25

Nina sat at the small table of her hotel room, her notes and laptop in front of her and silence her only companion. The bright light from her screen made her eyes feel tired, and the call of sleep grew stronger with every passing second. Still, Nina found her mind stuck on a single thought, one that had occurred to her from the very start but had been pushed away by all else that had happened.

Why her?

Why, of all the people she had treated, had Alice chosen her? Nina hadn't known Alice, and yet something had told Alice that her memories would be safe with Nina. That Nina would find the truth—along with the card holding the final pieces of the puzzle.

And she was right, Nina thought, the notes in front of her suddenly looking like the obsessive writings of a woman near madness.

She thought of the things she'd done, of the lies she'd told and the people she'd hidden everything from. Of the home and the life she could never go back to.

Nina looked around at the dreary room she was sitting in, at the small bag that carried most of her belongings. She felt the tremors in her hand and the ache in her head that had become so common she could hardly remember a time when they weren't present. Above all, Nina felt the exhaustion that ran through her body even as she was determined to keep going. The very determination that, somehow, Alice had known would drive her to find the truth.

She knew, Nina thought.

Alice had treated her, had probably been there when Nina received the implant that had changed her life. More than that, Alice had seen Nina's file and knew what she did for a living. Alice knew that Nina was a journalist, had probably looked up her past work. If anyone would follow the trail Alice had left, it would be Nina.

By a twist of fate that neither could have ever imagined, both women had been connected, their lives and minds so deeply intertwined that Nina almost felt as if she knew Alice. Now, Nina was left to untangle the threads that tied her to the other woman. All the while, below the strong sense of determination mixed with a seemingly never ending exhaustion, there was the pain and anger Nina was starting to suspect would always be present when she thought of Alice.

More than that, there was now the knowledge that Alice hadn't been the only one to tamper with her mind.

Nina thought of a wide, mocking smile she'd once thought of as warm. She thought of mismatched eyes and red lips on pale skin. She thought of the friend she'd never had and the betrayal that was still like a fresh cut in her heart.

Someone had planted memories of a friendship she'd never had, all to keep an eye on her. To make sure that she didn't get close enough to the truth.

No, Nina though. No, it was to make sure that, if I did, they would be there to stop the truth from getting out.

The realization left her feeling cold. It made a chill run up her spine as she wondered how long they had been watching her and how much they could possibly know.

They never stopped me. They were counting on me leading them to the evidence Alice had gathered. She looked at the card laying next to her laptop and marveled at how far people had gone for it. To destroy a mind for such a small thing—it was nearly enough to pull a bitter laugh from Nina's lips.

She sighed, sitting back as she listened to the wind still raging outside. The thought that the same people who'd built up a lie to keep an eye on her could be in that town, watching her, wasn't nearly as alarming to Nina as it should be. Perhaps it was because of her profession, because of all of the things she'd seen and heard.

If they wanted to watch Nina, to see her fall apart as she chased down what they were trying so hard to hide, then they were welcome to. Nina was just going to keep goin. To keep searching for a way to get the evidence that Alice had given her life for out to the public.

She sat up straight, fingers flitting about the keyboard of her laptop as she searched for information on Dr. Han. Despite the sense of dread she felt when she thought of what might have become of the man who'd helped Alice, Nina still held onto the last shred of hope.

That hope was shattered moments later as she ran across the first of many articles detailing his death. Nina felt her shoulders slump as she drew away from the screen, eyes still staring at it as she leaned back. The smiling face of a dark haired man who could only be Marcus Han stared back at her. Beneath it, there was the picture of a wrecked car, the metal so badly bent and burned that Nina couldn't even tell what model or color the vehicle was.

All she could think of was the thick scent of smoke and the heat that seemed to grow in intensity with every second. The bitter taste of burning wreckage—suffocating even as she gasped for breath. The wailing sirens that seemed much too far away. Searing pain and heat. The tang of blood in her mouth.

Nina came back to herself after a moment that felt like an eternity, hands shaking and heart pounding in her chest. In that instant, she was all too aware of the scars she still carried. Of the memories seared into her mind, memories Nina didn't think would ever fade.

She exited the page, not needing—or wanting—to read any further. Already she was wondering if Dr. Han might have felt the heat of the flames as they grew around him as Nina had, or if he had been spared that pain. Nina felt her stomach turn. She closed her eyes, did all she could to push those images out of her mind, to focus on something—anything—else.

They killed him. The thought came to her suddenly, like a heavy weight dropping onto her shoulders. He knew too much, so they got rid of him. And then they did the same to Alice.

Nina struggled to understand how anything could be worth the lives of so many. How anything could be worth destroying so many minds.

She thought of the woman she'd considered a childhood friend and the memories that still flooded her mind at the slightest trigger. Of the way her mind was still slowly falling to pieces. Of the hall that was still there, waiting in the back of her mind even after it had served its purpose.

All of a sudden, Nina could recall the scent of lavender and spices. A woman called for her daughter. A child's laughter rang down the hall.

Nina closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and grounded herself. When she opened them, she was still staring at the bright screen of her laptop. The sound of the wind felt like a distant thing as Nina sat at the small table. The feeling of helplessness she felt at that moment—something Nina had struggled with as of late—threatened to overtake her.

Not now, she told herself. Nina sat up, looking through other articles. As much as she wanted to avoid reading about Dr. Han's death, Nina knew it was necessary.

She looked past the more gruesome details, at least for the time being. Instead, Nina focused on things like dates and locations. Some part of her wasn't surprised to find the man had died not far from the SEIN building. He'd been on his way home when he lost control of his car.

What caught Nina's attention was the date of Dr. Han's accident.

She pulled her notebook closer, turning the pages until she found what she was looking for. Nina read the date on the page and then looked back up at the article she'd been reading. Then, she thought of Alice, and the fear she must have felt as she recorded what would be the last video of her life. Alice, who would then return to work, and soon after have the one person she could trust to help her die in a seeming accident.

All at once, things made more sense to Nina.

Marcus Han died after extracting Alice's memories and Alice knew she was running out of time. And so she'd done the only thing she could do. She'd found someone she thought had the best chance to follow the clues in her memories.

She'd found Nina.

Alice had found Nina and thought she was the best chance she had. A day later, Alice was dead, and the only thing she'd left behind were the memories haunting Nina's mind.

Some of the bitter anger Nina had held close to her heart since learning of what Alice had done to her ebbed away. There was still hurt and anger there, lurking just behind all the other overwhelming emotions, waiting to break through to the surface and pour out of her. Now though, they were only a whisper of what they had once been, and Nina found that what she felt more than anything else in regards to Alice was sympathy.

She thought of the woman still mourning a daughter—a pain she could only imagine the depth of. Nina thought of the bright woman who'd been murdered because she knew too much. Because she wanted to do the right thing. And then, she thought of the sacrifice that had been made for the sake of that—Alice's morality having been cast aside as she broke an already fractured mind.

And I'm still here, Nina thought, and had to ask herself why. Because I'm still me. Because I still have my morals.

Nina had lost many things since the accident and the surgery that followed. She'd lost pieces of herself as time wore on, the fragments of who she'd been breaking off with every revelation, every painful truth she uncovered, until the parts that were left were unrecognisable. Now, Nina felt raw, vulnerable—but that core part of her, the part that held onto her belief in the value of truth and the determination that had carried her so far—remained unchanged.

As Nina sat there, undeniably changed, she knew she was where she should be.

With that thought, Nina inserted the card back into her laptop. Nina didn't know how much longer she had before either she was found or her mind gave out, but she would do all she could before either of those things happened.

Her eyes burned as she stared at her screen, going over the numerous files Alice had procured. There were petitions to the FDA to allow for further testing of implanting memories, patient files that had been wiped from SEIN's records, meticulously kept notes on the people Alice and her colleagues treated.

Nina read through them all, connecting the dots as her gaze remained steady on the screen. The silence around her was, for once, a welcome thing. Free of distractions—of things that could trigger some hidden memory, Nina kept a steady pace as she flipped through the documents. She couldn't help but marvel at how much Alice had been able to save.

When the quiet of the room was broken by a knock on the door, Nina couldn't help but jump. She was startled at both the sound and that anyone would be outside at that hour and in such bad weather.

For a while, Nina simply sat there, staring at the door, petrified at what—or who—could be on the other side of it. She could feel her heart setting a frantic rhythm, pure panic spreading through her body until she felt she could hardly breathe. The knocking came again, and Nina's body finally responded. Hurriedly, she grabbed her bag and shoved both her laptop and notebook into it. The card Alice had left was pocketed along with her keys while another round of harsh knocks sounded.

The curtains were drawn, the fabric thick enough that Nina couldn't make out so much as a silhouette. As quietly as possible, Nina moved over to the door. She looked through the door's peephole and felt panic clawing at her throat.

Mismatched eyes stared straight ahead, familiar even in the dark hall.

A name—one that might be just another lie—rose to Nina's throat and was drowned out by the dread that rushed through her. Nat, her mind supplied, despite Nina's best efforts to stay away from thoughts of the lies she'd been fed. At the very least, it served to help Nina snap out of her shocked state as she stepped back before turning to grab the sole bag she had with her and the phone that still rested on the desk.

A loud sound startled Nina and she watched in horror as the door swung open. The rain outside seemed deafening to Nina's ears and mismatched brown eyes seemed overly bright even in the dim lighting. Gloved fingers were wrapped around a handgun and Nina's hear was gripped with fear the sight.

"Hello, Nina." Crimson lips stretched across a pale face in a cold smile and Nina knew her time had run out.

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Hey everyone! Hope you've liked this chapter! Next one should be out on Friday. As always , thanks for reading!