登入##AUTHOR’S POV "You're saying she's another consciousness?""I'm saying you don't yet understand what happened.""Then help me understand!"Dr. Nathaniel glanced toward the computer."Your presence here is already a problem. If the security team finds you, they won't ask questions before taking you away."Ethan stepped forward."Then open the door."Dr. Nathaniel looked at him."You're not listening.""We don't need your lecture.""The recovery unit isn't the only group searching for her. Some people here want to recover the original data. Others want to destroy it."Claire's eyes narrowed."Why?""Because the original transfer recordings contain information that was never meant to leave this facility.""Then give them to me.""I can't. Because the copy you are looking for is not the original."Dr. Nathaniel pointed at the monitor."These recordings were edited before they were uploaded to this computer. Some sections were removed. Others were altered."Claire looked at the video fol
##AUTHOR’S POV Ethan stepped between them.Logan moved to the man's other side, gripping the crowbar."Don't move," Ethan warned.The researcher raised both hands."I'm not going to hurt you.""Stay where you are."Instead of calling for security, the man stepped inside and closed the door.Claire's eyes followed his hand as he turned the lock.The click sounded unnaturally loud."Who are you?" she demanded.The man looked at her."You've caused quite a disturbance.""Who are you?"He glanced at the monitor."Someone who knows why the recovery unit has been searching for you since the outbreak began."Claire felt a chill run down her spine."Then tell me."The researcher studied her face for a moment."Not here."Ethan tightened his grip on the crowbar."You're not going anywhere."The man looked at him."Your friend has already entered a restricted facility. If I wanted security here, I would have called them before opening the door.""That doesn't mean we trust you.""It shouldn't.
##AUTHOR’S POV Noah looked up."Are you leaving again?"Claire crouched in front of him."Just for a little while.""Are you coming back?"She hesitated.Then she placed a hand on his shoulder."That's the plan."He didn't look convinced, but he nodded.Claire stood and checked the small flashlight in her bag.She would go with Ethan and Logan. Ryan would remain outside with Noah, Mason and his sister, along with Sam.They waited until nightfall.The research station's perimeter lights came on as the last daylight faded. From their hiding place among the trees, Claire watched the guards change positions.The main entrance remained heavily guarded.Two vehicles entered during the first hour. A patrol moved along the eastern fence, stopping occasionally to inspect the ground.The service building was farther from the entrance, partially hidden behind a row of utility structures.It was their only chance."Ready?" Ethan whispered.Claire nodded.Logan checked the small crowbar tucked be
##AUTHOR’S POV Mason's sister glanced at Claire, then at Ethan."Exactly?"Claire nodded."She had my face. My body. Everything."Ethan brought out his phone and opened the photographs."Look."The first few images showed the transport vehicle and its containers. The final photograph was taken just before the guards led the girl away.It was distant and slightly blurred, but the face was visible.Ryan stared at it."That can't be right.""I know.""Are you sure it wasn't someone who looked similar?"Claire shook her head."There's no mistake."Ethan enlarged the image."The resemblance is exact."Logan leaned closer."Then who is she?"Claire looked at the photograph.She had asked herself the same question.But the more she thought about it, the more frightening the possibilities became.If that girl was the original Madison, then what had happened to her consciousness?If she was a duplicate, why had the research station created another body identical to the one Claire inhabited?A
##AUTHOR’S POV For a moment, she forgot where she was.The noise of the distant road faded. The guards, the fence, the security cameras—all of it seemed to disappear.There was another Madison standing inside the research station.Another girl with the same face.The same face as the body Claire was currently inhabiting.She blinked. The figure remained."No..."Ethan turned toward her."What?"Claire couldn't answer.Her hands had begun to tremble. She stared through the fence, unable to look away.The girl inside the compound was not wearing a mask. Her face was fully visible now, illuminated by the security lights.It was not a resemblance.It was Madison.The same person. Or someone who looked exactly like her.Ethan followed her gaze.His expression changed."Claire?"She gripped the edge of the drainage ditch."That's me."He looked at her, then back toward the compound."What?""That's my face."Ethan stared at the figure. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he looked a
##AUTHOR’S POV The father tried to stand, but his broken leg gave way. He crashed against the table, knocking over the containers.The older child screamed.Ethan grabbed the younger boy from behind, trying to pull him away. The child twisted violently, snapping at his arm."He's infected!" Ryan shouted.Claire rushed toward the mother, but the woman was already bleeding. The child's teeth had torn through her clothing."Don't touch him!" Ethan yelled.The boy threw his head backward and struck Ethan's face.Ethan lost his grip.The child turned toward the nearest movement.Noah.Claire grabbed him and shoved him behind her."Run!"The older child was still screaming, trapped between the fallen table and his father. Ryan pulled her free while Logan dragged the injured man away from the doorway.The mother struggled to sit up, one hand pressed against her shoulder."Please!" she cried. "Don't leave us!"Claire froze for half a second.Then the younger child sprang toward them again.H







