The name echoed in Adanna's head like a warning she didn't yet understand.
Project Red Clay.
It sounded like something out of a spy novel. Coded. Ominous. Dangerous.
She sat across from Malcolm in the dim basement, staring at a table littered with papers, maps, and a laptop with no webcam.
"What is Red Clay?" she asked.
Malcolm hesitated. "A classified research program. Biotech. Weaponized data manipulation. Mind-targeted systems — predictive surveillance, emotion reading. Stuff years ahead of what the public knows."
She blinked. "You're saying… they can track emotions?"
"Not just track. Trigger. Predict reactions. Control behavior using algorithms tailored to specific psychological profiles."
"That sounds insane."
He looked her dead in the eyes. "So does a man faking his death to keep his wife alive."
Adanna swallowed hard. "Why was your company involved?"
"I didn't know. They funneled it through a shell firm. On paper, we were building digital health solutions. In practice… we were developing weapons. The kind you can't see."
She leaned forward. "Who's behind it?"
Malcolm opened a folder and slid it across the table.
Adanna glanced at the first page. A name. Then another. Then photos. Politicians. Corporate heads. People she had seen on TV.
"This isn't just one group," Malcolm said. "It's a network. Shadow ops. Think tanks. And every time I tried to expose them, someone disappeared. Or died."
Her chest tightened. "Why tell me now?"
"Because I think they know you're looking. And if something happens to me again… someone needs to know everything."
Adanna sat in silence. The air felt heavier now.
She'd come here for closure. What she got was a key to a door that should never be opened.
That night, she returned to the house and locked every door, every window. She checked the cameras twice. Then, unable to sleep, she opened Malcolm's files again — the ones she had taken from his private office before the funeral.
Among them was a sealed envelope labeled "If something happens to me."
She hadn't dared to open it. Until now.
Her hands trembled as she peeled the seal.
Inside was a flash drive… and a letter.
Adanna, if you're reading this, I'm gone — for real, or for good. You deserve to know the truth. I left pieces behind, but Red Clay is bigger than anything I ever told you. The flash drive holds their weaknesses. Use it wisely. And trust no one.
Especially Vanessa.
Her breath caught.
Trust no one.
Especially Vanessa.
But Vanessa had warned her.
Had helped her.
Hadn't she?