Chapter 4: The Raven Mark
Mara had cleaned up blood before. Hers, mostly. Once, someone else's. But never with a designer hand towel that probably cost more than her monthly rent.
She stared at the small cut on her arm, then at Damien's marble bathroom. "Do rich people bleed differently? Because I feel like I'm staining the economy."
Damien, who had reappeared in a fresh shirt like nothing had just exploded, ignored her. He was already back at the surveillance screen, rewinding the footage.
"They moved like they knew the layout," Mara said, pressing a towel against her arm. "That's either military training, or you've got fanboys with blueprints."
Damien didn't respond.
"Also," she continued, "I think one of them tried to scan me. Not shoot me, not stab me — scan. Like I'm a barcode at a supermarket."
Damien paused the footage. "They weren't after you."
Mara gave a slow blink. "Right. That's why one of them nearly flashbanged me into a second personality."
He zoomed in on a blurry freeze frame: the moment just before the masked intruder turned. The raven mark, clear now — black, sharp, and etched like a brand. Below it, faint letters: ARX.
Mara squinted. "Okay, cool edgy logo. Looks like a goth band had a baby with the Illuminati."
Damien exhaled. "It's not a band."
"I figured. Bands don't explode into penthouses."
"They're real," he said. "And if they're here, that means they've made their move."
Mara's sarcasm stalled. She leaned forward, eyes narrowing. "Who's they?"
Damien hesitated.
"Oh, no. Don't go mysterious now. We're already in a secret fortress with exploding doors, hidden screens, and ninja burglars. Spill."
Damien walked to a hidden cabinet and pulled out a file. Not digital. Actual paper. That alone felt ominous.
He tossed it on the table. "Project ARX. The Raven Order."
"Sounds like a video game DLC," Mara muttered, flipping it open. Then her brows lifted. "Wait. This says classified. You were in this?"
"I was born into it."
Mara blinked. "Congratulations. That's worse."
The pages inside were old, some marked with faded symbols and names. All blacked out. Except one.
"Why is your name the only one visible?"
"Because I'm the only one who survived."
She looked up at him. "You've got great timing with those dramatic lines. You practice in the mirror or...?"
Before he could answer, the lights flickered again. Mara groaned.
"No. Nope. We just fixed this horror movie setting. Give me at least twenty minutes of peace before the next attack."
Damien frowned. "It's not an attack. Someone's rerouting the generator."
Mara grabbed her gun and stood. "Oh, well, as long as it's just sabotage."
They made it to the control room. Mara immediately noticed the blinking light on the console. Damien tapped it. A hidden server was being accessed—from inside the penthouse.
"Wait," Mara said slowly. "From in here? You've got a hacker on staff?"
"No," he replied, voice tight. "I don't keep staff."
"Okay, cool, love that for us. Ghosts it is."
Just then, the printer beside them whirred to life. Mara pointed at it. "If it prints Get Out, I'm leaving."
It printed one sheet. One symbol.
The raven.
But this time, underneath the wing — coordinates.
Damien snatched the page. His face went still.
"What is it?" Mara asked.
He didn't speak.
"Okay," she said. "I'll guess. A trap? A bakery? Your therapist's house?"
He finally looked at her. "It's my father's coordinates."
Mara blinked. "Wait. You have a father?"
"I didn't say he was alive."
She stared at him. "Cool. You've officially out-weirded me."
Silence fell. But not the peaceful kind. The kind that meant the game had changed.
The Raven Order had drawn first blood.
Now, they wanted him to come home.
End of Chapter 4
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Next Time on Confined With Voss: Chapter 5 – Shadow Archives
A hidden drive. A ghost from Damien's erased past.
And a laptop that dies more dramatically than Mara's last relationship.
When an encrypted file reveals the truth about the Raven Order's twisted experiments—and their obsession with rewriting human identity—Mara realizes this isn't just Damien's war anymore.
As the shadows close in and the Order delivers a chilling warning, it becomes clear:
They're not just watching.
They're already here.
And Mara? She's not leaving without answers… or at least a decent explanation for why her life now includes panic rooms, secret doors, and bird-masked cultists with a flair for theatrics.
The game has begun.
And this time, the walls won't protect them.