👉 Previous Decision: You chose Option A – Approach the man directly, exchange information, and recruit her daughter Maya to decrypt the patient’s digital trial file.
Clara walked towards the distraught man, her footsteps measured. She extended a hand. “I’m Clara Barrett, a nurse here. I couldn’t help but notice… ‘Subject 7.’ Is that your wife?”
The man looked up, startled, his eyes still moist. “Yes. Martha. Her name is Martha Vance. They just… brought her out from Sub-Level 4. She doesn’t remember me. Doesn’t remember anything.” He held out the drawing of the woman’s face. “This is from our daughter.”
Clara’s throat tightened. Martha Vance. A person, not just a number. “I’m so sorry. Dr. Avery is… very persuasive. I believe there might be more to this than what they’re telling you.”
He glanced nervously at the file. “They only gave me the discharge summary. Said her condition was ‘stabilized.’ But her private doctor, Dr. Jenkins, had her records transferred here weeks ago. Full diagnostic scans, personal history… now it’s all gone. Just a few encrypted files on a USB stick they handed me.”
“Can I see that USB?” Clara asked, her voice low. He hesitated, then handed her a small, generic black drive. “I have a daughter, Maya. She’s incredibly skilled with computers. She might be able to help.”
Hours later, at their small apartment, Maya sat hunched over her laptop, the USB drive plugged in. Her brow furrowed in concentration, fingers flying across the keyboard. Clara watched her, a cup of cooling tea beside her.
“Mom,” Maya finally said, her voice tight, “this isn’t just medical data. There are hidden layers. Financial transfers, shell corporations… this ‘Dr. Avery’ isn’t just a rogue doctor. He’s connected to something big. And dark.”
She spun the laptop screen around. A complex web of transactions, encrypted messages, and code names bloomed across the display. At the center, a symbol: a stylized, three-pronged star, with the words “Apex Syndicate” underneath.
“They’re funding human trials, Mom,” Maya stated, her eyes wide. “Illegal, non-consensual trials. And they’re paying Avery millions. Subject 7, Martha Vance, was a wealthy executive. That’s why she was chosen. Her memory was wiped to cover up an experimental surgery that went wrong.”
The true scale of Avery’s operation, funded by a shadowy criminal organization, solidified around Clara. The danger was far greater than she could have imagined. Her small note was meaningless compared to this.
➡️ Read CHAPTER 6A to continue the story
+ There are no comments
Add yours