and yet you delayed!"

Alexandria staggered back as if she had been physically struck. "Victoria, no, I was only trying to—"

"Trying what? Save your career?" Victoria spat, convulsing in Ethan's arms. "I begged you! They had me locked up, they showed you the threats, they showed you that damn video, and still you took days to resign! Every time you hesitated, they came back and used me! Do you know what they did to me while you were deciding if your Dean title was worth more?"

She dissolved into hysterical, soul-wrenching sobs.

"They used me! They humiliated me! And all because you were too cowardly to sign a piece of paper!" Victoria screamed, her voice broken. "They did this to me because you hesitated!"

Alexandria stumbled backward, covering her face with her hands. The guilt over the kidnapping of Emily and Samantha was now compounded by the horrific, direct knowledge of what her inaction had cost her best friend.

"I wish I had never met you, Alexandria!" Victoria cried out, burying her face in Ethan's chest, unable to bear the sight of her friend's betrayal.

Ethan observed the chaotic exchange, letting the toxic wave of trauma and guilt crash fully over Alexandria.

He knew this trauma required more than just platitudes, but he also knew they were in a dangerous, exposed location.

He gently shifted Victoria in his arms. "Victoria," Ethan said, his voice firm but compassionate. "You will have to endure just a little longer. We need to get out of here right now."

Victoria squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her fists, offering no words, only a defeated nod.

Ethan carefully placed her in the back seat of the Mercedes, covering her completely with the tarp. He looked at Alexandria, whose shoulders were shaking with sobs of guilt.

"I'm going inside for the money," Ethan said to Alexandria. "Try to understand her. She's been through unimaginable suffering."

"I know," Alexandria whispered, her voice thick with tears. "And it's my fault."

Ethan gently embraced her, pulling her close for a brief, tight moment. "It's not your fault, Alexandria. It is the fault of those damn bastards, and we will make them pay. Do not doubt that."

She nodded and slid into the driver's seat. Ethan closed the door and turned back toward the warehouse.

Ethan walked back into the silent, gruesome warehouse. He retrieved the briefcase containing the one million dollars. His eyes immediately fell on the body of Agent Alpha.

Alpha was no longer lying where he had fallen. He was propped up against a shipping container, the bullet hole in his forehead visibly scabbed over.

Ethan shook his head slowly. "You are so stupid, Alpha, you couldn't even wait for me to fully leave to reveal your lie," Ethan said, his voice a low drawl. "Get up. Don't make me come over there."

Agent Alpha slowly slid down the container, sitting on the floor, his head bowed.

"I... I don't know what I am either," Agent Alpha said, his voice quiet, devoid of the previous rage. "Those sons of bitches injected me with something. I truly don't know what they did to me."

He lifted his head, his eyes showing profound confusion. "I woke up in a laboratory. I don't know who I am, where I was born, or anything before that moment. I have absolutely no memory. They simply told me I was a member of Celestial Garden and that I had died and they revived me using advanced technology."

Agent Alpha's expression darkened. "But every time I was near the zone manager, Axhel Rhodes, I felt an infinite hatred and an overwhelming urge to murder him. I don't understand what's happening to me, but I know I'm not truly one of Celestial Garden."

Ethan pocketed the money, watching him intently. "Why did you decide to talk now? Why the sudden confession?"

Agent Alpha pressed his hands against the sides of his head. "Something wouldn't let me talk before. It was like there was something controlling me, a mechanism in my head. But when you shot me, something seemed to break loose."

Ethan stared at the man, the curiosity warring with suspicion.

"Even though I might want to believe you, I can't," Ethan said. "I don't know what the hell you are, and you are far too dangerous."

Agent Alpha scoffed, a genuine sound of resentment.

"You can say that about me, but what about you?" Agent Alpha countered. "Maybe you don't feel it because you're far more powerful than I am, but my strength is well beyond a normal human's. I can kill a silverback gorilla with my bare hands; they've forced me to prove it several times. Yet, you are far stronger than me. You should think carefully about who the real monster is here."

Ethan laughed, a short, humorless burst.

[This asset is interesting, Master. You should keep him close for as long as you can without killing him. He could prove useful later, or...]

The System suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

O-r? Ethan mentally pressed. Tell me what happens!

There was no response from the System.

Ethan contemplated Alpha's words and the System's sudden silence, realizing the prisoner had a point.

"Alright," Ethan said, conceding the argument. "And what do you expect to do now? They are the ones who did this to you, according to your story. They can take it away, or worse, turn you back into their mindless zombie. Tell me, what is it that you want?"

Agent Alpha looked him squarely in the eye, the hatred for Celestial Garden driving him. "You are their enemy, and you know that enemies converge on a narrow path. So, why don't we join forces? I can be an infiltrated agent, or a suicide machine. At the end of the day, I can't be easily killed."

"Both options cause me conflicts," Ethan said, frowning. "Letting you go when you know my identity—"

[Master, here is an item that could greatly assist you please check it.]

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