His return.

FIFTH CHAPTER

All day I thought about my plan, and when school was over, instead of heading home, I went to the lab. I thought I could go unnoticed because the media storm was only growing, and everyone in the lab was too preoccupied to notice me.

When I entered, I tried to act calm. I approached the reception desk where one of Mom's colleagues, Rachel, was working.

"Hey, Bella," she said with a smile.

"What brings you here? Where's your mom?"

"Oh, she forgot to give me the house keys," I replied, trying to sound relaxed.

"She said I could grab them from her desk."

It wasn't the first time I needed something from Mom's office, so Rachel didn't suspect anything.

"Of course," she nodded, returning to her work.

I went through the doors and headed down the hallway with the offices. I knew there were security cameras everywhere, so I moved slowly. When I reached Mom's office, I quickly entered and closed the door behind me.

The first thing I needed to do was turn off the cameras. Mom had a control panel on her desk that monitored the cameras in the section where Jack was. I had to be careful not to turn off everything, as that would raise suspicion.

So I disabled the ones that were aimed at the passage leading to his room.

After that, I grabbed the keys from the drawer and headed toward the room where Jack was being held. This was the riskiest part—I had to be quiet and cautious.

I reached the door and unlocked the entrance and slipped inside. Jack was sitting on the bed, with an ankle monitor. He looked tired, but when he saw me, his eyes widened with surprise.

"What are you doing here? Isn't this dangerous?"

"I don't have time to explain," I said quietly, searching for the key to his ankle monitor.

"We need to get you out of here. I can't leave you in the hands of scientists and reporters."

After a few moments, I found the right key and unlocked him. Jack got up from the bed, still a bit shaky on his feet.

"How are we going to get out? This place looks heavily guarded."

"I know," I said, leading him toward the exit.

"But I turned off the cameras, and I think we'll be able to slip out unnoticed."

We headed toward the back exit. I could hear the voices of scientists walking through the corridors, but luckily no one came our way.

When we reached Mom's car, I felt a rush of adrenaline. Driving wasn't my strong suit; I had only one proper driving lesson before finding myself here, with Jack beside me and the keys in hand. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself, but my heart was racing.

When I started the engine, the car roared louder than I expected, and my hand trembled on the steering wheel. I glanced at Jack, who was silent, but I noticed his hand gripping the edge of the seat. It was clear he wasn't sure about my driving skills either.

"It's okay, everything is under control," I said, trying to reassure both him and myself.

"Just slow and steady."

But as soon as I pressed the gas pedal, the car lurched forward. I tried to stop it, but we almost collided with a parked car in front of us. The brakes screeched, and I felt my hands shaking, feeling like I'd lost control.

Jack quickly put his hand on my wrist, as if trying to take control.

"Relax," he said, trying to keep a calm tone.