Chapter 6
Far away from that nightmare, I stepped off the plane and tossed my backup phone into a trash bin near the terminal.
Waiting just beyond the gate, my parents stood searching the crowd, their faces filled with
worry.
The moment I saw them, something inside me unraveled.
“Dad… Mom…”
I fell into their arms and for the first time in what felt like forever, I could breathe again.
My eyes burned and my voice shook with emotion. Everything I had gone through at home left me at a loss for words.
Without needing an explanation, my parents pulled me into their arms, their embrace warm and steady. They patted my back gently, just like they had when lulling me to sleep as a child.
“Don’t worry, it’s all over now… it’s all over…”
Their words were soft, yet they carried the weight of a promise.
They told me that the moment my plane took off, every last scandalous photo and video had been erased from the internet, gone as if they had never existed. Even files saved on personal devices had mysteriously become corrupted, unviewable and unrecoverable. The sudden disappearance of everything sparked public outrage and speculation.
At the same time, more people started defending me, calling out the unfairness of it all. It became clear that from the beginning, I had been the real victim.
As for Arthur, I still had no idea that he was tearing the city apart, desperately searching for
- me.
“Beatrice, what do you think? Your father and I have no intention of letting him walk away from this.”
I remained silent.
“Distributing someone’s private information and purchasing illegal drugs. Let the law deal with it.”
That night, I slept better than I had in a long time.
I drifted into a deep slumber, slipping into a long, hazy dream. When I finally woke, my parents were at my bedside, along with a handsome doctor in a white coat.
His voice was calm and gentle as he spoke.
“Beatrice is fine now. Calvin, Layla, I’ll be heading back first.”
My parents apologized for the trouble and walked him to the door.
I watched him walk away, a nagging feeling creeping in like I had forgotten something important.
2/2 12.2%
07:50 Sun, 30 Mar
important.
After that, I threw myself into my research, earning back my old nickname at the academy, the “Three–Nights–in–the–Lab Queen.
My parents often asked if I remembered anything or if there was something missing.
I only smiled, shook my head and brushed it off.
My memories were whole, except for one thing.
I knew I had been in a relationship once. His name was Arthur. And he was a terrible
person.
Meanwhile, Edison Lewis was the one who always reassured my parents not to worry.
He was my parents‘ apprentice, working in the same lab as me.
The doctor I had seen when I first woke up was him. His secondary specialization was in psychology.
We had never crossed paths before. He had gone abroad early on, long before I joined the
lab.
But after I started working there, my parents often reminded him to look after me.
Over time, we grew familiar with each other.
“What are you zoning out for? Weren’t you starving just a second ago?”
A clear, steady voice pulled me from my thoughts. Edison looked at me intently, his gaze
serious.
Shaking off my lingering doubts, I leaned over and glanced at the menu.
Maybe I had just been too caught up in experiments lately; I kept drifting off.
Whenever I got lost in thought, Edison would strike up a conversation, effortlessly pulling me back.
The day I saw Arthur again, I felt nothing.
Edison and I were strolling down the street, deep in conversation about psychology.
Lately, I had taken an interest in the subject and Edison patiently answered every question, never seeming to tire of my curiosity.
Chapter 7
