No one spoke on the way back.
Even the sound of the engine seemed distant, as if it came from another world.
Layla glanced at Adam every now and then… but not like before.
This time, she was watching him.
Studying him.
And Adam…
He wasn't fully there.
His body was in the car… but his mind?
He wasn't sure where he was anymore.
"I am you."
The words wouldn't leave him.
It wasn't a memory.
Or a thought.
It was something… alive.
Layla finally said,
"We have to report it to management."
He didn't reply.
"Adam, what we saw isn't normal."
He was silent.
"There are people the system isn't reading… and that means—"
He interrupted her abruptly:
"It means the system isn't perfect."
She looked at him:
"And that's dangerous."
He replied with cold calm:
"No…"
Then he turned to her for the first time since they had left:
"The dangerous thing… is that we believed he was perfect."
A heavy silence fell.
The car returned to headquarters.
The same building… the same walls… but everything seemed different now.
It was as if the truth Adam had discovered had transformed the place.
He entered the office.
The screen in front of him was working normally again.
Data was flowing.
Thoughts were being read.
Everything… as it should be.
But now…
He didn't trust any of it anymore.
He moved closer to the screen and began reviewing the crime records again.
The same result:
No intent. No thought. Nothing.
He whispered:
"Void…"
And suddenly…
An alert appeared.
"Internal Review Required: Detective Adam."
He froze.
Layla read the message, then said:
"They're calling you in."
He smiled… but his smile was strange.
"Of course."
He entered the interrogation room.
This time… he wasn't the detective.
He sat down at a metal table.
Two men sat before him.
Their faces were expressionless.
One of them said,
"Detective Adam… we have some questions."
"About what?"
"About your recent activity."
He nodded slowly.
"Normal."
The other man pressed a button.
A screen appeared.
"You were in the archives."
"Yes."
"Without authorization."
Silence.
Then Adam said,
"I was investigating a crime."
"A crime with no intent."
Adam looked up.
"So you know."
The two men looked at each other.
Then the first one said,
"We know everything."
Here…
Something small happened.
But very important.
Adam smiled.
"Really?"
The man paused.
"Yes."
Adam leaned forward, his voice lower.
"So… tell me…"
"What was I thinking just now?"
Silence.
For just a second…
But it was enough.
The man didn't answer.
Adam leaned back in his chair.
"That's what I thought."
The atmosphere grew tense.
"Your thoughts are normal," the second man said.
"A lie," he retorted immediately.
They glared at him.
"You can't see my thoughts right now."
Silence returned.
But this time… it was heavier.
"We're watching everyone," the first man said.
Adam: "Except those who aren't thinking."
For the first time, the man's expression changed.
Layla, watching from behind the glass, felt things were getting out of hand.
Inside the room…
Adam stood up slowly.
"You're scared." He said it calmly.
"Because there's something... you can't see."
He moved closer to the table.
Then he said,
"And I... I'm starting to see it."
"Sit down!" someone shouted.
But Adam didn't sit down.
Instead, he put his hand to his head.
And closed his eyes.
"What's he doing?!" Layla gasped.
On the screen...
The indicators began to change.
Brain activity... decreased.
The signals... disappeared.
"What's happening?!" the man shouted.
The technician: "I can't read his thoughts!"
Layla: "Adam, stop!"
But Adam...
didn't hear.
Inside his head...
There was silence.
A silence he'd never experienced before.
No thoughts.
No sounds.
No fear.
Then...
The voice came.
"Good..."
He slowly opened his eyes.
He looked at everyone. He said one sentence:
"Now… can you see me?"
No one answered.
Because they truly…
couldn't.
He sat quietly.
As if nothing had happened.
Minutes later, the interrogation was over.
He left the room.
Layla ran after him:
"What did you do?!"
He looked at her.
And in his eyes, there was something new…
Something frightening.
"You lied."
She froze:
"What?"
He said calmly:
"When you said I was beginning to understand…"
He moved closer to her.
"The truth is…"
Then he whispered:
"I remember."