Early night at the cafe.
The rain had been relentless, a torrential downpour that had battered the windows of the cafe all night. The storm outside seemed to echo the turmoil brewing inside him, the constant noise of the thunder and wind mirroring his racing thoughts.
Dan sat at his table, his hands shaking as he gripped his phone, staring at the screen. He had been scrolling through his notes for what felt like hours, the images of Project Pandora flashing before his eyes, the unease gnawing at his stomach.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. That night, in the basement, had revealed far more than he was prepared for. The folder had been a truth he wasn’t ready to confront. His mother, the woman he had trusted more than anyone, had been involved in something dark, something otherworldly. But he couldn’t fathom how or why. Why her? And more importantly—why hadn’t she told him?
How could I doubt her? The thought twisted in his gut. She’s my mother, the only family I have left. But no matter how much he told himself that, his instincts screamed otherwise. Something is wrong.
His thoughts were interrupted by a soft sound—the buzz of his phone. He glanced at the screen. It was his mother’s name, her face glowing on the screen.
Dan’s heart skipped a beat, and a strange feeling lodged itself in his chest. His mother had been acting more normal than ever lately. Too normal. Ever since the night he had found her on the laptop, it was like she had flipped a switch, going back to her usual routine as if nothing had happened.
Still, he couldn’t shake his suspicion, the deep, instinctual feeling that she was hiding something from him. And tonight, there was a strange sense of urgency gnawing at him, like he was running out of time.
His thumb hovered over the answer button, but then he hesitated.
The decision weighed heavy on him. Maybe I shouldn’t call her. Maybe I’m just overreacting. Maybe I’m just tired—this whole case is messing with my head. Maybe I’m just crazy.
He cursed under his breath, the thought of him being insane doing nothing to quell the panic rising inside him.
But I can’t stop feeling this way. Something is off. She’s hiding something.
Dan’s thumb brushed against the screen, and he answered.
"Hey, Mom," he said, his voice tight, trying to mask the unease that gripped him.
But before his mother could respond, he heard a strange noise—a muffled voice from the other end, as if his mother was talking to someone in the background. Dan's heart beat faster, a cold chill running down his spine.
"What do you mean, ‘he mixed his memories’?" The voice on the other end was low, almost inaudible. "Do you think he suspects? What if he’s getting too close?"
Dan froze. What was she saying?
His breath caught in his throat as he listened, the blood rushing to his ears.
"I don’t know," his mother replied, her voice eerily calm, but Dan could hear a slight edge of tension. "He’s not fully aware yet. But I’m afraid our trick is getting exposed, and I’m afraid he’s unconscious, mixing his memories and a bland nightmare. Our work will go straight to the gutter."
Dan’s hands went numb, the phone slipping from his grip and landing on the floor with a dull thud. His mind raced, trying to process what he’d just heard. What did she mean? What is she talking about? His mother had just—she just said that.
The words echoed in his mind, repeating over and over. Our work... exposed... mixing memories...
What trick? What work? And most of all, why was his mother involved in this?
Dan felt a wave of panic surge through him. His chest tightened, and the room felt smaller, suffocating. He stumbled back from the phone, his mind reeling, trying to catch up with the meaning of what he had just overheard.
"What if he’s getting too close?" What if he suspects?
The thought clawed at him—had his mother been watching him all along? Had she been playing him, leading him to trust her so she could cover her tracks? Or worse—was she working with them?
His own thoughts twisted around each other, a cacophony of confusion. The guilt was suffocating. How could he doubt her? She was his mother—the only family he had left. But the more he thought about it, the more the pieces began to fit together in ways that terrified him. He felt his grip on reality starting to slip. Am I losing my mind?
Dan’s breath came in ragged gasps as the walls of the room seemed to close in around him. He had to get out. He had to find answers.
His body moved on its own, fueled by desperation and fear. He grabbed his jacket, not even bothering to turn off the lights, and rushed out the door. The storm outside seemed to welcome him, the rain drenching him as he stepped out into the chaos of the night. But he barely felt it—the cold, the wetness, the wild wind howling around him. All he could think about was one thing:
What has my mother been hiding from me?
* * *
Carter’s Office – Same Night
Meanwhile, across town, Carter sat hunched over the desk, the dim glow of his desk lamp casting long shadows across the room. His notebook was spread out in front of him, filled with the notes Dan had given him—clues, sketches, dreams. He’d been following the leads meticulously, piecing things together. But even now, he couldn’t make sense of it.
Dan had been right about the connections. The missing girls, the bizarre dreams, the clues that had never quite added up—they were all tied together. But now, something else was gnawing at Carter. Something was off about Dan. His obsessive pursuit of the truth seemed more frantic with each passing day, and Carter couldn’t help but notice the growing tension in the way Dan carried himself.
Tonight, the urgency was palpable. Carter had seen that look before—the look of someone who was teetering on the edge of losing themselves to a case. But was it just the case? Or was Dan starting to unravel because of something much more personal?
Carter pushed the thought aside. There was no time for doubt. Not now.
But as he continued reviewing the evidence, a nagging feeling tugged at the back of his mind. What if Dan had been right all along? What if the truth wasn’t just buried in the case, but in Dan’s life itself?
Back in his room, Dan couldn’t stop pacing. The storm outside had grown fiercer, the rain beating against the windows like the pounding of his own pulse. His mind was racing, questions swirling. What trick? What nightmare?
He had to find out. He had to confront his mother.
His fingers fumbled with his keys, locking and unlocking them as if trying to prepare himself for whatever he might discover. But deep down, he knew there was no going back. The truth would break him or save him, and he wasn’t sure which would happen first.
He had no choice but to face the truth now.
* * *
