ra looked pale, her mood as gray as the sky outside. Ever since Dn left her behind, she hadn''t been able to shake the uneasy feeling in her chest.


    "ra?" Charles''s voice brought her back. He''d noticed her zoning out, but he didn''t push-he could tell she was hurting.


    ra pressed her hand to her sore shoulder and forced a steady breath. "I''m going to the hospital."


    Charles nodded and called a cab, riding with her in silence. At the hospital, the doctor worked quickly. Her wound had gotten infected, so they had to scrape away the damaged tissue. It should have hurt, but ra just stared out the window, her face white and distant.


    The test subject sat on the next bed, looking around the room with wide-eyed curiosity. He poked at the bedsheets, fiddled with the IV pole, but said nothing. He barely spoke at all, and when he did, he tripped over his words-like he wasn''t used to talking to people.


    Once ra''s wound was bandaged, she sank back into the bed to rest. Charles ordered takeout and set one of the meals in front of the test subject.


    The guy nced at him, then started eating without a word, not even a hint of expression on his face.


    Charles nearly lost his temper. This test subject didn''t even know how to fake being polite.


    ra didn''t feel like eating. She just called Palm Bay and asked them to rece her SIM card and bring her a new phone.


    When the new phone arrived, she caught the housekeeper before they left. "Is Dning back tonight?"


    The housekeeper looked caught off guard. After a moment, they said, "Sir left before you did, ma''am. He hasn''t been back or contacted us since."


    ra nodded. So aftering home, Dn must have taken off again. She stared at her phone, thinking about that strange child who''d suddenly appeared in her life. For a moment, she didn''t know whether she should call Dn or not.


    She''d always thought maybe she and Dn just had a misunderstanding-clear that up, and everything would be fine. But this kid... it was so far beyond anything she could have imagined. She couldn''t just pretend it hadn''t happened. Not after he left her behind this time.


    She let her gaze fall and set the phone aside, taking a slow, shaky breath.


    Charles brought her some food, holding it out. "Come on, eat something. You''ve lost weight thesest few days. Whatever''s going on, you can deal with itter. Just don''t make yourself sick, okay?"


    ra took a few bites, then forced a small smile. "Charles, I really can''t eat. I just want to rest for a bit."


    Charles tossed the food in the trash. "Okay. You rest. I''ll stay here with, uh..."


    He realized he didn''t know the test subject''s name. Neither did ra.


    They both looked his way. They couldn''t just keep calling him "the test subject" forever.


    The guy looked up, noticed their attention, and pointed to himself, a little confused.


    ra tried to be gentle. "Do you have a name?”


    He nodded and held up one finger.


    ra got it—he was Number One. Everyone from that ce only had numbers.


    "Let''s call you Uno from now on," she said.<fn9857> This text is hosted at ?ovelFind</fn9857>


    Charles couldn''t resist joking, "Why not call him Charles Jr.? Doesn''t he look just like me? Maybe he really is my brother."


    He trailed off, a flicker of sadness crossing his face. "Though honestly, I might not even be a real Charles myself."


    "Charles, did the Chesters ever tell you anything about where you came from?”


    If he really was the lost son of some big family, someone would''ve found him by


    now, with all the times he''d shown up in North America.


    "I was brought back from an underground fight club-my brother found me there. I don''t remember anything before that. When I came to the Chesters, I was ten, had a fever, and my face was covered in scars. My brother worked hard to fix my face. Since then, this has just been my life."  s


    Those underground fight clubs were tangled up with all kinds of shady people, all over the world. Even if Griffin wanted to dig up his past, there probably wasn''t anything left to find. Kids like Charles were everywhere in those ces, most of them never making it out alive to there, humanity


    disappeared-everyone was just a beast wearing human skin.  s


    ra nced between Charles and Uno. Maybe they were rted. Maybe they


    weren''t. They''d figure it outter. For now, Uno would stay with them.


    Nobody spoke for a while. ra thought about her own background and almostughed.


    "I might not really be a Lewis, either. Looks like the three of us are all lost together."


    Charles patted her shoulder. "Does it


    really matter? You''re doing all right


    now. Dn might have his secrets but honestly, there aren''t many guys out there who canpare. If that kid bothers you, just have your fun for a few more days, then ditch him. Come back to North America with me. I''ll find you someone even better looking. Mitch! Mitch would be perfect for you!"  s


    Just then, his phone rang. He nced at the screen, and his expression changed as he picked up.


    "Mitch."


    Norman''s voice was calm. "Loue''s in Country Z. I heard you''re there too. Keep an eye on her. Don''t let anything happen to her."


    Charles frowned and sighed. "Fine. But can you at least call her and tell her not to make a scene? She keeps saying Dn is her future husband, and now she''s here, isn''t she just trying to steal my sister''s guy? If she goes too far, I''m not protecting her."


    He''d only dare say that to Mitch. Their oldest brother was too serious, always putting business first. At least he''d never skimped when it came to money. Norman chuckled. "I''ve met your little sister. Mitch, ra''s sharp-don''t let her trick you into counting her money for her. Just keep Loue in check for now. I''ll be there next week. She won''t stay more than ten days."


    Charles dropped his gaze. He hated the way Norman and Mitch talked about ra.


    No one knew better than him what a great sister ra really was.