Jonas didn't blink.
Mara stood in the blue room's threshold, her shadow stretching toward him like a hand. The soft light made her robe look almost clinical not warmth, but by design.
"You weren't supposed to remember that room," she said again, voice quieter now.
Jonas gripped the folder tighter. "Then why leave a code? Why not seal the whole thing off?"
Her gaze didn't move. "Because you always come looking."
He took a step back. "So you let me find it?"
"I manage the cycle," she said. "Not control it. There's a difference."
"Cycle of what?" His voice cracked. "Lies? Repetition? Gaslighting me until I forget what's real?"
Mara walked into the room, slowly, deliberately, the door sliding shut behind her with a mechanical click. "We've had this conversation before. At least six times. Every time, you spiral. Every time, you think I'm the enemy."
He gestured wildly at the room. "This is a lab, Mara. This isn't care. This is control."
Mara didn't flinch. "You've hurt yourself before, Jonas. You forget how deep the breaks go. This room… this whole setup… it was built to keep you alive."
"Alive and trapped." His knuckles whitened. "That's not living."
She stepped closer. "Do you want the truth?"
"I think I'm standing in it."
"No," she said softly. "You're standing in a memory you constructed to cope."
Jonas froze.
"What?"
"You asked us to let you build your own version of events. The truth was too much. The resets weren't working. So you created this narrative. Me as the captor, the facility as the enemy, because it was simpler than facing what really happened. You were a coward."
He shook his head slowly. "You're lying."
"I'm giving you the version of the truth you left behind." She looked at him with something that almost resembled pity. "You lost more than memory, Jonas. You lost yourself. What we're doing here. it's the only way to preserve what's left."
He backed away. "No. No, I don't believe you."
"You don't have to. You won't remember this in the morning."
She turned and walked to the wall. Pressed a small white panel.
A hiss of air. A compartment opened.
Inside: two small vials. Clear. Unmarked.
Jonas's heartbeat thundered.
"No," he whispered. "Don't...."
"You asked for this," Mara said quietly, almost to herself. "You were afraid of what you'd do if you remembered everything."
He lunged forward, grabbing her wrist.
"Jonas!" she snapped, louder than she had all day.
They struggled briefly. She was strong, but he was desperate. He shoved her away, grabbing one of the vials.
And then
CRASH.
Glass hit tile. Shards flew. The vial shattered at his feet.
Mara stood completely still, eyes locked on the mess between them.
"You have no idea what you just did," she said coldly.
Jonas breathed hard, chest heaving. "I'm done forgetting."
Mara's voice dropped to a near whisper. "Then prepare for the cost."
Silence fell.
Only the camera above hummed gently, its red light blinking like a heartbeat.