Worries

The sky is heavy with fog, and a thin drizzle falls steadily from above. I hold the umbrella over Jennifer and myself, shielding us from the rain, standing in silence as I wait patiently. Jennifer doesn't move. Her eyes are locked on the tombstone before us.

Thomas McCourtney.

That's the name carved into the granite.

After spending the entire night reading her father's secret letter, Jennifer asked me to take her to his grave this morning. I know her mind is spinning with a thousand thoughts. I can see it in the way she stands—so still, so tense. She's holding back everything. Too much.

Mr. McCourtney's secret was massive… and terrifying.

Even I had a hard time processing it.

So for Jennifer—who believed her life was simple, normal—it must be shattering.

When we finally return to our rental car, I break the silence."What do you want for lunch, babe?"

Just as I expected, she slowly shakes her head, her expression distant and hollow."Nothing," she murmurs.

I pause, hand hovering over the ignition. Then, without a word, I lean toward her, wrap my arm around her shoulder, and pull her into my embrace.

"Let it out, baby," I whisper.

She shakes her head again—but soon, I feel the warmth of her tears soaking into my shirt.

"I... I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about him anymore," she sobs, her voice trembling.

I don't respond with words—just gentle strokes along her upper arm, grounding her.

"I hate him for killing my grandparents. I hate him for making my mom lose her baby. I hate him for lying to us our whole lives. I… I… but…" She chokes on her words. "But I love him, too. He was the best dad in the world."

"Well… that's because he was your best dad in the world."

"But he killed my grandparents!" she screams suddenly, her voice breaking. "And yet he still dared to show his face to my mom—and made her fall in love with him!"

"He truly loved her," I say softly, "and he loved you."

"I know… I know…" Jennifer wipes her face and lets out a ragged sigh. "And I know he sacrificed a lot for us. I know he did everything to protect us. I know… I know he agreed to have the procedure just to keep me safe. Gosh!"

She breaks down again, her cries muffled against my chest. I gently run my hand through her hair, hoping it brings her even the smallest comfort.

Suddenly, she pulls back, eyes wide with worry as they lock onto mine.

"You… tell me you don't have the same procedure as my dad," she whispers.

I let out a quiet sigh, then offer her a small, reassuring smile."I do have the same brain cell activation procedure," I admit.

Jennifer gasps, the color draining from her face. Before fear takes hold, I quickly add,"But I had it after their research was complete. They'd figured out how to stabilize it."

Still, Dr. Ramorez's warning echoes in the back of my mind—his voice telling me that my activated brain cells would keep expanding, uncontrollably.I push the thought away and lie."There shouldn't be any side effects for me."

She stares into my eyes, searching for the truth—but I've buried it deeper than she can reach. I give her another soft smile, and after a long pause, she exhales and rests her head against my chest again.

"I'm sorry… but I hate your mom," she says quietly. "I blame all of this on her."

I nod. "I understand. And I won't blame you for feeling that way."

Jennifer lifts her head again, locking eyes with me."Promise me… you won't join her again. Ever. No matter what. Promise me that," she urges.

I chuckle softly and tap her nose.

"I won't. I promise," I say, sealing it with a tender kiss on her lips."But now, you need to eat. I don't want my daughter going hungry."

Jennifer lets out a short laugh, tinged with exhaustion, and sighs at the same time."Okay," she murmurs, finally giving in.

-

When the stewardess announces that our flight is about to land in NY city, I slowly end my meditation and open my eyes.I'll be honest with you—reading Mr. McCourtney's letter scared me.

According to what I learned during my time with the Scorpion, what they did to me was supposed to be safe. They had deactivated my brain cells. But ever since that explosion… they've become reactive again.And now?Now, there's no certainty they're still stable.

What's worse is what Dr. Ramorez once told me—he said the expansion couldn't be stopped.

So even though I've had a normal speed ever since learning to control it with Master Long's help, I've never truly known whether my brain cells are actually under control.

The only thing I can do now is meditate every chance I get, hoping it will help contain whatever is happening inside my brain.

I turn to my right.

Jennifer is still asleep, her head resting gently on my shoulder. I know she barely got any rest last night. I heard her, crying silently in the dark.

For someone like me—someone who rarely feels emotions—it's difficult to fully understand hers.

So I did the only thing I could.I held her. I stayed close. Let her feel that she wasn't alone.I hope… that was enough.

"Baby," I whisper softly into her ear to wake her.

She startles, gasping as she blinks her eyes open. When she sees me, she offers a sleepy smile.

"Sleep well, babe?" I ask.

Jennifer nods, then looks around. "Are we there yet?"

"We're about to land," I reply.

She straightens up and fastens her seatbelt.

About twenty minutes later, we're off the plane and walking through the airport with the rest of the passengers.

"Wait… I need to pee," Jennifer says just as we're about to exit the terminal.

We didn't check in any luggage—everything's in my backpack—so we have no reason to wait.

"Okay. I'll wait here," I say. The restroom is only a few meters from the exit.

To pass the time, I pull out my phone. There's a message from Thief.

[I think I found where Lily lives. Call me.]

Of course, I call her immediately.

But weirdly… she doesn't pick up. The call fails—it says her phone is unreachable.

That's odd.

The flight was only an hour. Usually, when she tells me to call her, she's ready. She knows I'll call back as soon as I land.

[Where are you?]I text her.

It only gets one check. Still pending.Something's not right.

With a deeper frown, I decide to call Andy.

"What's up? You back in NY already?" he answers casually.

"Can you reach Thief?" I ask, skipping the small talk.

"What...? Why would I need to?"

"She told me to call her, but I can't get through."

"Maybe her phone's out of battery?" Andy suggests.

"Come on… this is Thief we're talking about. Since when does she ever run out of battery?"

"Well… maybe she's doing something more important. I don't know… dating?" Andy reminds me—something I always forget.Thief has a boyfriend now.

Yeah, that guy. The one obsessed with anagrams.

"If she's on a date, then why ask me to call her?" I press, not letting the suspicion go.

"That… you'll have to ask her," Andy replies. "Look, I'm sure she's fine. She's got, like, four or five bodyguards on her at all times."

I let out a long breath."You're right."I am worrying too much. She has protection. And she's a genius—it'd be hard for anyone to even get close enough to hurt her.

Andy laughs at my stress, and after a bit of small talk, I end the call.

I put my phone back into my pocket and let out another sigh.

With her big belly, Jennifer always takes a bit longer in the restroom, especially undressing and redressing.

But still…

It's been five minutes.That's not normal.

I glance toward the restroom door just as a young woman exits.

I recognize her—she went in just a few minutes ago.

"Excuse me," I say, approaching her quickly.

"Yes?" she replies, pausing and turning toward me.

"I noticed you just came out of the restroom. Did you happen to see my wife inside? Red hair, green eyes…"

The woman frowns and shakes her head. "No… I didn't see anyone. But there was one stall that was occupied."

"Oh, okay. Thanks. Sorry to bother you," I say.

She nods and walks away.

As I turn around to head back, something catches my eye.

A man in a cleaning service uniform is pushing a trolley with a large plastic dumpster on it. He's just coming out of the women's restroom.

There's something off about him.

His tense face. His twitchy movements. His nervous glances.

I feel a cold knot form in my chest.

Without hesitation, I rush toward the women's restroom, calling out,"Jen!!"

No response.

I step inside and walk straight to the one stall with the door closed.

"Jen!! Are you okay?!"

Still nothing.

Fear grips me.

My pulse starts pounding. Without thinking, I raise my leg and kick the door open with all my strength.

The stall is empty.Completely empty.

My heart drops.

Jennifer is gone.