Chapter 31
Ember
Luke made a show of it. Logging out of every account, shutting down the laptop, even slamming the car door loud enough for anyone watching to hear. He drove away from the mansion with his shoulders stiff, his profile sharp in the window.
It was theater, and we both knew it. A performance for any watchers.
Now, hours later, I sit in the old library with Billa.
The fire has burned down to embers, the shadows long and restless.
We’ve spent the last hour stitching together everything we know—her near-capture at the survivors’ meeting, Florencia’s warnings, my files from Phoenix, Luke’s discovery of Wing B.
The picture forming between us is jagged and terrifying.
“We’re circling the same three facilities,” Billa says, voice low. “Radley Hospital, North Ridge, Willow Glen. Different names, different locations, but the same script.”
I nod, my pulse heavy in my throat. “Three stages of the same play.”
Before I can add more, Billa’s phone buzzes on the arm of her chair. We both freeze.
The screen glows. One word lights it up like a curse.
Kenzi.
Billa’s face drains of color. “That’s not possible.”
My heart skips a beat. “It’s a trap.”
“Has to be.” She stares at the name, thumb hovering, hand trembling.
The phone keeps buzzing, insistent and demanding.
I find my voice again. “Answer it.”
Her head jerks toward me. “Have you lost your mind?”
“Better to know than wonder,” I say, though my stomach knots so hard it hurts. “If it’s not her, we’ll know. But if it is…” My voice falters. “Then she’s lucid, and she’s reaching for us.”
The buzzing stops. The screen goes black.
Billa exhales shakily—then jerks as the phone lights up again. Kenzi.
This time, she swipes to answer. Holds it on speaker between us.
Silence at first. Then a breath. A voice. Small, tentative. “…Billa?”
Billa’s hand clamps around the phone like she’s afraid it will vanish. “Kenzi? Is it really you? Graham hasn’t let us—”
“It’s me.” The words are fragile but real. “The doctor let me use my phone. I’m gaining more privileges.”
I can’t breathe. It’s her. Not a recording, not a trick. But Kenzi. Tears prickle my eyes. I didn’t realize how much I missed her until hearing her voice.
Billa’s eyes shine with unshed tears as well. “Where are you?”
“In her office.” Kenzi’s voice trembles. “I don’t have long. But I had to tell you… she’s not what we thought. She’s one of us, a survivor. She’s been building something, and she wants me to help her bring Radley down.”
My pulse spikes. I glance at Billa, who stares at the phone like she’s afraid to blink.
This is real. Kenzi is herself again. And talking to us.
If she’s right—if the doctor is who she says—then maybe we have more than just shadows.
We have a chance.
For a heartbeat, no one speaks. The only sound is Kenzi’s breath on the line.
Billa swallows hard, finding her voice first. “You’re really okay?”
“I’m… managing. Dr. Hanson—Sofia—isn’t hurting me. She’s helping me remember. And she’s documenting everything. She was at a place called North Ridge, Billa. It’s just like Radley. She’s one of us.”
“We’re aware of North Ridge and another one called Willow Glen.”
Kenzi gasps on the other line. “She knows of that one too. It’s all coming together.”
“Good. The more who know, the better. Because we’re going to stop them.
” Billa’s eyes blaze with determination, and she leans closer to the phone.
“Kenzi, listen to me. I’ve been working with an investigative journalist named Florencia.
She was also at Radley. She’s been gathering survivors, building cases, everything.
What your doctor’s doing… Florencia’s been doing the same thing. ”
“Planning a book?”
“A docuseries.”
Kenzi’s sharp intake of breath crackles through the speaker. “You’re serious?”
“She’s serious,” I say. “We’ve been mapping the network, Kenzi. Radley Hospital, North Ridge, Willow Glen. We think they’re still running synchronized programs, and we just found actual evidence.”
Kenzi’s voice firms. “Dr. Hanson’s been telling me the same thing. She wants to build an airtight case before we confront him. According to her, if we go at him without proof, he’ll crush us.”
Billa grips the phone tighter. “Then you need to meet Florencia. The two of them together—your doctor and Florencia—they could build something unstoppable. If they share what they know, if we all do, it’s not just whispers anymore. It’s evidence.”
There’s a pause on the line. I picture Kenzi biting her lip the way she used to. “Could you make that happen?”
Billa’s voice steadies. “Yes. I’ll bring Florencia and you bring Dr. Hanson. We’ll set a meeting somewhere safe. No names, no paper trail. Just the facts.”
Kenzi exhales. “Okay. I’ll ask her. She’s on board with taking Radley down—she just wants it done right. She’s even planning the confrontation, like a last act.”
The phrase makes me shiver. I glance at Billa. We’re both thinking the same thing—performance, wings, final act.
“Kenzi,” I say, leaning closer to the phone, “obviously, we’ll help you. But you have to be careful. Some survivors are compromised. We’ve been talking with some online and one went missing. He might’ve been pulled back in. Maybe with a keyword, like you.”
Her voice goes tight. “She showed me files. It’s been happening a lot.”
“What files?” Billa demands.
“The ones she’s been keeping,” Kenzi says quickly. “Many were in her program years ago… other survivors turned informants. But they’ve been disappearing over the last month. She’s been trying to trace them.”
My breath catches. “So it was a warning?”
“I don’t know,” Kenzi says. “But whatever it is, it means they’re scared. Which means we’re getting close.”
The phone crackles. A muffled voice in the background.
“I have to go,” Kenzi whispers. “Set up the meeting. I’ll tell her what you’ve told me.”
“Stay safe,” Billa says, her voice breaking.
“You too.”
The line goes dead.
Billa lowers the phone slowly, her knuckles white. “This is it,” she murmurs. “We’re not alone.”
“Then let’s make it count.”
I just hope Dr. Sofia Hanson is as trustworthy as Kenzi believes. Otherwise, we could walk into something far more dangerous than before.