Chapter 31: Dad, Your Daughter Also Nearly Became a Member of the International Wanted List
Several hours had passed since Elias was first reported missing. The sun had long since set, replaced by the glow of the moon. Everyone had been scrambling to find traces or clues of his whereabouts, with no luck. Both Eve and Syler were emotional wrecks for different reasons. Miss Kim had been the calmest, but even she began to show signs of worry after a few hours, her brows furrowing with concern.
Mina had arrived later to offer emotional support, but had to leave almost immediately when Syler passed out upon seeing her. She quickly accompanied him to the hospital. With Mina gone, Miss Kim decided it was pointless for Eve to remain, and sent her home, urging her to rest and assuring her that she'd handle the rest.
But instead of sleeping like Miss Kim had asked, Eve sat at her computer, typing furiously. She refused to give up, poring over camera footage from across the city. She cursed the fact that Everett Fall was less technologically developed than other cities. Many areas still lacked proper surveillance.
"Eve, you don't have to do everything yourself, you know," said Milk, her AI assistant, sitting in the corner of her screen and watching her with concern. "You built me this advanced for a reason, right? You've been at this for nearly six hours without taking a single break. Let me handle the work! You haven't eaten or even used the restroom!"
Milk's white, fuzzy body grew larger on the screen, blocking her view. But it didn't slow Eve's typing in the slightest. She had the entire keyboard and interface memorized and could code with her eyes closed.
"Don't block my work, Milk. I can't give up. I need to find Elias. He's probably scared... or worse. What if they kill him before we even get close? I don't even know what they want from him," she muttered, biting her lip. "What haven't I tried yet? Oh—wait, the satellite. I can use the satellite! I should be able to see everything from there!"
She opened another window to begin coding. Milk's fur stood on end.
"No! Eve, are you crazy? This computer doesn't have the computing power to hack a satellite. And my current capabilities can't pull that off without drawing attention! No matter how desperate you are, I won't let you do something that will definitely get you sent to jail!"
He pressed the exit button, shutting the window.
Eve clenched her fists and opened it again. And again. And again. Milk closed each one with growing frustration.
"Stop! You know your actions right now are irrational! Stop making impulsive decisions when you're not thinking clearly! You're scaring me, Eve!"
Milk's cartoonish face puffed red with anger.
Eve burst into tears. "But I don't know what else to do!" she cried, covering her face with her hands. "How can I relax when Elias is in danger? I could handle losing my parents—but not Elias."
Milk's eyes filled with animated tears as he watched his creator unravel. He knew just how much she loved Elias. Her bond with him had always gone beyond the usual twin connection, bordering on emotional dependency, though she didn't seem fully aware of it.
Eve had been blessed with abnormal intelligence since birth, but it came with its own distortions—especially in how she perceived the world, and her relationship with Elias.
Elias was the first person by her side. Even as a newborn, Eve had already begun forming thoughts and awareness. At first, she saw her twin brother as nothing more than an annoyance—a crying, squirming creature who existed solely to disrupt her peace. But as they grew, little by little, she could no longer cling to her initial opinions.
He smiled at her when others shied away from her sharp, intelligent gaze. The one that always unsettled kids their age. When adults ignored her scrapes or needs because she didn't cry like other children, he'd gently blow on her wounds and fetch her bandages. He tried to protect her, even though she was the one who didn't need protecting. He was always offering her things she didn't ask for, showing her little treasures he thought she'd like. And when he finally spoke his first word, it wasn't "Mama" or "Papa", it was "Eve."
Eve's eyes softened at the memory of Elias's clear, soft voice saying her name for the first time.
This child was so dumb. So unbearably simple. She was obviously far smarter and lucid than he was. So why did he treat her like an actual little sister he needed to care for?
Elias never treated her like she was more mature, even if she was. No matter how much Eve tried to prove her intelligence or independence, he had a way of making her feel younger—more like a regular kid than she ever felt around anyone else. Sometimes, being with him made her feel her actual age.
By the time they were two years old, Elias had completely won her heart. Everyone else faded, even their older brother and parents became background noise in comparison. Elias was her world.
But it wasn't just his warmth that stood out.
Eve soon realized that something else about her twin was… off.
Strange things always happened around him.
When they were around five months old, a ceiling fan nearly collapsed onto them. But instead of falling straight down, Eve saw it twist in midair—curving unnaturally and missing them by inches. It defied every rule of gravity she had taught herself by experimenting during what should have been her naptimes. She had dropped toy after toy, memorizing the laws of motion, and yet this… this wasn't normal.
At first, she dismissed it. Maybe she imagined it.
But similar incidents kept happening.
Elias always found the popsicle sticks with prizes. Objects that should have injured him missed at the last second. Children who tried to bully him ended up with birds pooping on their heads, tripping into mud, or getting scolded by teachers for accidents that weren't their fault. If karma didn't strike immediately, something worse seemed to happen later. Chaos radiated from Elias like an aura. Their parents were beside themselves, unable to make sense of why these things kept happening.
Good luck clung to him, but so did disaster.
Honestly, the memories of their wild, chaotic childhood might've made her laugh, if she wasn't feeling so desperate. Her eyes drifted to a small photo on the wall beside her, taken seven years ago. Elias was grinning, his front teeth missing, as he made rabbit ears behind her head. She was returning the favor.
Her fingers trembled on the keys.
Eve was curious and confused by her brother, but if she could be born with such exaggerated intelligence, didn't it make sense that her twin would be born with something extraordinary, too?
By the time Eve was only three years old, she had come to a grave conclusion: this idiot twin of hers… the special trait he possessed was god-defying luck. And with that luck came danger, meaning he needed someone to protect him. Luck of that magnitude didn't just invite chaos; it was bound to attract the greed of others eventually. And of course, the one who would protect her brother would be her.
Back in the present, she still believed she needed to protect her older twin, even now that he was old enough to think for himself. She respected Elias's growth—she would never hold him back—but the older they got, the more she began to wonder if she was being dishonest with herself. Elias could make friends. He never isolated himself on purpose. He loved Eve, but he didn't depend on her.
She told herself Elias needed her.
But more and more, it felt like she was the one who couldn't let go.
Of course, as an AI programmed with emotional intelligence, Milk recognized these traits in Eve immediately. She had even coded him to share a similar fondness for Elias as he had for her. But unlike her, Milk could still view things objectively—even if his behavior was shaped by her programming.
"Eve, please, do literally anything else but this. Sleep, eat, shower, use the toilet—I don't care. Just leave this to me! I don't need rest or food, so I can do this on my own. Just plug me into the wall and let me do my thing," Milk lectured sternly. His cartoonish appearance—complete with an unnecessary pair of glasses he had pulled out for dramatic effect—made it difficult to take him seriously.
Eve wanted to argue. "I—"
"No arguing with me, or I'll shut this computer down—and every other one you try to touch! I'll know if you use your phone or your watch to code, too!" Milk threatened, pointing a paw at her like a teacher scolding a student.
Eve stared at him for a moment before grumbling and finally moving from the seat she hadn't left in hours. Milk purred approvingly and returned to scouring the city's surveillance, reanalyzing footage and broadening their pool of suspects. She plugged the device into the wall and headed to the bathroom to finally take care of the necessities she'd been ignoring. She also threw some pizza rolls into the microwave, unwilling to cook anything more complicated.
Aside from the microwave's buzzing, the house felt eerily quiet.
As she waited, her eyes drifted to the bag sitting near the kitchen corner, Elias's bag. Syler had found it, hidden behind an arcade machine. His phone hadn't been recovered, likely destroyed, since she hadn't been able to trace it. Fortunately, she had once suggested Elias upload everything to the cloud, just in case.
She walked over, unzipped the bag, and rifled through it. There were the usual school folders, papers, and textbooks. None of that surprised her. But one thing did: a weathered leather journal.
Elias wasn't the journaling type. He always said it was boring. So why was this in his bag?
She didn't like invading his privacy…but right now, she was desperate for anything that could make her feel close to her brother. Something about the journal pulled at her. She couldn't explain it, but she knew there was something important inside.
She pulled it out. The cover was cool to the touch. Carefully, she unraveled the string binding it and flipped it open.
Her eyes widened almost immediately.
The handwriting, it was their father's.
Why hadn't Elias told her about this?
They'd both torn the house apart after their parents disappeared, searching for any hint or clue. Neither of them had found anything back then. So where had Elias gotten this and why had he kept it secret?
As she began reading, she quickly understood why.
Their father wasn't just missing—he was an international criminal. Wanted by Interpol. And Aegis.
She read in silence, a complex knot of emotions growing in her chest.
"You really managed to impress me, Dad," she muttered with a weak laugh.
She'd been self-aware even as a baby. And she'd always known her parents weren't normal. They acted like regular people around others, but sometimes slipped up in front of her, never realizing their infant daughter could understand and remember. She knew they had abilities, though she hadn't known the term "Awakened" at the time. Just that they were… different.
But this? This was more than she expected.
Her father, the same man who used to ramble to her and Elias about history and ancient artifacts, had once been a world-class thief.
She understood Elias's reasoning, and like him, she didn't want to see her father get in trouble for his past. But she really wished Elias had considered telling her, so he wouldn't have had to keep this secret alone. But that was classic Elias, treating her like a fragile sister in need of protecting.
Amusing as the irony was, several things in the journal deeply concerned her.
First: Elias clearly had some knowledge of the awakened world.
Second: the people who tried to kidnap him throughout their childhood were likely tied to the Crimson Pact.
Third: the magical artifact mentioned in the journal, Elias had probably found it. That would explain his sudden improvement, even if she didn't understand how it worked.
And fourth: if a powerful group was after that artifact, and if Elias had it, the danger surrounding him made far more sense.
Maybe that was why he'd been taken.
Eve's hands clenched the journal as anxiety crept in.
"Elias… what have you gotten yourself into?" she whispered.
"EVE! Pay attention!" Milk's voice startled her from her thoughts. "Your food's been done for over ten minutes! Reheat it, now!"
Eve rubbed her nose awkwardly. "Okay, mom," she mocked. She was being yelled at by her own AI she'd programmed herself, again.
She popped the pizza rolls back into the microwave and watched them turn slowly on the plate.
'I haven't found where you are, Elias… but maybe I finally understand why.
Please stay safe, until we can find you.'
She wiped away an angry tear as she stared into the spinning microwave.
'I'll definitely find you.'