Chapter 10: The Experiment.

As I stood there, reeling from my uncle's revelation, I felt like my entire world had been turned upside down. The government experiment, the trauma, the lies - it was all too much to process.

Rachel's hand on my shoulder tightened. "Sophia, we need to get out of here. Now."

I nodded, still trying to wrap my head around the truth. We turned to leave, but my uncle's voice stopped us.

"Sophia, wait!" he called out.

I turned to face him, my heart heavy with emotion. "What?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

My uncle stood up, his eyes locked on mine. "Sophia, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

I felt a surge of anger. "You never meant to hurt me?" I repeated, my voice rising. "You lied to me, manipulated me, and subjected me to God knows what. And you're sorry?"

My uncle took a step forward, his hands outstretched. "Sophia, please understand -"

But I cut him off, my anger boiling over. "No, I don't understand. I don't understand how you could do this to me."

Rachel's hand on my shoulder tightened. "Sophia, let's go."

I nodded, turning to leave. But as we reached the door, my aunt appeared, a sly smile spreading across her face.

"Leaving so soon, Sophia?" she asked, her voice dripping with malice.

I felt a surge of fear, but Rachel stood tall, her eyes flashing with defiance.

"We're getting out of here," she said, her voice firm.

My aunt's smile grew wider. "Oh, I don't think so."

She stepped aside, revealing two men standing behind her. They were tall, imposing, and their eyes seemed to bore into my soul.

"Who are they?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

My aunt's smile grew wider. "They're here to take you back."

I felt a surge of fear. Take me back where?

Rachel's hand on my shoulder tightened. "We're not going anywhere."

But the men took a step forward, their eyes locked on us.

I knew we were in trouble.

As we stood there, frozen in fear, I realized that I had to think fast. We had to get out of there, and we had to do it now.

I looked around frantically, searching for an escape route. But the men were blocking the door, and the windows were too high to reach.

We were trapped.

But then, I remembered something. The secret passage.

I had discovered it by accident a few days ago, while exploring the mansion. It was hidden behind a bookshelf in the library.

I grabbed Rachel's arm, pulling her toward the library.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"The secret passage," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

We reached the library, and I pushed the bookshelf aside, revealing the passage.

We slipped inside just as the men were about to grab us.

As we made our way through the passage, I could hear the men shouting behind us.

We finally emerged on the other side of the mansion, gasping for air.

We had made it.

But as we looked back at the mansion, I knew that we were far from safe.

The men would be looking for us, and we had to find a way to stop them.

I turned to Rachel, determination burning in my heart.

"We're not going to let them win," I said, my voice firm.

Rachel smiled, her eyes flashing with defiance.

"Together, we'll take them down."

And with that, we set off into the unknown, ready to face whatever lay ahead.