> "There's a version of me I tried to bury. But they dug her up. And now she's the one holding the match."
---
Three Days Later
The news still hadn't stopped.
Public trust in Edenrose Industries: shattered.
Zayden: stripped of all corporate titles.
Amaris: unofficially dubbed "The Face of the Resistance."
But behind closed doors, no one knew what she was planning.
Not even Zayden.
---
Amaris's Apartment – War Room
She stood in front of a board layered with photos, strings, digital schematics.
Zayden watched from the door.
"You haven't slept."
She didn't look away. "Sleep is for people who get to stop."
He stepped closer. "I know you're hurting. I know you're angry."
She turned slowly.
"I'm past anger."
His chest tightened.
"I just want them gone," she said. "Erased."
"Even if it means losing yourself?"
She paused.
Then whispered, "I already did."
---
Target One: Board Member Lucien Therrow
Edenrose Board Treasurer. Funded ACE off-books. Killed whistleblowers.
Amaris cornered him in his private art gallery.
He tried to run.
She didn't chase.
She triggered the silent alarm—on his own building.
Sent every file she'd gathered on him to three major outlets.
Then, just before security arrived, she whispered into his ear:
> "Enjoy prison, Lucien. It's more merciful than what you gave them."
He screamed as the guards dragged him out.
---
Zayden Confronts Her
He waited outside her penthouse.
When she arrived, he held out a photo.
A dead man.
"Martin Vale. One of the former scientists. You leaked his location yesterday."
"He deserved worse."
"He's dead, Amaris."
She stilled.
"Someone shot him this morning," Zayden said. "Wasn't you, was it?"
"No."
"But you led them to him."
Her voice was cold. "He tortured children. I gave the world the address. What they did with it isn't my business."
Zayden's voice cracked. "It is your business if you want to come out of this with a soul."
She laughed bitterly. "Souls are for survivors, Zayden. Not weapons."
---
FLASHBACK – Age 15
The fire.
The boy screaming.
Amaris standing frozen in the hallway.
Blood on her palms.
The doctor's voice: "This is what happens when she fails to comply."
The voice was Verena's.
---
Present – Elliot's Safehouse
He watched it all unfold on the news.
Every downfall. Every arrest. Every exposure.
And every time, Amaris's face appeared.
Not smiling. Not gloating.
But cold.
Like something had cracked… and the light inside her never returned.
"She's going too far," he whispered.
But he still couldn't stop loving her.
That was the curse.
---
Verena's Plan Unleashed
A digital file was sent to 300,000 devices at once.
Titled: "The Real Amaris Lane."
Inside:
Footage from ACE.
Faked videos of Amaris harming children.
Her voice distorted.
A narrative constructed to destroy her name.
It hit public feeds at midnight.
By 12:30 a.m., panic.
---
Amaris's Response
She didn't flinch.
She uploaded the real files.
Her torture. The fire. The brainwashing.
She added one voiceover line:
> "You made me the monster. I'm just performing the role."
The internet exploded.
She became a goddess to some. A demon to others.
There was no middle ground now.
---
Zayden's Breaking Point
He waited for her in the rooftop garden.
When she arrived, he didn't speak.
Just stared at her.
"Say it," she said.
"You're not who I fell in love with."
Her jaw tightened.
"But I'm who survived."
He stepped closer.
"Let me pull you back."
Her voice shook. "There's nothing left to pull."
"Then let me stand beside you."
She closed her eyes.
"I can't ask you to do that."
"You didn't," he said. "I chose to."
---
Final Scene – Celeste's Ruin
Amaris entered the Edenrose building.
Walked right past the guards.
She wasn't stopped.
Everyone knew her now.
She entered Celeste's private office.
The woman stood, tense but composed.
"You're here to kill me?" she asked.
Amaris dropped a thick folder on the desk.
Celeste opened it.
Evidence. Blackmail. Every illegal deal she'd ever made.
Amaris smiled.
> "No. I'm here to erase you."
The news broke an hour later.
Celeste Thorne: resigned. Blacklisted. Disgraced.
And Amaris?
She stood on a rooftop as the city buzzed with her name.
Her eyes burned like the skyline.
And she whispered:
> "One by one, they'll all fall."
"And when they're gone… maybe I'll finally sleep."