Episode 5
The cold wind bit into Iris's skin as she crouched behind a moss-covered tree, hidden by the shadows of the forest. The facility loomed behind her—a monolithic prison cloaked in silence, as if pretending nothing unnatural had ever happened within its sterile walls.
She clutched the USB drive tightly.
Nina's last words echoed in her mind:
> "Expose them."
But how?
She had no phone service. No ID. No money.
She didn't even know who she could trust.
Iris checked the burner phone Nina had given her. Still functional. No signal bars, but one message had arrived since she escaped.
> Unknown Number:
"Trust no one. Go to Haven Ridge Motel. Room 12. Ask for 'Calder.' He owes Isolde."
Her breath caught.
Isolde. Again.
That name kept coming back, like a thread tied to her forgotten past. If this "Calder" truly knew Isolde, maybe he knew the truth about Iris's life before NIGHTSHADE.
She stood, her body sore but her resolve solid.
She would not be a lab rat.
She would not be a victim.
---
Four Hours Later
The roads were quiet as Iris walked along the highway in borrowed clothes she'd taken from an unlocked RV near the tree line. Mud clung to her shoes, and the cold hadn't relented.
She hitchhiked with a trucker heading into town, hiding her bruises behind a scarf and lies.
"Running from trouble?" the man had asked.
"Running to peace," Iris replied.
The trucker didn't ask again.
By nightfall, she stood in front of the Haven Ridge Motel—a battered sign flickering above rows of lonely doors.
Room 12.
Her heart thundered as she knocked.
Once.
Twice.
Silence.
Then the door creaked open.
A man in his early forties stared at her. Disheveled, broad-shouldered, a faded tattoo snaking across his forearm.
"Iris Vale," he said softly, like a memory surfacing.
She froze. "How do you know my name?"
"Because I watched over you once. When you were Isolde's shadow."
---
Inside Room 12
The curtains were shut tight. The room smelled of whiskey and stale air.
Calder poured her tea. His hands were calloused, his gaze sharp.
"You don't remember me, do you?"
"I don't remember anything before that hospital."
"That's because Alec erased it. Piece by piece. Memory, identity, emotion. You were once his biggest threat. He couldn't kill you—so he rewrote you."
Iris's head spun. "I was his enemy?"
Calder nodded.
"You and Isolde formed a resistance inside NIGHTSHADE. You pretended to be compliant. But behind the scenes, you were exposing subjects, stealing files, planning escape routes. Alec found out too late—but not before he could silence Isolde."
Iris's throat burned. "She's really dead?"
Calder looked down. "I was the one who pulled her body out of the holding tank."
Silence fell like ash.
"And me?" she asked. "Why didn't he kill me?"
"Because you were more valuable alive. He wanted to break you as an example. Make you the poster girl for obedience."
Iris clenched her fists. "Then he failed."
Calder gave a grim smile.
She slid the USB drive across the table.
"Nina gave me this. It has everything. Can we release it to the public?"
Calder hesitated. "Yes… but Alec owns the media groups. He'll spin the narrative. We need someone with real reach—someone untouchable."
"Like who?"
Calder opened a drawer and pulled out a photograph.
A woman in a sharp black suit, flanked by security, stood on a podium.
Senator Helena Dorne.
"She lost her daughter to NIGHTSHADE ten years ago. But she could never prove it. You give her this… she'll burn Alec's empire to the ground."
"Then take me to her," Iris said.
Calder shook his head. "Too dangerous. You stay off-grid. I'll deliver the drive. If Alec sees you, he'll come unhinged."
But Iris stood. "He's already unhinged. And I won't run anymore."
---
Meanwhile — At Blackwood Estate
Alec stared at the shattered teacup in his hand.
"Iris is gone," his assistant said quietly. "She escaped through Tunnel C. Nina is missing."
Alec's expression remained unreadable.
"She took the NIGHTSHADE journal and the USB prototype."
Still silent.
"She might be heading toward the city—"
Suddenly, Alec smiled.
Not warmth. Not humor.
Control.
"She won't make it far," he said. "Activate Protocol Ghost. Bring in the Retrieval Unit. Dead or alive."
"But sir—"
"She is not my fiancée anymore," Alec said coldly. "She's a liability. And I do not tolerate betrayal."
He turned to the wall behind him and pressed his hand against the surface.
A hidden panel slid open, revealing a glowing file marked IV-2: Subject History — Final Phase Locked.
---
Back at the Motel
Iris woke to the sound of gunfire.
Calder was already pulling her from the bed.
"They found us!"
She grabbed the burner phone, the USB, and followed him through the bathroom window.
Outside, black SUVs screeched into the parking lot. Men in tactical suits swarmed the rooms, shouting into radios.
Calder fired twice, hitting one of them in the leg.
"We need to split up!" he shouted. "You take the drive to Senator Dorne! I'll lead them away!"
"I can't leave you—!"
"You're the only one who can finish what Isolde started!"
A tear slid down Iris's cheek as she clutched the USB to her chest.
She turned and ran.
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