Chapter 18 - THE LAST CASE FILE
Adrian Vale wanted me to find him.
That was the part I couldn’t understand.
After everything.
After twenty years of manipulation.
After all the lies.
Why would he reveal himself?
Unless…
He wanted me to follow.
Detectives know traps.
But sometimes the only way to catch someone is to walk into one.
The location in the message led me back to where everything started.
Lakeview.
The first crime scene.
The place where Elias Voss became a monster.
The building had been abandoned for years.
But inside…
Everything was preserved.
The original investigation room.
The old evidence boards.
The photographs.
The files.
A museum of lies.
At the center was one file.
The title:
THE FINAL SUBJECT.
I opened it.
My name was inside.
Again.
But this time, something was different.
The date.
The file was created two weeks ago.
Someone had updated it.
Someone was still studying me.
A voice came from behind.
“You finally made it.”
I turned.
Adrian Vale stood there.
No weapon.
No fear.
Just confidence.
“You wanted me here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He walked toward the evidence board.
“Because you’re the only one who can understand.”
I laughed.
“You destroyed people.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
“I revealed them.”
He explained.
Project Mirror was never created to make killers.
It was created to identify human behavior.
To predict loyalty.
Fear.
Weakness.
Adrian believed society was already controlled.
He just made the control visible.
“You think you’re saving people.”
I said.
“But you’re just another monster.”
Adrian smiled.
“Maybe.”
A pause.
“But I’m the monster who tells the truth.”
He handed me a file.
Inside were photographs.
Every major criminal case I solved.
Every suspect.
Every confession.
Every conviction.
Then I noticed something.
Every single case had one connection.
Me.
I stepped back.
“No.”
Adrian looked at me.
“You weren’t solving crimes.”
“You were completing experiments.”
The realization hit.
Every case.
Every person.
Every decision.
Someone had been watching.
Testing.
Measuring.
I looked at Adrian.
“Why show me this?”
His expression changed.
“Because Victor was wrong.”
“About what?”
“You are not the final subject.”
A pause.
“You are the first person who escaped.”
Suddenly, the building alarms activated.
Adrian looked toward the entrance.
“They found us.”
“Who?”
He looked at me.
“The activated ones.”
The doors exploded open.
Several people entered.
Police uniforms.
Government suits.
Normal faces.
The people nobody suspected.
Adrian looked at me.
“Now you decide.”
May you like
“Save the world.”
“Or save yourself.”
