The air in the tunnel felt heavy, thick with the scent of rust and damp concrete. After hours of running and fighting, Cassius and his team finally saw the faint light at the end of the passageway. For the first time in what felt like days, a trace of relief broke through the exhaustion on their faces.

Brent exhaled with a shaky laugh. "We’re almost there."

Sophia nodded, brushing her sleeve across her forehead. "Finally. I thought this nightmare would never end."

They all began to pick up their pace, hope flickering in their eyes—until the faint echo of footsteps reached them from the exit. Cassius slowed down instinctively, his senses sharpening.

From the shadows at the mouth of the tunnel, two figures emerged, both covered in dust and ash. The dim light revealed their faces. Reynold. And beside him, Jeric.

"Took you long enough," Reynold said grimly, his voice cold, calm, and almost too controlled. Then, without hesitation, he raised his pistol and aimed it straight at Cassius’s head.

Everyone froze.

For a heartbeat, the world stopped moving. Sophia’s hand twitched near her sidearm, Brent tensed and stepped forward instinctively, and Zephany’s breath caught in her throat. The light that moments ago meant freedom now illuminated betrayal.

"Reynold," Cassius said slowly, his tone measured. "What exactly do you think you’re doing?"

Reynold’s eyes were sharp, filled with fury that had been buried for years. "What do you think I’m doing?" His grip on the pistol tightened. "I’m getting justice."

Cassius’s brow furrowed. "Justice?"

"For my father. And for the people who suffered because of you!" Reynold’s voice cracked, the calm shattering. His arm trembled as anger surged through every word.

Cassius’s voice was steady. "Tell me what I did, Reynold. What exactly did I do to you?"

That simple question made something inside Reynold snap. He stepped forward and punched Cassius across the face. The blow echoed through the tunnel. Cassius staggered back, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.

"Stop pretending!" Reynold shouted. "Stop acting like you don’t know! You know exactly what you did! You’re the reason my father died! You’re the reason everything fell apart!"

He struck him again, harder this time. Brent moved to intervene, but Sophia held him back, shaking her head silently. Cassius didn’t defend himself. He stood still, taking the punches, his eyes locked on Reynold’s. His silence only fueled the anger.

Reynold kept shouting between blows, each word burning in his throat. "You ruined my family! You destroyed everything we believed in! All because of your damned Helix Project!"

Cassius’s head turned with the last hit, his breath ragged. He lifted his gaze, eyes bloodshot but calm. "You think I wanted any of that to happen?"

"Don’t," Reynold snapped. "Don’t you dare try to justify it."

Before Reynold could throw another punch, a voice called out sharply behind him.

"Big Brother, stop it!"

The sound of her voice froze him in place. His eyes widened as he turned, seeing the figure who had just pulled off her mask. Zephany.

"Zeph?" Reynold’s voice faltered. His pistol dropped slightly as confusion flooded his face. "What are you doing here?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Zephany stepped between them and grabbed his wrist before he could strike again. "Please, stop. This isn’t the way."

She glanced back at Cassius, who had straightened up but said nothing. Then she looked at Reynold again, her tone firmer. "Put the gun down."

Reynold’s chest rose and fell rapidly. He clenched his fists, torn between anger and disbelief. Slowly, he lowered the pistol, his jaw tight.

"Zephany," he muttered, still struggling to process it all. "You shouldn’t be here."

"I’m already here," she said quietly. "Now tell me what this is about. What happened?"

Reynold took a step back, breathing heavily. His gaze shifted from Cassius to his sister. "He’s the reason Father’s gone. The reason everything from twelve years ago happened. He’s behind it all."

Zephany turned to Cassius, her eyes sharp and searching. "Is it true? Tell me what he means."

Cassius looked at her for a long moment, then closed his eyes. His breathing grew heavier, as if the weight of the past pressed against him again. A tear slid down his cheek, glinting under the tunnel’s dim light. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and trembling.

"You want to know the truth from twelve years ago?" He paused, his gaze drifting toward Kendrick, who had been silent all this time, his expression unreadable. "Then I will tell you."

Kendrick met Cassius’s eyes and, after a moment of hesitation, pulled off his own mask. There was no point in hiding anymore. Everyone deserved to know.

The tunnel fell silent, the tension so thick it could be felt in the air. Cassius took a deep breath.

"Twelve years ago, everything started because of one man."

---

Twelve Years Ago

The scent of rust and chemicals filled the underground chamber beneath a restaurant building. The lights flickered weakly, illuminating rows of metallic doors and medical tables.

Inside one of the smaller rooms, two children lay unconscious—Kendrick and Zephany. Their small arms bore fresh needle marks, faint traces of a serum injected moments earlier.

Dr. Mystorium stood over them, adjusting his gloves. His smile was thin and mechanical. He turned to the men standing by the door. "Put them in the containment room," he ordered. His tone was casual, almost bored, as if he were instructing them to move furniture.

The men nodded and lifted the children carefully. As they carried them through the narrow corridor, faint cries echoed from the other rooms. The sound of children sobbing, the low hum of machines, and the metallic drip of fluids filled the air.

One door creaked open as they passed—a quick glimpse revealed a room full of unconscious children, each connected to tubes and monitors.

Another room showed adults sitting blankly against walls, their eyes open but empty, their minds seemingly gone.

The men quickened their pace until they reached a small vacant chamber. They laid Kendrick and Zephany on the cold floor, then locked the door behind them.

The sound of the bolt sliding into place echoed like a verdict.

Meanwhile, across the city, Soren sat in his office, gripping his phone tightly. His face was pale. The call he had just received left him shaking.

The voice on the other line—Reynold’s—was frantic. "D-Dad!" His voice broke. "Zephany! Zeph! She’s missing!"

"Zephany’s missing?" Soren’s voice cracked with disbelief. "Since when?" But still he managed to steady himself. "Don’t panic, son. Just breathe. Calm down. Where are you?"

"Outside the venue... I was only gone for fifteen minutes!"

"I’ll handle it. Don’t go anywhere. And don’t tell your mom yet, you know her heart. I’ll look for your sister. Stay put, Reynold. I’ll come to you."

Soren’s breath hitched. "Stay put. I’ll find her." He hung up and turned to the man sitting across from him. His voice was raw. "Cassius, help me locate my daughter."

Cassius was sitting in silence, his face pale, his eyes distant. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and unsteady. "I just received word from my men," he said slowly. "They found a lead on Dr. Mystorium’s location."

"I don’t care about that right now!" Soren snapped, slamming his hand on the table. "My daughter’s safety comes first!"

Cassius didn’t respond right away. He kept staring at the floor as though his mind were elsewhere. "They’re preparing to surround the area," he muttered. "They’ll move in to capture Dr. Mystorium within the hour."

Soren’s frustration boiled over. "Cassius!" he shouted.

Finally, Cassius looked up. His voice trembled. "They saw my son Kendrick and your daughter Zephany being taken inside his lab."

Soren’s face drained of color. "What!?" He shot to his feet, his chair scraping against the floor. "Kendrick and Zephany are there?"

Cassius nodded slowly, guilt flashing across his eyes. That was all Soren needed to hear.

"Let’s go," Soren said, grabbing his coat. "Dr. Mystorium is insane. If he injected them with anything—"

"I know," Cassius interrupted, his voice cracking. "We have to move now."

They ran to the car parked outside, adrenaline flooding their veins. As the tires screeched onto the wet road, the city lights blurred into streaks.

For months, they had been investigating Dr. Mystorium, a former scientist from the Diamond family’s private research facility. He had been obsessed with the Helix Serum, a formula originally created by Elias for regenerative medicine. But Mystorium had twisted it, experimenting on unwilling subjects.

It all started after Soren’s private experiment to treat Reynold’s illness had used the Diamond family’s facilities. The data had been stored in the system, and Mystorium—working quietly under the Diamond banner—had discovered it. He began stealing and modifying the formula, determined to recreate it for his own ambitions.

Meanwhile, inside the Diamond family’s laboratory, Barmon moved silently through the corridors, his steps calculated and quiet. He had been sneaking into the lab for days, hungry for secrets he could use to destroy Larman and Brent. He believed they were hiding something—something powerful enough to change everything.

That night, he noticed Dr. Mystorium moving suspiciously. While most scientists worked in groups on officially approved projects, Mystorium operated alone, often late at night, and his activities never matched his assigned research. Curiosity turned into obsession. Barmon decided to follow him.