Emilia sat at her desk, the dim glow of her computer screen casting long shadows across the room. It was late—far too late for her to still be at the office—but sleep was a distant thought. The case files were spread out in front of her, scattered across the surface like puzzle pieces she couldn’t quite fit together. Lucian's words echoed in her mind, a constant hum she couldn’t escape.

"The choice to see the world for what it truly is."

Her hands rested on the latest set of reports, but her eyes were unfocused. She couldn't stop thinking about that room, about the way Lucian had looked at her as if he already knew the decision she would make. It was as though he had seen the end of the story and was simply waiting for her to catch up.

Her phone buzzed again, and this time, she didn't hesitate to answer. Elias’s name flashed on the screen.

“Hey,” Emilia said, trying to sound normal, though the exhaustion weighed on her voice.

“Emilia, are you still at the office?” Elias asked, his tone betraying his concern. “It’s past midnight. You need to go home, get some rest.”

“I can’t,” she admitted, rubbing her temples with her free hand. “I keep going over everything, but I feel like I’m missing something. There’s something bigger here, something we’re not seeing.”

“Emilia,” Elias sighed, and she could almost picture him shaking his head, “you’ve been saying that for days. You can’t keep running yourself into the ground. You’re too close to this. Maybe you need to step back, clear your head.”

“I don’t have time to step back,” Emilia shot back, more forcefully than she intended. “If I step back, I’ll lose the thread, and then he wins. I can’t let that happen.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before Elias spoke again, more gently this time. “He’s already inside your head, Emilia. You know that, don’t you? He’s doing this to you—he’s making you feel like you’re always one step behind. That’s how he controls people.”

“I’m not letting him control me,” Emilia said, her voice hard, though her hand shook slightly as she held the phone.

“I know you think that,” Elias replied softly, “but it’s exactly what he wants you to believe. He’s playing mind games with you, and if you keep pushing like this, you’ll lose yourself in it.”

Emilia closed her eyes, leaning back in her chair as her thoughts raced. She didn’t want to admit that Elias might be right. But deep down, she knew he had a point. Lucian was inside her head, and the lines between control and chaos were blurring.

“I just need to figure out what he’s really after,” Emilia said, more to herself than to Elias. “He keeps talking about choices, about the people who disappeared. There’s something there... something he’s not telling us.”

“Of course he’s not telling us everything,” Elias said, his voice tight with frustration. “He’s a master manipulator. He’s probably sitting in that room, smiling to himself, knowing exactly how this is going to play out.”

Emilia rubbed her forehead, feeling the weight of the conversation settling over her like a fog. “I know. But I’m close, Elias. I can feel it.”

“Promise me you won’t keep doing this alone,” Elias said after a long pause. “I’m serious, Emilia. You’re scaring me.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, though her voice was strained. “I’m just going to finish up here and head home soon. I promise.”

Elias was quiet for a moment. “Alright. But if you need me, I’m just a call away. Don’t forget that.”

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“I won’t,” she said softly, then ended the call, staring at the phone in her hand.

The silence in the room was deafening, and the weight of the case files pressed down on her like an anchor. Elias meant well—he always did—but he didn’t understand. Lucian wasn’t just another case. He was something else, something darker, and Emilia felt like she was the only one who could see it.

Just as she was about to get up and leave, the door to her office creaked open. Lestrade stepped inside, her expression unreadable as always. She glanced around at the mess of papers on the desk before turning her attention to Emilia.

“Burning the midnight oil?” Lestrade asked, though her tone was more observational than concerned.

Emilia sighed, leaning back in her chair. “I guess you could say that.”

Lestrade studied her for a moment, then stepped further into the room, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You’re letting him get to you, you know. Lucian’s not like anyone you’ve dealt with before.”

“I know,” Emilia said, her voice flat. “But he’s the only one who can give us answers. We need to understand him.”

Lestrade raised an eyebrow, taking a seat across from Emilia. “Or maybe he’s making you think you need to understand him. That’s what he does. He gets inside people’s heads, makes them question everything they thought they knew. And you—well, you’ve always been too curious for your own good.”

Emilia frowned, not liking the implication. “What are you trying to say, Lestrade?”

Lestrade sighed, leaning forward slightly. “I’m saying that you need to be careful. Lucian isn’t just another criminal mastermind. He’s dangerous in ways we haven’t even begun to comprehend. You’re walking a fine line, Emilia.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Emilia said, though the words felt hollow. “I’m not going to let him manipulate me.”

“Maybe,” Lestrade said, her eyes sharp, “but I’ve seen this before. People like Lucian—they don’t play by the rules. They make you think you’re in control until, before you know it, they’ve turned everything upside down.”

Emilia looked away, feeling the tension in the room grow thicker. “I’m not like the others, Lestrade. I know what I’m dealing with.”

“Do you?” Lestrade’s voice was quiet, but there was a challenge in her tone. “Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like you’re already too deep in.”

“I’m fine,” Emilia said, her voice rising slightly. “I can handle this.”

Lestrade didn’t respond right away. Instead, she leaned back in her chair, studying Emilia with a critical eye. After what felt like an eternity, she spoke again, her voice softer this time.

“You’re not invincible, Emilia. You can’t solve everything on your own.”

Emilia bit her lip, the weight of the words hitting harder than she expected. “I don’t have a choice. If I don’t figure this out, no one will.”

Lestrade shook her head slowly. “You’re too close to this. You need to step back before you lose yourself.”

Emilia opened her mouth to argue, but the words caught in her throat. For the first time in days, she felt the full weight of the situation pressing down on her. She wasn’t just close to the edge—she was teetering on it.

“I’ll be careful,” Emilia said finally, though even she didn’t fully believe it.

Lestrade gave her a long, hard look before standing up. “I hope so. Because if you fall, no one’s going to be there to catch you.”

Emilia watched as Lestrade left the room, her words lingering in the air like a warning. She wanted to brush them off, to tell herself that she was in control, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure anymore.

Lucian was playing a game, and somehow, she had become a part of it. But what was the end goal? What was he really after?

Her phone buzzed again—this time, it was a message from Hayward.

Got more results. You’ll want to see this.

Emilia frowned, her pulse quickening. She quickly gathered her things and made her way down to the lab, her mind racing with possibilities.

When she arrived, Hayward was already waiting, his face serious as he handed her another set of brain scans. “We ran more tests. This time, we tracked his brain activity during a series of emotional triggers. But look at this.”

Emilia glanced down at the scan, her breath catching in her throat. The patterns were erratic, like nothing she had seen before. “What... what is this?”

“It’s not just that he’s controlling his responses,” Hayward explained, his voice tense. “It’s like he’s bypassing parts of his brain altogether. The regions that would normally show empathy, fear, remorse—they’re almost completely inactive.”

Emilia felt her stomach drop. “He’s... not human.”

“I don’t know what he is,” Hayward said, shaking his head. “But whatever he’s doing, it’s not something we’ve ever seen before. He’s manipulating more than just his own mind—he’s manipulating reality.”

Emilia’s hands trembled as she stared at the scans. Lucian’s words echoed in her mind once more.

"The choice to see the world for what it truly is."

But now, she was beginning to wonder if she really wanted to see it.