"What did you say...? Thaddeus and Aaron... Why didn''t you wake me up earlier so I could know?!"


    Evadne was shocked and frantic, her pale face slick with sweat. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, determined to leave, but Cassius firmly pinned her down.


    "Evadne, stop this nonsense! You''re so weak you can''t even stand properly. What could you possibly do if you went? Do you want to distract Thaddeus so he can''t focus on saving Elsie?!"


    "Am I just a burden now? Am I nothing but a burden to Thaddeus?! We''re a team! I have to go help him! If something happens to him... what am I supposed to do?!"


    Evadne''s tears flowed freely, her words broken by uncontroble sobs. "Dad already forgot who I am... I can''t... I can''t lose Thaddeus too... Even if things can never be the way they were, even if he doesn''t love me anymore, I just want to be near him... I just want to be with him... Cassius, I genuinely can''t live without him....."


    She didn''t care if he pushed her away.


    She didn''t care if he forgot her.


    If she could just see him every day, that would be enough.


    Right now, Evadne wasn''t just blinded by love; she was desperately grasping at her only lifeline, trying to pull herself back from the brink of total copse. And the only person who could save her was Thaddeus.


    "Evadne, pull yourself together!"


    Cassius, who had never raised his voice at his little sister in his life, finally snapped. "Your entire existence isn''t just Thaddeus! You have us! You have a massive family who loves you! Dad might have forgotten us, but maybe it''s just temporary. And even if he never remembers, so what? He''s alive! When he was in aa, you said you wouldn''t care about anything else as long as he just woke up. Now that he''s alive, why are you asking for more? You can''t have it all. Don''t be so greedy!"


    Evadne froze, the color drainingpletely from her face, though her tears continued to fall silently.


    "Besides, are you really sure you want to go find him right now?"


    Cassius''s heart ached. He let out a heavy sigh. "I wasn''t going to tell you this, but since we''re here... Thaddeus called me this morning. He told me to stop you from going to him, no matter what it took. It''s ironic. His brain was damaged by drugs, and his emotional processing ispromised, but without a doubt, he still understands you and cares about you more than anyone else. He just doesn''t say it out loud or confess his love the way he used to."


    Evadne squeezed her eyes shut and lowered her head. The memory of that bone- deep, tender kiss from the night before shed through her mind. She could still feel the phantom warmth of his lips on hers.


    So what if they had lost the love they used to share?


    That didn''t stop them from falling in love all over again, starting right now.


    Cassius''s gaze grew deep and serious. "Thaddeus told me he figured out exactly what your n is. You intentionally pushed him away to get closer to Chad and earn his trust. Isn''t that right?"


    Evadne aggressively rubbed her swollen eyes and offered a small, hesitant nod.


    "He knows that Chad has finally


    lowered his guard around you. Your n is already halfway to


    wil be


    seeding. If Thaddeus gets close to you now and draws attention, everything you''ve suffered forpletely ruined. Since you''ve chosen this path, he wants you to walk it to the end and finish it wlessly."


    You


    Cassius''s eyes grew hot, his voice raspy. "He also said he''d watch over you. He promised he''d never let anything happen to you Evad have to understand him. Even his feelings haven''t fully returned, you are still incredibly important to him." Cóntent


    "I understand, Cassius."


    Evadne lifted her head, forcing a bright, heartbreakingly beautiful smile. "Just hearing him say that is enough. I''ll pull myself together and keep walking the path I chose. I won''t let anything break me again."


    Thaddeus''s words were exactly the adrenaline shot her shattered soul needed. They might be walking parallel lines with no intersection, but at least they could walk side by side forever.


    ...


    As the sun dipped below the horizon, the dense mountains were swallowed by an imprable darkness.


    Hans had watched night fall over this facility for years, but tonight felt distinctly different.


    The moon hanging in the sky was blindingly bright.


    The door to the back room clicked open. Julian Ford stood guard in the hallway, ncing nervously around while Hans slipped inside. Within seconds, Hans swapped the dying Elsie with a deceased female test subject on a gurney.


    "Get some rest. When you wake up, you''ll see him," Hans murmured, staring deeply


    into Elsie''s tear-filled eyes before pulling a white sheet over her head.


    "Hans, hurry!" Julian hissed frantically.


    "Coming."


    Hans''s expression hardened as he pushed the gurney out into the hall.


    Julian looked up nervously. "Hans, the security cameras..."


    "I''ve already looped the footage for this corridor. They won''t see us."


    The two men pushed the gurney rapidly toward the facility''s secret escape tunnel.


    They passed a fewb workers along the way, but since they kept their expressions entirely neutral, the staff assumed they were just moving another corpse and didn''t give them a second nce.


    Just as they were nearing the back exit, a voice barked from behind them.


    "Hold it!"