Page 55 of Lost Echoes

And I don’t know yet if she’s trying to protect me… or recruit me.

My hands curl into fists. “You think I’m going to help you? After what you did? You lied to me for my entire life!”

Her eyes glisten. “If you don’t, they’ll use Kenzi next. They’ll finish what they started with you. She’s already under their spell.”

I laugh a short, broken sound. “You don’t get to scare me into obedience.”

“I’m not trying to scare you.” She glances at the scattered papers, one trembling hand flattening them like she can erase the mess. “I’m trying to give you a choice I never had.”

My heart pounds so hard it hurts. “A choice? Like the ones you gave me in that basement?”

Her face crumples. “You were supposed to be the end, Billa. Not the beginning.”

The words slam into me. “What does that even mean?”

“They built the program around you. The persona, the acts, the triggers. Kenzi was only ever meant to mirror you, to keep you steady.” She swallows hard. “If you walk away now, they’ll destroy her. Just like they almost destroyed you.”

I stare at her, cold all over. “Excuse me? I was barely touched. She was the one who was nearly ruined. In fact, the jury’s still out on that.”

She studies me. “You really don’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

Her voice drops to a whisper. “You’re stronger than they realize. That’s why you’re still alive.”

The room tilts. I grab the edge of the desk to steady myself. “If this is some kind of test…”

“It’s not.” Her eyes flash, something desperate breaking through. “It’s a war, and they’re already inside this hospital. Inside the staff. I can’t protect you anymore.”

“Protect me?” I take a step back, my pulse a hammer in my ears. “You’re still lying. Still playing me.”

“Then look at the files.” She nudges a folder toward me with a trembling hand. “Every name, every date. The Radleys, Kenzi, you, me. It’s all in there. You’ll see the truth, whether you want to or not.”

I glance down at the scattered papers. My name stares back at me from the top page in bold black ink.

“Did you bring the Brannons into this? Or did they bring you in?”

“Everything is a circle, isn’t it?”

“That isn’t an answer.”

“It’s more than you think.”

My stomach twists. “What did you do to me?”

“I tried to make you a survivor,” she whispers. “Now you have to decide if you’re going to be their weapon… or their undoing.”

Her words hit like a trigger—another script, another stage. Only this time, I’m the one holding the cue.

And I’m not sure which role I’m about to play.

28

Ember

The cursor blinks at me like a pulse on a flatline. No more messages, still nothing more from Phoenix.

I refresh the feed three times even though I know it won’t change anything. His username is still there, but the green dot beside it has gone gray. Offline. Maybe worse.