TIME: 6:02 a.m.

LOCATION: Facility B-9 – Lower Sublevel

Status: Containment Locked – Access Code: EMBER-V00.

The doors slammed shut the moment Beta vanished.

Heavy steel. Four inches thick. Lit by a red pulse that screamed: NO EXIT.

Lucien shoved Ember behind cover as more charges went off down the corridor controlled bursts, meant to corner, not kill.

“She planned the whole damn thing,” he growled, scanning the darkness.

“No,” Ember said, her voice raw. “She’s showing ...