As time went by, Alayna’s well being was deteriorating. She had trouble sleeping since the officers came. The scientist had the same bloody nightmare every night. Her coworkers were too wary of her at first, which hindered her work as well as her mind. Coming back home was like going to hell. Her and the girls would always fight over anything, the ethics of her work, the murder case, being stuck in the underground lab for an undetermined amount of time. All of this was weighing on her mind. It didn’t help that the agent was snooping around, asking questions about her, about her daily life, about her work. Alayna started to think about what went wrong. Sure she didn’t pay too much attention to her daughters, but stealing her car ? Crashing into a house ? Someone’s death ? Enma nearly killed her sister and she isn’t showing a sign of remorse. If they had stayed quiet in their rooms, nothing would have happened. No police officers contacted her yet but it was a matter of time before someone seriously investigated this case. And that agent searching for every mole he could find to lock Alayna in a facility and uses her research. This situation was dangerous. Too dangerous. The woman grabbed her seventh cup of coffee of the morning before focusing back on her work. She wasn’t much of a coffee person. She was the type to listen to her body. If she was tired, she would sleep ; if she was hungry, she would eat ; and if she was bored, she would go exercise. Alayna always thought it was the healthiest way of living. But right now, she was drowning herself in coffee. While carrying genetically modified virus samples, she passed out.

  Alayna opened her eyes in the infirmary. She was laying on the bed.

  ? Told you we were going to meet sooner than you expect. ? said the agent, brightly smiling.

  ? Don’t be so full of yourself. I’ve seen you coming a mile away. People talk, you know. ?

  ? Well I’m sorry for going around asking questions about you. It was the only way to understand the kind of person you are. ?

  ? How about you talk directly to the person instead of sneaking into the lab and questioning employees ? ? sarcastically said Alayna.

  ? You didn’t look very inclined to talk to me the last time we saw each other. Anyway, I'm here to talk to you now. ?

  ? You’re like a rafflesiaceae. You feed on people who can’t defend themselves. ?

  ? I would argue that you’re capable of defending yourself. ?

  ? I passed out, I haven’t been able to sleep much, my daughters disappeared and killed someone. I’m in no state to defend myself . ?

  The agent stopped smiling and put on a more serious face now, he then said with a matching tone.

  ? Listen to me now, if your daughters truly disappeared, they’re not gonna show up anytime soon and from what I’ve gathered, you’re the rational cold-hearted type of woman, so you already know that. If you’re having trouble sleeping, knowing your job, it must be quite serious. I guess something is really troubling you. But let’s be honest here, it’s not your daughters's disappearance that is troubling you, because they didn’t disappear, you’re hiding them, aren’t you ? ?

  Alayna tried to respond, with hostility, to this man but he cut her off.

  ? There is no need to answer ma’am. I know what the truth is. Did you know that in your neighborhood, you consume 50 % of the total electricity consumed. What must be going on in this house really ? I mean it’s equal to the consommation of an entire lab ! Of course this isn’t enough to incriminate you, otherwise you would have already been dealt with. You were the perfect citizen before all of this. But now you’re crumbling and soon we will be able to get our hands on you. Don’t worry about your daughters, we don’t care about them. Contact me whenever you’re ready. ?

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He wrote his number in her hand, bowed his head as a sign of goodbye and left. Alayna was speechless. Her mind, for the first time in her life, was completely blank. She didn’t know what to do.

  When Alayna arrived at her house, she was met with silence. There was no screaming, no cold shoulders, no people trying to stab her in her back. It was peaceful. She was exhausted by the day. Too tired to think, to want anything. She walked towards her bedroom, her eyes were lifeless. She took a deep breath. Her body fell on her bed. And nothing. She was alone. She couldn’t hear Enma and Aeri calling for her. It was like time stopped. As if the planet wasn’t spinning anymore. Alayna took a look at the number written on her hand, and she thought ? perhaps ?. Why not give up at this point. There was no way she would be able to go back to her old life. Her project was meant to be discovered. She was merely losing control of it. She never wanted to fulfill that position anyway. What she liked was discovering new things, not directing them. And like that man said, they weren’t interested in her daughters anyway, only her and her studies. So why not divert the attention from the car accident to her. A voice got her out of her shell.

  ? Mom, are you okay ? We’ve been calling you for a while now. ? said Aeri, full of compassion for her mother who was worn out.

  Alayna looked at her daughter’s eyes. Her mind was set now. She was going to sacrifice herself and her studies. For them. Aerie jumped on the bed and hugged her mother. She could feel Alayna playing with her hair. Aerie knew that even though she never really showed it, her mother loved her very much.

  “I know how to get us out of this mess.” proclaimed Alayna.

  “You want us to go see dad ?!” Screamed Enma.

  “I’ve never seen dad before.” quietly said Aeri.

  “And for a good reason!” yelled Enma, “He is a drug addict who only cares about mom’s money.”

  “That is not true.” calmly said Alayna, “Your father wasn’t really present in your lives, but he cares about you. And you will both join him in the low cities.”

  “Dad has a house in there ?” Asked the youngest.

  “Of course not, he lives in the street. Among alcoholics, other drug addicts, beggars and criminals.” said the oldest.

  “That’s enough Enma. You’re too quick to judge what you don’t know. The policemen stay away from the low cities, which gives you an advantage. No one will look for you there.” stated their mother while preparing their bags.

  “No one with ethics you mean.” whispered Enma.

  “You will find your father there and he will protect you.”

  “And how am I supposed to recognize him ? The last time I saw him, I was like five!”

  “You’re part robot now, which means you have the same tools as AI robots, like the scanners. You can scan his DNA and find him.”

  “So now you want us to wander in the low cities looking for our deadbeat father ? It will take us years, if he is still alive that is.”

  “Listen, I can’t protect you here. The government will soon find a way to invade this house. And once they’ve found the underground lab, you will have nowhere to hide. No one will protect you around here. You’re criminals. The best way to avoid attention is to go to the low cities. It might be chaotic, but at least you will be free. Got it ?”

  Alayna was holding her daughter’s hands. They could feel her trembling. It was the first time they ever saw their mother this weak. Enma looked at her little sister. She was resolute to protect her.

  “Okay, we will do it.” declared Enma. “When do we leave ?”

  “The sooner the better.” exclaimed Alayna, “I will give you two days. After that, I will call the agent.”

  The girls nodded and hugged their mother.