Chapter 60: A Mother’s Nightmare

Chapter 60: A Mother’s Nightmare
Evelyn’s POV 

I couldn’t breathe. 

I watched Adrian’s name disappear from the tracker screen and felt my chest tighten up. He was there one second with life and motion and suddenly vanished without a trace. Not offline. Not out of range. Just… gone. As if he had been swallowed whole. 

"No, no, no," I muttered and struck the console with my hand. “Where did he go? Bring it back. Refresh it!” 

The technician next to me clumsily handled the keyboard as his hands trembled. “It’s not a glitch,” he muttered. “The signal’s been jammed. Cut from the source.” 

My stomach dropped. 

“Kieran!” I shouted, turning on my heel. 

He had moved to stand behind me while his face turned pale and his jaw clenched tight. “I saw it,” he said quietly. “Serena has him.” 

I blinked at him, not fully understanding. “That’s not possible. He was on his way out. You said the path was clear—” 

He interrupted to say she must have slipped through before we sealed the corridor. “Victor was her distraction.” 

My hands clenched into fists. The control room's air temperature was excessively high. Too tight. I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear the walls apart. 

We need to pursue him," I announced as I moved closer.

Kieran blocked me gently. “We will. But we need to be smart. She planned this. She’s always five steps ahead.” 

My head moved back and forth as tears burned my eyes. “He’s my son.” 

“I know.” His voice cracked. “He’s mine too.” 

The silence between us burned. 

I moved back and turned my attention to the screen once more. Empty. Lifeless. 

The red dot which signaled Adrian was secure disappeared from the screen. The same empty feeling hit me because I had lost him just like that first time. During that time period I remained unaware of the truth. The meaning he held for me remained unknown to me.

Now I did. 

And the fear… it was unbearable. 

I never should have allowed him to enter by himself. “He wasn’t ready.” 

Kieran uttered softly that he possessed more strength than any one of us.

“Not against her,” I snapped. “You don’t know what she’s capable of. I do. I’ve seen it. I observed her as she reduced people to nothing before smiling at her accomplishment like she had created a masterpiece.

Kieran looked away. 

I didn’t care if my words cut. They were the truth. 

I stroked my hair while trying to concentrate. Trying to breathe. “She’ll use him. She’ll twist him.” 

“He knows better,” Kieran said. 

“She knows him better,” I replied. She taught him everything she knew but in a warped manner. And now she has him again.” 

The thought made my knees weak. 

I allowed the panic to envelop me for a brief moment. I collapsed into the closest chair and covered my face with my hands before releasing a broken sob. This sobbing attacks your chest and leaves you feeling empty inside.

“He was just getting better,” I said. “He was learning to trust again. Learning to believe in something.” 

Kieran crouched in front of me. His hand touched my knee. “We’re going to bring him back. I swear it.” 

I looked at him. “We can’t lose him. Not again.” 

“We won’t.” 

His voice lacked the assurance he desired.

I regained my stance while my hand swept across my face as I pushed grief into hiding behind anger. “Then we start now. We tear everything apart. Every satellite and drone along with every camera at our disposal should start searching for him immediately.

He acknowledged with a nod before directing his team with authoritative commands.

I approached the window to look out at the night scene beyond the facility. It was raining now. The rain fell steadily and cold enough to penetrate your bones. My mind spun with possibilities. 

Where would Serena take him? 

Not back to the lab. That was gone. Destroyed. 

She’d need somewhere hidden. Somewhere she could work undisturbed. 

My fingers tapped the glass. 

And then a memory clicked into place. 

A file I once read. Years ago. About a secondary facility. Remote. Underground. The facility receives funding through Serena yet remains connected to Victor.

“Kieran,” I said, voice tight. I believe I have figured out where she took him.

His head snapped up. “Where?” 

I turned back. The northern cliffs conceal an abandoned testing facility. Buried beneath a communications station. The facility should have closed but Serena maintained control through the access codes.

His eyes narrowed. “How far?” 

“Three hours if we move fast.” 

“I’ll get the team ready.” 

“No.” I grabbed his arm. “We go alone. A full team will scare her. Make her desperate.” 

“She already is desperate,” he said. 

“That makes her dangerous,” I said. “But it also makes her reckless.” 

Our gaze met and a wordless understanding developed between us.

This wasn’t just about Adrian anymore. 

It was about finishing this. 

The base began to fill with activity as I ran after Kieran along the hallway. I could hear calls going out. People scrambling. But my focus was razor sharp now. 

Adrian was still alive. I had to believe that. 

I would still bring him back even if it meant destroying everything in existence.

— 

After three hours we found ourselves at the cliff's edge.

The rain hadn’t stopped. 

Our clothes were completely drenched while our boots lost traction on the slick rocks. But we didn’t care. The old communications tower leaned against the stormy sky with a blinking red light at its peak which emitted a warning signal.

“This is it,” I said. 

He nodded. “Let’s move.” 

We moved stealthily around the tower until we located its entry point. The keypad emitted a dim glow through the darkness despite its rusted appearance and being almost covered over.

I typed in the code. 

The door hissed open. 

A chill breeze from the underground facility flowed out into the open space.

We entered where our flashlights sliced through dense dust and quietness. The walls were lined with old equipment. Broken monitors. Long-dead control panels. But something about the air felt alive. As if the past still pulsed here. 

“She’s here,” I whispered. 

And I was right. 

Upon turning the corner we discovered a door.

Behind it, the hum of machines. 

And a voice. 

A voice I’d never forget. 

“You’re stronger than this, Adrian. But strength means nothing without obedience.” 

My heart stopped. 

I looked at Kieran. 

He nodded once, drawing his weapon. 

I pushed the door open— 

And froze. 

There he was. 

Adrian. 

Adrian sat strapped to a chair with glassy eyes and blood staining his temple.

Serena positioned herself behind Adrian while resting her hands on his shoulders.

But that wasn’t what stole my breath. 

There was another person in the room. 

A man who looked just like Adrian. 

Only colder. 

Older. 

Darker. 

“Who—” I started. 

The man smiled at me. 

“Hello, Evelyn,” he said. “It’s been a long time.” 

Kieran stepped forward. “Ezra?” 

The man shook his head slowly. “Not quite.” 

Serena smiled. 

“This,” she said softly, “is the prototype. The one we never told anyone about.” 

And then the lights snapped off.