Chapter 43 Chapter 43
"The past never truly disappears. It waits, patient and quiet, for the moment you are too tired to pretend it was harmless.”
The steam from the hot chocolate curled lazily into the air, fogging the edges of Clara’s vision as she cradled the mug between her palms. The warmth should have been comforting. It should have soothed the tight knot in her chest. Instead, her fingers trembled slightly, betraying her nerves.
She didn’t know what to expect next now her life was just coming with so many twists.
Across from her, Trinity sat with her legs tucked beneath her, listening intently as Clara’s father leaned back in his chair, his hands folded loosely over his stomach. Sunlight streamed in through the tall nursing home windows, casting soft golden streaks across his greying hair setting the mood for the story
“I should have listened to my wife, I really should have listened to her." he said suddenly, his voice low and regret laced. “ She warned me. She told me associating with certain people will put me in danger constantly "
Clara’s breath hitched, the words struck her like a slap, sharp and unexpected. Her mind immediately recalled the person that had brought her nothing but fear, danger and hurt.
Her instinct was to reach across the table, to grab his hand the way he used to when she was younger, when scraped knees and bad dreams were solved by his gentle reassurances.
He wanted to comfort him but she froze, her fingers tightening around her mug instead.
“That’s not true,” Clara said softly, forcing her voice to stay steady. “ Danger comes even when you avoid it, I...I don't think it's the people you associate wi..with"
He shook his head slowly, eyes distant, as though he were watching something play out on a screen only he could see. “It is ” he replied. “Every choice has a consequence. I just… mingled in the wrong crowd"
Trinity frowned. “Dad..." she paused, correcting herself quickly, “Sir… that sounds like you’re being too hard on yourself.”
He smiled faintly at her, and that smile warm and familiar made Clara’s chest ache.
He remembered Trinity, he always did. It was like watching someone cherish a stranger while forgetting their own blood.
“It’s alright,” he said. “You’re young. You wouldn’t understand the weight of temptation.”
Clara swallowed. “Then help us understand,” she urged gently. “You were going to tell us a story.”
He exhaled, nodding. “ Ah! Yes.... a story.” His fingers drummed lightly against the arm of the chair. “When I was younger, I worked for a very influential family, I'm talking old money, power that ran deeper than bloodlines and deeper than the law. People that could make others not exist ”
Trinity leaned back, eyes narrowing slightly. “Sounds intense.”
“It was,” he replied with a chuckle that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You see, one thing about people like that… they get bored of normal life very quickly. Normalcy becomes dull and predictable. And when that happens, they begin to crave things they shouldn’t.”
Clara listened, her heart pounding faster with every word, she never knew her calm father had such a back story.
“They test boundaries,” he continued. “They ask questions no one should ask. They wonder what forbidden things taste like. How easy it is to silence a voice. How far one can go before consequences catch up.”
Trinity shook her head. “Tha.... that's insane "
He smiled at her. “It is and yet… it’s thrilling.” His eyes sparkled briefly. “The adrenaline when you’re almost caught? It makes you feel alive. It feels like.... heaven Trinity”
Clara’s fingers curled into her sleeve. “Please,” she said. “Just… continue.”
He nodded. “The first time my wife and I fought badly was after she discovered I had eaten human meat.”
The room seemed to freeze, clara’s mug slipped slightly in her hands, hot chocolate sloshing dangerously close to the rim. Trinity’s mouth fell open
“You’re joking,” Trinity said.
“I wish I was,” he replied calmly. “It was at an exclusive club. Invitation only. The kind of place where no one asks questions, and no one leaves alive if they do. I didn’t even know I'd eaten it till after the club ”
Clara stared at him, disbelief washing over her in waves. This couldn’t be real. This couldn’t be the same man who kissed her forehead before school, who sang off key lullabies, who once cried when she got her first period because he didn’t know how to help her
“You… actually did that?” Clara whispered.
He nodded. “That wasn’t even the worst thing.”
Her stomach churned loudly.
“My employer,” he went on, “was obsessed with control, with discovery. He talked about the impossible like it was simply unfinished work. He had tried every forbidden thing imaginable, rituals, experiments, cruelty disguised as curiosity and eventually… he grew bored.”
Trinity shifted uncomfortably. “So what did he do?”
“He brought his thrill into science,” he said. “If the world wouldn’t challenge him, he would challenge the world.”
Clara felt cold despite the warmth of the mug.
“They were filthy rich,” he continued. “Money doesn't just buy silence, It buys compliance, It buys bodies.” He paused, then added softly, “The first thing he wanted was to know if humans could be turned into something else. Something easily controlled and obedient.”
Trinity frowned. “Like zombies?”
A corner of his mouth lifted. “ something like that "
Clara’s breath caught in her throat.
“For months, we failed,” he said. “Over a hundred bodies. No success. Just screams and blood and disappointment. Eventually, we had to stop. People were starting to notice. It was becoming difficult to clean up our mess.”
" hundred bodies... like bodies of animals? " Trinity asked with held breath
He chuckled " over a hundred humans with life "
Clara gasped for air while Trinity slumped into her seat. Definitely he was joking but the look on his face said otherwise
" We were going to stop our experiment but then" He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. “ one night we..…”
The door creaked open and all three of them flinched like they'd been caught doing something illegal
A nurse stepped inside, clipboard in hand. “It’s time for your medication,” she announced gently. “You’ll need to rest now.”
Clara exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Trinity rubbed her arms, goosebumps rising beneath her skin.
“We’ll come back tomorrow,” Trinity said, standing.
“Yes,” he replied, smiling warmly at her. “Please do, i enjoyed your company ”
Then he turned to Clara, his gaze polite but distant. “And it was nice meeting you, dear.”
Her heart shattered quietly over and over again.
“Nice meeting you too,” she managed, forcing a smile that felt like it might split her face apart.
As they walked down the hallway, Clara’s composure crumbled into fear then disbelief
“You don’t believe that, right?” she whispered once they were out of earshot.
Trinity snorted. “Not even a little bit, I think it's the meds”
Clara laughed weakly, relief and disbelief tangling together. “It has to be the meds. Zombies? Human meat? That’s insane.”
“Completely,” Trinity agreed. “If that were true, the world would’ve ended already.”
They both laughed, the sound echoing a little too loudly in the sterile hallway
But as they stepped outside, the laughter faded as they came face to face with him