“Ah. You’re awake, sweetheart.”
My blood turned to ice.
He stepped into my view with practiced calm. His gloves were already on, the syringe in his hand filled with my blood.
“Still beautiful, even soaked in rain and heartbreak,” he added mockingly.
“Get away from me,” I spat, my throat dry.
He tilted his head. “Now, now. That’s no way to speak to the man who made you.”
I jerked against the restraints. “You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to pretend this is love.”
He sighed, almost bored. “Don’t be so dramatic. This is science. Control. Evolution. I gave you power,Elizabeth. I gave you a future. And what did you do with it?”
I glared, breath shaking.
“Youwastedit,” he said, circling the table like a vulture. “Onhim.”
At the mention of Noah, my heart twisted violently.
“You let yourselffeel.And for what? A boy who kissed you in a storm? A soldier who looked at you like you were whole?” He leaned in, face inches from mine, eyes sharp. “You don’t get to be whole. You were nevermeantto be.”
Tears stung my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
He held up the vial. “You’ve evolved since the last sample. He’s done something to you. I can see it in your blood.”
I stared at the ceiling, jaw clenched. “You won’t touch him.”
But then he said it. Soft. Cruel.
“If you don’t cooperate, I’ll cut that pretty boy’s throat myself.”
My entire body froze.
“He’s already looking,” he went on. “Probably storming some poor, misinformed bunker. But if he gets too close before I get what I need… well, accidents happen.”
I stared at him. Every inch of me trembling.
“Don’t touch him,” I whispered, voice cracking.
“Then do as I say,” he said simply. “No fight. No tricks. And maybe, just maybe, your boy walks away.”
I wanted to scream. Wanted to curse him. Break free. Kill him.
But all I could do… was nod.
Because I couldn’t let Noah die.
Not for me.
Not because I let myself love him.
“Good girl,” my father said with a chilling smile, reaching for another needle. “Let’s begin.”
And all I could do was stare at the ceiling, the tears finally falling.
Because this wasn’t just captivity.
