The sub-lab is colder than usual. Darker. The lights flicker as I step through the door. It’s late—everyone else is gone for the night. But I knew he’d still be here. He always lingers, like a stain that won’t lift. Still smug. Still fucking alive.
He doesn’t even flinch when he sees me.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says, looking at me over a microscope.
“I should’ve been heresooner.” I seethe.
He adjusts his cuffs, unbothered. “Is this about the girl? Because if it’s about her emotional reaction—”
I punch him.
Hard.
He crumples into a rolling cart and smashes through the metal tray.
“Wrong answer.”
He tries to crawl, but I grab him by the collar and slam him against the workstation. The vials shake. A few roll to the floor.
“You used her,” I growl.
“She wasn’t in the trials. Not technically—”
“You built this because of her. You watched her and replicated it. Turned it into programming. Intoobedience.”
I punch him again. Blood sprays across the counter.
“And you usedmy nameto do it.” I slam him backward, fury boiling over. “You stamped my fucking name on documents I never saw. Tied it to me. Made her think I was behind it.”
He wheezes. “It was—an oversight. Strategic. We needed authority—”
“You needed permission you didn’t have. So you forged it.”
I reach for the canister of gasoline I brought.
His eyes go wide.
“Boss—wait—”
“You took her genius and made it into a weapon. You mademelook like I held the blade.”
I splash every surface. Monitors. Cabinets. Glass vials. The server stack in the corner.
“You’ll lose everything,” he pleads.
“I already did.”
I strike the match.
The lab goes up like tinder. The heat roars, swallowing every trace of what we built. Flames snake along the counters, licking at wires, monitors, and walls. Smoke begins to thicken—acrid, suffocating. The fire alarms blare overhead, but the exhaust and sprinkler systems can’t keep up. This isn’t a contained emergency. It’s a death sentence. The air ducts are already glowing red from the heat. The fail-safes won’t hold.
Patel stumbles toward the exit, coughing, trying to shield his face.
I kick the door shut wedging a chair under the handle
“What are you doing?” he screams, slamming his fists against the glass. “Asher! Let me out!”
I meet his eyes through the growing smoke. “You branded me a monster. Let’s see how you burn for it.”
