s brow furrowed. “Used to be?”Ava’s gaze flickered back to him. “We worked together. Long before the lattice.”Avery’s stomach dropped. “You told me she was a lawyer.”“I was,” Ava said calmly. “Among other things.”Ivy barked a laugh. “Of course you were.”Ava finally glanced at Ivy. “If I want