Extraordinary Mistakes II - Blood Ties

Nothing to say

In the basement, the entire group gets together. Everyone pretends not to notice how different Diego looks. Abigail and Emily keep looking at him and looking away whenever Ánh or Rachel stare at them. Ánh stands as far from Rachel as she can. One can tell from Rachel's posture how much it bothers her, even if she tries to deny it.

"Me and Alex have analyzed the children's memories," Rachel begins and asks for everyone to sit down.

"They're gone. Completely. Between whatever it is that the mental controllers did there, the testing, trauma... They remember only their lives before arriving here. Nothing more." Alex continues.

"That's probably for the best. They can put this mess behind." Abigail smiles.

"Go home..." Diego says.

"If only there was a way to send them home." Rachel looks around the room.

"There is, actually!" Abigail smiles and everyone looks at her with their eyebrows raised. "My parents."

"What are you saying?" Rachel asks.

"They have access to two private jets. Take the children away from here. Send them home."

"Abigail, you still don't know if your parents are part of this or not!" Emily looks at her, "I don't think they are, but we don't know."

"Right... right, but-" Abigail stammers.

"Me and Alex will go with you. If anything goes sour, we'll leave as soon as we arrived. Talking to them seems like the only chance to return those children." Rachel says and Alex nods.

"Anyone else can't enter the forum?" Diego asks.

"No, not just you, Diego. They erased the forum. Completely." Ánh sighs.

"But you have a backup, Ánh." Rachel gets up and stands next to the screens.

"Yes, Rachel," Ánh scoffs. "I have a backup of the posts, but the system protected itself. I don't have any information about the users. We've lost all the contact we had with them."

Diego stares at the blank screen while the others continue their conversation.

"I am unable to make a new one as well. Me and Stephanie Williams," Ánh notices Alex's eyes opening wider when she mentions her name, "don't have the same power. It works differently. I can't do what she did."

"That's okay, Ánh, we'll find a solution soon. Right now we have bigger concerns. Have you found Hall?" Rachel asks.

Ánh nods and turns on the screens, "I ran the databases on Hall and asked the computer to show me any relation to Madeleine Clark, Thomas Roberts, Marianne Olsen, Saif Ahktar, Ortiz. These are the results."

On each screen appears a different name. On the first, Jordan Hall, on the second Liam Hall Jr. and on the third, Edward Hall.

"Jordan Hall, tech billionaire, married Madeleine Clark in 2004. They divorced in 2020." Ánh shows several articles from tabloids, showing Madeleine in her early 20s, with a wide smile, on a beach in Greece. The headline stating the private wedding of Clark and Hall heirs. The power couple were caught madly in love in Greece.

"Who's here?" Rachel points to the screen in the middle.

"Liam Hall Jr., friends with Madeleine Clark, again, and Jessica Miller. He's the CEO of several chains of supermarkets."

"I've seen him on Jessica's profile. They vacation together every year." Emily adds.

"And here," Ánh points to the screen on the right, "Edward Hall. CEO and sole owner of D&H Pharmaceuticals. He did his PhD in the same school as Marianne Olsen. They worked together at university for a few years."