Chapter 31 · Traceless - Chapter 31: The Door She Left

The recording starts with static.

Layla's sitting on the floor of the safe house, back against the wall, the old tablet propped on her knees. Mara handed it to her an hour ago without a word. Just set it down next to the stack of files and walked out.

Cole's asleep on the couch. Or passed out. Hard to tell. His shoulder's bandaged but the fever's still climbing. She can see the sweat on his neck from here.

Sixteen's curled up on the other end of the room, eyes open but not really looking at anything. She hasn't said a word since they got here.

Layla taps the screen. The static clears.

A woman's face fills the frame. Dark hair pulled back. Lab coat. No makeup. She looks tired. She looks like she hasn't slept in days.

She looks like Layla.

"Subject Zero is stable." The woman's voice is flat. Clinical. "Eighteen months old. No scent marker detected across twelve sequential tests. Neural response to Sensor stimuli remains at baseline. Conclusion: the suppression is permanent."

Layla's fingers tighten on the tablet edge.

The woman leans closer to the camera. Her eyes are the same color as Layla's. Same shape.