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Episode 23: Echoes of Another Child
Location: Luna Manor – Midnight
Abel couldn't sleep.
The house was quiet, unnaturally so, as if the walls themselves were waiting.
Waiting for him to react.
To break.
But he didn't.
Instead, he stood in Elio's temporary room, staring at the crayon drawings taped to the wall. Rockets. Suns. A rough sketch of Evan and himself holding hands.
Elio had written underneath:
"Mom + Dad + Me = Team Luna."
Abel's hand clenched.
He didn't deserve that kind of love.
Not yet.
---
Elsewhere – Safehouse Kitchen
Evan sat at the table, staring into a cold cup of tea.
Emrys leaned against the counter. "You okay?"
She gave a hollow smile. "I just outed the father of my child on national TV and exposed a billionaire bioterrorist. What part of that sounds okay?"
Emrys chuckled darkly. "All of it, if you ask me."
She looked at him, the fatigue in her eyes unspoken.
"Was it the right move?" she asked.
"You took your voice back, Evan. And you protected your son. That's always the right move."
She nodded slowly.
Then her phone buzzed.
One notification.
> UNKNOWN: You think the first child was special? You never asked who came after.
— Attached Image: A boy. Roughly Elio's age. Dark hair. Grey eyes. Holding a mechanical rabbit.
Evan's breath caught.
"Oh my god…"
---
Meanwhile – Cassandra's Private Chamber
Nathaniel stood in front of a large monitor. The photo Evan just received appeared onscreen.
"Does she remember him?" he asked.
Cassandra smiled.
"She remembers the guilt. That's enough."
"But what's his name?" Nathaniel pressed.
"Project K," she said softly. "But he calls himself Kai now."
---
Flashback – 3 Years Ago, Phoenix Labs
Evan sat in a lab chair, unaware she was being injected with a second serum—this one not for Elio.
"This is for something later," Cassandra had whispered to a technician.
"A second subject. Just in case."
A backup plan in human form.
---
Back to Present – Safehouse
Evan paced her room, holding the image of Kai in shaking hands.
"There's another child," she whispered. "And he looks… like me."
Elio stirred awake from the next room.
"Mama?" he called out softly.
Evan rushed to him, slipping into his bed.
"Was it a nightmare?" he asked sleepily.
She brushed his hair back.
"No, baby. Just something I need to protect you from."
"Like monsters?"
She smiled faintly. "Exactly."
---
Luna Corp Headquarters – Crisis Room
Abel arrived before dawn, summoned by his board in panic.
"We're hemorrhaging stock value," one executive barked. "This child revelation—it's nuclear."
"And yet," Abel said coolly, "our customer base has tripled in traffic overnight. Every article links back to Luna Corp. People want to know what we're hiding."
One woman scoffed. "Are you suggesting we lean into it?"
Abel nodded once.
"Yes."
---
Later That Day – Private Garden
Evan waited for Abel near the roses she once helped plant as a teenager.
When he finally arrived, there was no coldness between them. Only a thick, unspoken tension.
"You lied to me," she said first.
"I know."
"You sent people to watch me. You used my trauma to get back at your enemies."
Abel's jaw tensed.
"And I tried to undo every second of it the moment I realized what I felt for you was real."
A silence.
Then Evan asked the question he hadn't expected.
"Do you want to know him? Elio?"
His voice cracked.
"More than anything."
---
Meanwhile – Across the City
Kai watched Evan's press conference on a tablet. His face unreadable.
A nurse stood beside him.
"Is she the one you've been drawing?"
He didn't answer.
But he reached for his mechanical rabbit and pressed a hidden button.
A soft click echoed from the device.
The eyes glowed red.
---
End Scene – Cassandra's Lab Vault
Cassandra walked down a metal hallway, Nathaniel at her side.
"Once Evan knows the truth, she'll fall apart."
Nathaniel shook his head.
"No. She'll come for us."
Cassandra smirked.
"That's the plan."
---
💥 End of Episode 23
> Coming in Episode 24:
Elio begins to show signs of a strange connection with Kai—from across the city.
Evan and Abel team up for the first time to track down Cassandra's secret files.
And Kai? He's about to escape. And the first person he wants to meet… is Evan.