A Dead Woman's Secret

Tricia's hands trembled as she flipped open the leather-bound file.

Inside, pages of classified documents stared back at her, lab reports, psychological evaluations, records of experiments conducted on her. Each one confirming what Alden had just told her.

She wasn't Tricia Hale.

At least, not originally.

Her real name was buried under layers of deception.

But before she could process it, Alden spoke again.

"There's more," he said, reaching into his coat. "Something Maya left behind."

Tricia's breath caught. Maya.

Her bestfriend. Her protector. The woman who had died to keep her safe.

Alden pulled out a small encrypted flash drive and held it up between his fingers.

"Consider this my last gift to you," he said, tossing it to her. "Maya recorded the truth before she died. If you really want answers, you'll listen."

Tricia caught the drive, her pulse hammering.

Alden turned to leave, but not before throwing one last look over his shoulder.

"Be careful, Tricia. Some truths are better left buried."

Then he was gone.

And she was left standing there, holding the last message from a dead woman.

The Hidden Recordings

Back at the motel, Jared and Nathan hovered as Tricia inserted the flash drive into Nathan's laptop.

The screen flickered. A single folder appeared.

MAYA – FOR TRICIA

Tricia clicked it open.

Inside were video files.

Dozens of them.

Her chest tightened as she selected the first one.

The screen lit up with static, then resolved into Maya's face.

She looked different, tired, haunted, afraid.

Then she spoke.

"If you're watching this, Tricia, it means I didn't make it."

Tricia's stomach clenched.

Maya took a shaky breath.

"There's something you don't know, something I never told you. And I'm sorry. But I did it to protect you."

Tricia's hands balled into fists.

She had trusted Maya with everything. And now, even from beyond the grave, Maya was still keeping secrets.

Maya swallowed hard before continuing.

"Your past, it's not what you think. The name Tricia Hale? It was given to you. Your real name is,"

The video cut to static.

Tricia's breath hitched. "No, no, no!"

She clicked the next file.

Maya's face reappeared, urgency burning in her eyes.

"They're lying to you, Tricia. S.O.L.A.C.E. didn't just experiment on you. They created you."

Tricia's world stopped.

Created?

Jared muttered a curse. Nathan paled.

Maya continued.

"You weren't just another test subject. You were designed. Engineered. Everything you are, your skills, your instincts, it was all programmed."

Tricia's breathing grew ragged.

This couldn't be true.

She was human. She was real.

But Maya wasn't done.

"And the worst part?"

"You weren't the only one."

The room fell into silence.

Tricia felt like she was drowning.

If Maya was telling the truth…

Then who else was out there?

The Director's Agenda

The silence in the l room was suffocating.

Tricia's hands trembled as she hovered over the next video file. Maya's revelations had shattered everything she thought she knew. She wasn't just an experiment, she was engineered.

And she wasn't alone.

Jared and Nathan exchanged uneasy glances. They had heard the same words, but neither dared to speak first.

Finally, Tricia clicked the next video.

Maya's image flickered onto the screen, her eyes shadowed with exhaustion.

"There's something you need to understand, Tricia. This was never about you alone. You were part of something bigger, a prototype. A proof of concept."

Tricia's looked blank.

Prototype?

Maya leaned forward, her voice urgent.

"And the one behind it all… is the Director."

The screen cut to static.

Tricia shot to her feet. "Who the hell is the Director?"

Nathan folded his arms. "I was hoping you'd tell me."

Jared ran a hand through his hair. "We've been chasing ghosts, but this guy, he's the one pulling the strings."

Tricia clicked on another video.

Maya appeared again, her face lined with frustration.

"The Director isn't just some scientist or some bureaucrat running S.O.L.A.C.E. from the shadows. He's something worse."

"He's the reason we all ended up here."

"His real name is Dr. Malcolm Voss."

Nathan stiffened.

Tricia noticed. "You know him."

Nathan hesitated before nodding. "Voss wasn't just a scientist. He was a strategist. A war architect. He didn't just create S.O.L.A.C.E., he designed it like a machine, piece by piece, experiment by experiment."

Tricia's fingers clenched around the edge of the table.

She had spent so long chasing Lorne , convinced he was the mastermind.

But Lorne was just a pawn.

The real monster had been lurking behind the scenes all along.

The video continued.

"Voss isn't content with what he's already done. He's looking for the final piece."

Maya's face darkened.

"And that piece… is you."

The screen cut out.

The room was silent.

Then Jared exhaled sharply. "We have to find him before he finds us."

Nathan's expression was grim. "You don't 'find' Malcolm Voss."

Tricia's eyes burned with rage.

"Then we make him come to us."