Chapter 8: B: The Isolated Trap

👉 Previous Decision: You chose Option B – Threaten Dr. Avery directly in his office with the printed signed confession to force him to resign.

The printed confession, solid and damning, felt heavy in Clara’s hand. She waited until Dr. Avery had returned to his office, then stormed in, bypassing his startled secretary.

Avery looked up from his desk, his eyes narrowing as he saw the paper. “Nurse Barrett. What is the meaning of this intrusion?”

Clara slammed the confession onto his desk. “This means you’re finished, Doctor. I have your signed confession. Your fraud, your embezzlement, your illegal trials. Resign. Now. Or this goes straight to the authorities.”

A slow smile spread across Avery’s face. He picked up the paper, his gaze scanning the precise details. He looked genuinely amused.

“You really think,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension, “that a simple piece of paper can dismantle everything I’ve built?”

Before Clara could react, he pressed a button hidden beneath his desk. A low, grinding sound filled the room. The reinforced door behind her hissed shut, a red light flashing above it. Emergency isolation seal.

“And ‘authorities’?” Avery chuckled, tearing the confession into tiny pieces. He dropped the shreds into a shredder beside his desk. “My dear, the authorities have no jurisdiction here. Only I do.”

He stood, his presence suddenly menacing. “You’ve proven yourself a threat, Nurse Barrett. And here, in Sub-Level 4, threats are dealt with permanently.”

Clara frantically tried the door handle, but it was locked solid. Avery walked towards her, a syringe glinting in his hand. The same cold, detached expression she’d seen on the faces of his test subjects now mirrored his.