The elevator moved without a sound.Ava stood inside alone.The number 47 glowed above her head.No buttons were pressed.
No commands given.Yet it was moving.
Her reflection in the mirror looked calm.
But inside, her thoughts were racing.He erased her.What did that mean?Dead people don't get erased.They getburied.Ding.Theelevator doors opened.
The 47th floor was different.No decorations.
No glass walls.No luxury.
Just concrete corridors and dim white lights.
Cold. Clinical.Like a laboratory.Ava stepped out slowly.The air smelled sterile.At the end of the hallway—A single black door.No handle.
Only a biometric scanner.Her pulse quickened.Why bring her here?Or worse—
Why let her come?Before she could touch anything—A voice spoke behind her.
"You're curious."She turned.Adrian stood there.Hands in pockets.Expression unreadable."You said this floor was off-limits," Ava said calmly."It is.""Then why am I here?"
A faint smile."Because I wanted to see how far you'd go."Her jaw tightened."You manipulated the elevator.""I manipulate many things."Silence stretched.Tension thickened.
"Did you erase my sister?" Ava asked directly.
Adrian's eyes sharpened."No.""Then what does 'erase' mean?"He stepped closer.
Close enough that she could feel his presence."Erase," he said softly,
"means deleting someone from systems. Records. Databases. History."Her stomach dropped."That's impossible.""Not in my world."Ava's breathing slowed.
"You're saying someone wiped her existence?""I'm saying," Adrian corrected,
"that someone powerful enough wanted her gone.""And you're not that powerful?"
His eyes darkened."I'm powerful enough to know I'm being framed."Suddenly—
The biometric scanner lit up.Green.
The black door unlocked by itself.
Adrian's expression changed instantly.
He didn't expect that.Neither did Ava.
The door slowly slid open. Inside—
Rows of servers.Massive screens.
And on the largest monitor—A childhood photo of Ava.
Except…
The name under the photo wasn't Ava.It was Elena Voss.Her breath stopped."That's not my name."Adrian looked at the screen carefully."No," he said quietly."It's the name you were born with."The ground felt unstable.
"That's a lie."Adrian turned to face her.
"Is it?"Her phone vibrated again.
Unknown message:"Ask him about Project Mirror."Ava's heart slammed against her ribs.
She looked back at Adrian."What is Project Mirror?"For the first time—Adrian didn't answer immediately.Because somewhere behind them—A second elevator dinged.
Someone else had arrived on the 47th floor.
And Adrian whispered only one word:
"Run."