’Did we move to live in the mountains?’ It felt like everything around was unusually unfamiliar, as if I was still living in a dream now.
"We moved a while ago. You were unconscious for a long ti," Damien said, taking my hand.
I looked down at his hand. For so reason, I had the feeling that his hand shouldn’t be this smooth and unblemished but littered with burn marks and scars
Surprised by my own thoughts, I subconsciously flinched away from Damien’s hand. He looked at with hurt, but it was fleeting.
"Let’s go out for a walk, Sophia." He brought out.
"Did Violette... contact ?" I asked Damien upon rembering Violette.
He nodded. "She did. When you got abducted, she helped and the police look for you. She truly cares for you, Sophia. She’s genuine to you.’
After a mont of silence, Damien continued, "She beca a coroner because of you. But her work is getting more demanding now, so she might not be able to visit you as often."
I nodded in reply. She would surely be busier as a coroner.
"Do you want to go out for a walk?" he asked again when he noticed that I wasn’t planning to leave.
I shook my head.
I was fearful of the sunlight outside for so reason. I kept feeling that everything was unreal-that I was still living in a dream.
"I’ll stay at ho with you then, Sophia. Damien was about to hug , yet I instinctively pulled away and resisted him.
I was surprised by my own actions.
Damien and I were not that close, right?
"Did we really adopt the two kids together, Damien? What kind of relationship do we have now?" My mind was blank, and I felt as if I had forgotten sothing important.
Damien said, ’We’re already planning to register our marriage, Sophia. I admit I wasn’t really kind to you before this-I’ve always been suppressing my feelings for you. But when sothing happened to you, it made realize that I really do love you.’
"You’re the only one I love, and I want to do everything I can to make it up to you and win you back. I’ve been staying by your side constantly during this ti, and you gradually accepted back, finally agreeing to my proposal.’
He poured so water for and handed so pills. "It’s ti for your dications, Sophia.’
I stared at the pills, asking, "What are these pills? I feel fine right now."
I didn’t want to take the dications.
"Be good, Sophia. You suffered serious injuries and are still in the recovery period. You also need treatnt for your mory issues. These are the dications for nerve care and mory recovery," Damien coaxed to take the pills.
I felt resistant and refused to take them.
"You have to listen to the doctor, or you’ll forget things and lose control of your emotions. You even hurt and the kids that day," Damien said softly. He wasn’t blaming ; it sounded more like a plea.
I looked at him, sowhat shocked. Did I lose control without even noticing?
I took the pills from his hands and swallowed them.
Soon enough, my emotions seed to be suppressed and I cald down entirely. There was no extra ti or space for to think about anything else.
Damien took my hand. I seed to have no energy to pull it out despite my resistance
"Do you want to eat cotton candy, Mom?’ Ashton ran in from the outside, a cotton candy in his hand.
There was a jolt in my mind, and fragnts of mories flashed in my mind.
I saw a tall figure getting out of the car to buy so cotton candy.
"I bought this for my wife. Go buy them yourself if you want so as well... You’ll end up with rotten teeth if you have more..." that person seed to say.
I stood in a daze as I held onto the cotton candy. Why couldn’t I make out the face of the person in my mory anymore?
Were those my warm mories with Damien? Why did I feel that it wasn’t him?
"The police have solved multiple missing persons cases and discovered the mastermind to be a mad experintal base hidden in a desolate area. Whether it’s a distortion of human nature or the decaying of morality, the exposure of this experintal base has shocked the entire society."
Ashton turned on the TV and was listening to the news again.
Down the mountain, it seed everything had changed. The exposure of Geno Society was like a large tree being uprooted, leaving a tangled ss in its wake.
People started protesting online and condemning such actions.
"On May 24, 2046, the governnt issued a new decree banning all sorts of human geno editing experints. It prohibits all sorts of genetic modification on human embryos for reproduction, experintation, and other inhumane practices."
"Cloning human embryos are also strictly prohibited, along with-"
Ashton sat on the ground while Stevie sat obediently beside him. They were watching and listening to the reports on geno editing and genetic experints one after another.
The ’deaths’ of Sofia Miller and Dexter Black were like a bomb, causing ripples everywhere. And now, the misdeeds and corruptions of Geno Society were finally coming to light.
Soone had single-handedly ripped away Geno Society’s cover, exposing their profit-driven activities like geno modification, transplant of edited organs, and human trafficking to the public.
They would soon have nowhere to hide with the governnt taking action.
"So people are just like geckos. Even if they’re cut down, they’ll still manage to co back," Ashton mumbled in front of the TV.
I was sowhat surprised to find that even a child would be interested in watching news about societal issues.
"What’s wrong with society? They’re prohibiting geno editing now?" I asked, confused.
Damien seed to be into it as well, staring at the news. His voice was hoarse when he said, "When we see one cockroach around, that ans there are already countless around."
I said nothing and continued to watch the news.
"An 18-year-old young woman went missing for 20 years, only to be found preserved in a cryogenic chamber. The cris of Geno Society go far beyond this-the exposed experints are shocking and have rippled across the world."
dia reporters were conducting interviews at the laboratory site discovered in the desolate area. But they weren’t allowed entry due to restrictions.
However, the limited information revealed was enough to shock the entire society.
"Eight genetically superior victims were used as breeding tools to produce the best possible genetic specins. Only four were still alive when found, and they were already suffering severe ntal issues. What the dia could report was incredibly limited. The true horrors of Geno Society were those unimaginable and terrifying experints that couldn’t be fully reported as they would certainly cause widespread panic."
"I thought these things would only happen in foreign countries," I whispered.
"They are happening in foreign countries, but their authorities are involved. That’s why they’ve managed to keep things under a tight wrap,’ Damien explained.
I Nodded my head, saying, "That’s so scary. Let’s not go out that often in the future. There are dangers lurking everywhere.’
Damien nodded and smiled as he held my hands tight. "Alright, I’ll protect you and the kids."
I looked down at his hands. I started to hallucinate for so reason.
I seed to be seeing a pair of scarred hands holding my own tightly, but they still looked beautiful despite the scars.
The person said, "Live your life untainted, Sophia. Leave the dirty work to ."
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