Chapter 6: The Devil at the Door
898 Words
“Open the gate,” Elena said softly.
Jax turned to her, surprised. “What? No way.”
“He’s alone.”
“That’s exactly what worries me,” he snapped. “Darian Blackwell never shows up by himself. If he’s here without his crew, it means he’s either in a tough spot or he’s got the upper hand.”
Elena moved closer to the screen. Darian stood there with a calmness that felt unsettling, rain falling onto his coat. His dark eyes stayed locked on the camera.
“Look at him,” she said. “He’s not here to kill me.”
Jax clenched his jaw. “That’s what makes him dangerous.”
Elena turned to him, more determined now. “Let him in. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Jax stared at her, then muttered a curse under his breath. “One hour. That’s all you get. And if he tries anything—”
“You’ll shoot him. I know.”
A moment later, the heavy door creaked open.
Darian walked in slowly, as if he was stepping onto sacred ground. His sharp suit was wet from the rain, but he stood tall. The necklace hung from his fingers.
“Elena,” he said, his voice smooth. “You look… awake.”
She didn’t answer. She just stared at him, searching for something in his expression—lies, regret, maybe a bit of truth.
“What do you want?” she finally asked.
“I came to talk.”
“You broke into a secure place for a chat?”
He smiled just a little. “I could’ve destroyed this place if I wanted to. But I didn’t.”
“Because you want to mess with my head.”
“Because I want to explain,” he said calmly. “You deserve that much.”
Jax stood a few feet away, g*n in its holster but his hand itching.
Darian’s eyes shifted to him. “Still the knight in shining armor, Monroe?”
“I’m keeping her safe,” Jax shot back.
“Yet,” Darian turned back to Elena, “you have questions only I can answer.”
She didn’t argue.
“Talk,” she said.
Darian raised the necklace. “You wore this every day. Even when you couldn’t remember your name. It was the one thing you always kept on.”
He handed it to her slowly, and when their fingers brushed, she felt that strange pull again, both thrilling and terrifying.
She glanced down at the initials on the back. E.M.C.
“Elena May Carter,” he said softly. “I never changed it. Even when I changed everything else.”
“Why?” she whispered.
“Because I wanted to keep you safe.”
“You wiped my memories.”
“I saved you from them,” he said sharply. “You were falling apart, Elena. After what you saw at Apex, you were having seizures, blackouts. You begged me to make it stop.”
She shook her head. “I don’t believe that.”
“You choose not to believe it. Deep down, you remember.”
She stepped back. “What is Apex? What are you hiding?”
Darian’s expression hardened. “That answer will hurt you.”
“I’ll take my chances.”
He moved closer. “Apex is where they built the future. It’s where people were reprogrammed. Minds reset. Memories crafted. Just like yours.”
Her breath caught.
“So, I wasn’t the only one?”
“There were others. Lots of them.”
“Why?”
He hesitated for a brief moment, but it was enough.
“You were trying to market it, weren’t you?” she whispered. “Mind control in a bottle.”
“No,” he said quickly. “That was never my plan. I wanted to bring it down. From the inside.”
“By sedating me for months and showing me off?”
His silence said it all.
“Tell me what’s on the flash drive,” she demanded.
Darian looked down. “You really don’t remember.”
“Tell me!”
“The flash drive has footage,” he said slowly. “Proof that Apex was used to rewrite the minds of political prisoners, whistleblowers, even kids. You found the data and tried to leak it. You failed.”
Elena stumbled back. “Kids?”
He nodded grimly. “That’s why they targeted you.”
She tightened her grip on the necklace. “We need to find that drive.”
Darian met her gaze. “I already have it.”
Her blood ran cold.
“Then why are you here?”
He paused, the mask slipping for a moment.
“Because there's something on that drive even I didn’t expect. Something about you.”
She stared at him. “What do you mean?”
Darian reached into his coat and pulled out a small photo, handing it to her.
It was a blurry image from a surveillance camera. A young girl, maybe five or six, stood in a white room behind glass.
Her eyes were Elena’s.
Beneath the image, one word stood out in red ink: Subject Zero.
Elena's knees gave way. “That’s not possible.”
Darian stepped closer, his voice cold. “You didn’t just uncover Apex, Elena. You were the first experiment.”
- Writer
