Chapter 20 - The Unraveling Veil

The silence that followed the confession was thick—almost unbearable. Ava sat frozen on the edge of the bed, her knuckles pale against the linen sheets. Across from her, Caroline stood still, mouth slightly parted, as if the words she had just spoken were too heavy to let go entirely.

"You knew," Ava whispered, not daring to raise her eyes. "You knew about Ben all this time."

Caroline took a slow step forward, her voice trembling. "Not everything. But enough."

The weight of betrayal pressed hard on Ava's chest. She rose to her feet, the movement sharp, sudden. "Why didn't you tell me? You let me chase ghosts while you held the truth in your hands."

Caroline's eyes watered, and she looked away. "Because I was afraid, Ava. Because once the truth comes out, you can't put it back."

Ava paced the room, her breath shallow. The walls felt too close, the air too thin. She reached for the map again—the one Ben had left. Her fingers trembled as they traced the red circle in the library. Cassandra.

"We need to go back to New York," Ava said suddenly. Her voice no longer shook. It was certain now—determined.

Caroline blinked. "Tonight?"

"Yes. There's more at Waverly Place. That tape was only the beginning."

They left Boston under a grey sky. The drive was long and tense, filled with questions unasked. Caroline kept glancing at Ava, but she said nothing. The hum of the engine filled the space between them.

When they arrived, Waverly Place was shrouded in shadow. The townhouse stood like a mausoleum, windows dark, air still. As they approached, Ava clutched the key Ben had left. She turned it slowly in the lock. The door creaked open with a groan.

Inside, the silence was familiar. Dust hung in the air, catching faint moonlight that slipped through the drapes. They moved straight to the library. The room greeted them like a long-lost secret.

Caroline hesitated. "Do you think she's here? Cassandra?"

Ava nodded. "She's always been here."

They searched the shelves again, but this time Ava noticed something different. A sliver of wood behind a line of books. A panel. Hidden.

"Help me," she said.

Together they moved the books and pressed against the wall. A latch clicked. The panel slid open to reveal a narrow staircase spiraling downward into darkness.

Ava didn't wait. She descended, flashlight in hand. The air grew colder with each step. At the bottom, they found a small room lined with filing cabinets and old equipment—tape recorders, film reels, and dusty binders.

One folder sat at the center of a metal table. Labeled: "Project Cassandra."

Ava opened it.

Photographs spilled out—images of Ava's mother, of Ben, of Caroline—even herself as a child. Pages of notes. Timelines. Connections. Dates. It was all here.

Caroline covered her mouth. "This is... this is surveillance."

Ava read aloud. "Cassandra. Subject 001. Born March 17. Monitored since 1997."

She stopped. Her eyes scanned the file again, frantically.

"They were watching us. All of us."

A soft click echoed behind them.

They turned.

A shadow emerged from the doorway—tall, dressed in black. A man.

"You weren't supposed to find this," he said. His voice was calm, measured.

Ava stepped in front of Caroline. "Who are you?"

"Call me Morgan. I'm the fail-safe."

Caroline's hand gripped Ava's. "What does that mean?"

Morgan took a slow step forward. "It means when a subject gets too close, I make sure the veil stays intact."

Ava's voice was steel. "That veil is already tearing."

Morgan paused. His face was unreadable. "Then it's time you saw everything."

He raised a small remote and pressed a button. A panel on the far wall slid open to reveal a screen. Lights flickered. A projection began—grainy footage of a lab, a child strapped to a chair, voices speaking in hushed tones.

Ava stared, horrified. "That's me."

Morgan nodded. "You were part of something bigger than you remember. Something we tried to erase."

Caroline turned to her. "That's why you forgot. They took your memories."

Ava's knees buckled, but she remained standing. She couldn't look away.

The footage continued. Experiments. Tests. Ava screaming. Ben rushing in. More voices.

Morgan lowered the remote. "Now you understand. You were never supposed to return."

Ava took a deep breath. "But I did. And now, I'm not leaving without the truth."

Morgan's expression darkened. "Then you'll need to survive it."

He stepped back into the shadows. A door slammed. They were locked in.

Caroline clutched Ava's arm. "What do we do?"

Ava looked around. She grabbed the file and scanned the diagrams. "There's a second exit. Here. Behind the reel cabinet."

They pushed the heavy shelf aside and found another corridor.

The race had begun.

Every step deeper into the underground brought more fragments of truth. More evidence. More betrayal.

But Ava was no longer afraid. She was ready to burn the whole veil down.

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