#3: Doubts and Revelations

Lara didn't stop until she was far from the ballroom, with the noise of the party becoming a distant echo. When she reached a deserted alley, she took off her hood and let the cold night air hit her face. She touched her wrist, checking if the data had been copied successfully. The display was green. I did it, she thought. Now it was just a matter of analyzing the information.

“That was close…” she murmured, remembering Dante. He could have reported her, arrested her, but he didn't. Who was he, after all?

While Lara was lost in thought, Dante was still at the event, but his mind was elsewhere. The surrounding conversations seemed distant, while he tried to understand why Lara left. He was an officer, part of the system. If anyone found out that he had facilitated the escape of a hacker, his career would be at risk.

“You look like you've seen a ghost,” Rafael said, handing her a glass. — What happened?

Dante shook his head.

— Nothing, just… tired. I’m going out, okay?

— Okay, just don’t disappear for too long. The crowd is having a good time.

Dante left the hall, leaving the streets of Rio silent as the night wore on. He walked aimlessly until his thoughts returned to Lara. She had walked into the event with confidence and an expression of trust. He couldn’t stop thinking about her.

— Who are you, anyway? — he whispered to himself.

Hours later, Lara was in her small apartment, surrounded by monitors and electronic devices. She inserted the data chip she had obtained and began to decipher it. Her breathing became heavy as the first lines of information appeared on the screen. Project Aurora wasn’t just about the promised immortality. It was something much darker.

— This can’t be real… — Lara leaned back in her chair, in disbelief. The project involved experiments on humans, people from the lower classes who would never see the light of day again. They were disposable in the eyes of the elite.

As he absorbed the information, his device blinked. A message.

“We need to talk. Now. Meet me at the usual place.”

Lara sighed. She knew it was dangerous, but she had no choice. She grabbed her coat and left without making a sound.

That same night, Dante returned to his apartment. He threw his jacket on the couch and drank some water, but his mind was still racing. He couldn’t just forget what had happened, so he grabbed his tablet and started looking for information about Project Aurora. If there was something wrong, he needed to find out.

As he delved deeper into the files, Dante found strange references. The promise of immortality seemed too perfect, but the people involved in the project weren’t just rich, they were powerful. Names that had never been mentioned in public, but who controlled everything behind the scenes.

“What are these guys doing?” He closed the tablet, feeling a chill run down his spine. He needed answers, and somehow, he had a feeling that Lara was the key to that.

At the meeting point, Lara found Marco, an old friend and contact in the underworld. He was standing, leaning against an old car, his eyes intent.

“So, did you get what you required?” he asked bluntly.

“I did,” she replied, handing him a flash drive. “But what I found out is much worse than we thought.”

Marco frowned and became nervous.

“What do you mean?”

“The Aurora Project isn’t just about immortality for the rich. They’re experimenting… on people. Using them as guinea pigs.” Lara paused, trying to control her anger. “They’re turning lives into disposable statistics.”

Marco was silent for a moment, absorbing the gravity of the situation.

“So, what do we do now?” he asked.

Lara took a deep breath.

— We need to expose this. But I can't do it alone. I… I'm going to need help.

— From whom?

Lara hesitated. The image of Dante appeared in her mind. He could be a threat, but something in his attitude that night made her believe that he was also questioning the system.

— I'm still thinking about it — she replied, trying to sound confident.

Marco looked at her suspiciously, but didn't insist.

— Just be careful. This is too big for you to play Robin Hood alone.

— I know. — Lara gave a half smile. — But no one is going to do what needs to be done.

While Lara prepared for her next move, Dante was about to take a step that would change his life. He didn't know exactly why, but something inside him told him that he needed to find Lara. She had the answers he was looking for, and maybe, together, they could discover the truth behind everything.

That night, without knowing it, their paths were getting closer than ever.