In front of my father, I'm reduced to a nervous mess. Like a child who just craves a hug from her long-lost parent.

I'm a hundred percent convinced that he's really Dad, that he was the one who has been watching out for me from the waters when I was a kid. Now that the apocalypse had happened, he must have come back to look for us.

But things have not gone in his way.

Dad dresses the same way Zarius did when we first met—black scale-like bodysuit with markings covering his neckline. His hair pulls back into a loose, messy ponytail.

However, there's something amiss about him. He drags his feet forward, back hunching a little. His face is a porcelain white with his eyes blank out, the corners tinge with blood.

My chest heaves with anxious breaths. "Are you alright–"

A hand goes for my throat, and he slams me against the wall. His bloodshot eyes stare into mine coolly, looking every bit cold and murderous. He acts as if I'm a stranger to him, like a body without a soul.

He doesn't recognize me.

This isn't him.

I clutch at the fingers squeezing my throat desperately, unable to find air. All that comes out of me is a wheezing voice. "Hck–"

Black dots crawl at the corners of my vision. When I think I'm about to pass out, Dad's hand releases me and I drop to the ground, hacking with coughs. My eyes peer up at him in disbelief.

What?

Dad continues pinning me with his vacant stare. When he shifts a step forward, I scramble away quickly on my hands and knees, knowing that I'm in deep trouble.

Something is controlling and instructing him to hurt me.

The military is obviously behind this. And World Solutions. They're a team together.

Soon, it becomes a chase in this confined space. As I'm crawling away, Dad grabs both my ankles and flings me to the other side of the room. The impact of my head hitting the wall stuns me. I can feel a bruise forming and throbbing so badly, as if my skull is about to split open.

My groans fill the air. In a split second, he grabs my arm and yanks me upwards. His hand grips my throat painfully. I feel myself lifted against the wall. Against his powerfully built muscles, my kicks are like a child's—desperate and feeble.

No matter how much he's hurting me, I really don't wish to harm my father but the one who's hiding behind the screen and enjoying this torture.

"L-Laiken, please..." I reach for his face, my fingertips grazing his cheek. Hoping to reach him through the fog in his mind. My voice drops to a strangulated, pleading whisper so no one can hear me. "Daddy, stop this..."

Something washes over his eyes almost imperceptibly. He blinks once, then another, just staring at me. Suddenly, he lets go of my throat and throws an aggressive punch towards me, hitting the wall beside my face and leaving a big dent. An angry tremor runs through him, and I can tell he's fighting for control over himself.

In a low growl, he leans down until his chin presses against the top of my head. Every word he says is labored with effort.

"You cannot be here, my sweet child."

I inhale sharply. Emotions choke me from the affection in his words. In this position, it's like I'm tucked into his broad chest and shielded from cameras as tears spill from my eyes. "What have they done to you?"

"It is not just me," he answers. "There are others here as well."

Oh my god. "Other merfolks? What is this place?"

He takes a shuddering breath. "Do not stay and question. Find your mother and leave immediately."

His hand cradles my head, tenderly rubbing the bruise that he has inflicted on me earlier. It hasn't been a full five minutes since I've met Dad, but I'm already feeling safe and loved by his side.

I want us to be a family.

We've been exchanging inaudible whispers, and this seems to annoy Lieutenant Johan. His voice comes through again. "That's enough."

Something switches on in Dad and he stumbles away from me while clutching his head in pain. The doors to the room slide open and guards storm in to take me out. My heart lurches and breaks into a million pieces when Dad vanishes from my sight.

Horror churns in the pit of my stomach. Whatever that they're doing to him, they must have done the same to Zarius. He must be on the same floor and in one of these testing rooms.

Amidst my tears and screams, I'm dragged back to my room in the rudest and most inhospitable manner. My protests attract the attention of scientists, guards and someone else whom I never expect to meet in this place—Max.

He's dressed like one of the guards, simply just patrolling along the corridors. When our eyes meet, guilt swims in his eyes. That's when the puzzle pieces fall into place—the reason Zarius got captured.

It's him.

He and his nutcase brother must have reported Zarius through the walkie-talkie they've snatched away that night in the cafeteria.

Max shoots me an apologetic look before looking away from my burning glare, knowing that I'm absolutely livid to see him here. At the same time, Lieutenant Johan materializes behind me and wenches me around by my arm. His fingers dig into my flesh painfully.

"You." He stares at me, incredulous. "That creature disobeyed my orders, even though I told him to kill you. What is the connection between you and the sea creatures?"

Right now, I'm glad that the swimsuit I'm wearing under my tattered clothes conceals my mate's mark behind my neck. "I've told you several times—nothing! And it's the truth. You are the one who's getting delusional here."

Lieutenant Johan scoffs. His tone is as sharp as his words. "That merfolk didn't hesitate to kill over ten of my men. And yet, when he first saw you, he didn't kill you. There's something you're hiding from us, and I'm going to find out what it is."

I shake my head at his lunatic behavior. "Then you're going to be disappointed, Lieutenant. There's no value in holding me hostage."

"Value? Of course you do." His cunning smile broadens when he sees my confidence dissipate. "After all, I would love to use you as bait to draw more merfolks for our captive. They would make great Super Soldiers to protect us against the mutated creatures, don't you think?"

I gape at him in horror. "You're insane!"

"Am I? Maybe I am. But with them guarding us, humans don't have to live in fear ever again and they can only thank us for that. Ever heard of nanobots?"

I blink in surprise. Of course I heard of nanobots, because there used to be articles flying across the internet about tiny robots injected into animals and releasing drugs in them for medical purposes. With these nanobots, they can respond to a specific command.

However, the drug diffuses in a human's bloodstream over time and causes extreme side effects—including death. Researchers from World Solutions have been tampering with this idea for years, trying to get past that hurdle.

And now, the time has come for them to save humanity with their experiments.

"It's interesting to see nanobots controlling a person's mind, but our human hosts keep dying. Sometimes, they go crazy and end up killing themselves," Lieutenant Johan tells me calmly. "Now that we have creatures with superior DNA like the merfolks, there's an improvement in the results. We're getting closer to our goal soon."

"You're crazy!" I exclaim, horrified. It's savagery for him to treat merfolks like caged animals. "I won't let you do that to them!"

"Can you stop me?" His brow raises in a condescending man. "A mere girl like you?"

My fists clench tightly. If the guards weren't holding onto me, I would have punched his face. "I'm not going to just sit and watch you do whatever that you want."

Lieutenant Johan smirks and steps closer to me, his breath blowing over my cheeks. He enunciates my name for a second time in a sing-song voice.

"Well, well, Cordelia Walters. A high school senior and daughter of Roxie Walters. You guys got separated during the run, didn't you?"

My breath hitches and I tense up immediately, knowing he's threatening me with Mom's life.

That bastard!

He smiles in satisfaction at my stiff reaction, knowing that he has the upper hand in this conversation. "We have her in our hands," he reveals. "If you tell me what you know about merfolks and cooperate with our experiments, I'll let you meet her."

There's clearly no room for negotiations. Straightening up, he flicks his fingers at my guards. "Take her back to the room first and get her to clean herself up."

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