FAR GONE

Chapter 23

My jaw tightened as I lifted the photo again, staring at it like it could give me an answer.

“What the hell do you mean by that, Jessica?” I demanded, my voice low, dangerous.

Jessica tilted her head, lips curving in that smug smile of hers. “I mean exactly what I said. Do you remember Milton Carroway’s lab?”

The name alone made my stomach knot.

She went on, her tone sharp. “He isn’t just some respected doctor. He’s experimenting—performing surgeries on people with the psychopathic gene. Cutting into their skulls, replacing their brains with ‘original’ ones. Clean brains, he calls them. But…” She leaned closer, her voice a whisper like a blade. “There’s a high chance your son wasn’t given a clean brain. Milton could have replaced his with another brain—one belonging to a psychopath.”

The world spun around me. My fists clenched, veins screaming with rage.

Jessica stepped back, eyes gleaming. “If you don’t believe me, Kael, find your son’s homeroom teacher. Confirm the changes in him. That teacher saw everything—the way he acted before… and after. Milton is far more dangerous than you’ve let yourself believe.”

I felt my throat burn, words cutting out like sparks. “Then after tomorrow night, it ends.”

She blinked, curious. “What do you mean?”

I stared out at the empty street, my voice heavy with resolve. “Tomorrow, I’ll finally get inside the Elite Society. Once I’m in, I can wipe away the horror my name carries. No one will see me as the criminal they whisper about. And with their resources, I’ll be able to go head-to-head with Milton Carroway himself.”

Jessica gave a soft, mocking laugh, but her eyes flickered with something else—caution, maybe even fear. “I’ll really hope so, Kael. Because if you fail…” She let the sentence hang, sharp and cruel.

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of a reply. I shoved the photo into my jacket, turned, and walked away. Every step felt heavier, but my resolve had never been clearer.

Tomorrow night would decide everything.

I dragged my feet toward the dorm, the weight of the day pressing down on my shoulders like chains. My head pounded with everything that had happened, and for a brief moment I couldn’t even recall where Mia was. Then it struck me—she wasn’t at home.

Normally, her absence wouldn’t gnaw at me this much. I’d always been the type to keep my distance, to bury myself in work and power plays rather than the fragile warmth she tried to offer. But tonight… tonight my mind kept circling back to her. Why couldn’t I shake her face out of my head? Her tears. Her trembling voice. Her pain.

I exhaled sharply . I needed air. Needed silence. Needed to cool my head before I lost it completely.

That was when I noticed a faint glow cutting through the corridor darkness. Light. Coming from the company’s main office. My eyes narrowed. At this hour? Only one person would dare linger here.

Darren.

I pushed the door open, slow but steady, and the hinges gave a tired creak.

“Darren…” my voice cut through the quiet.

He jerked in his seat, like a thief caught red-handed. My gaze caught the quick motion of his hands—sliding a folder, no, a document, under a stack of papers. Too quick. Too deliberate. I didn’t see what it was, but the way he moved… he didn’t want me seeing it.

He looked up, forced calm plastered on his face. “Kael.”

I stepped further in, my eyes never leaving his. “What are you doing here this late?”

He smoothed down his sleeves, leaning back in his chair, but I noticed the tension in his jaw. He was careful—too careful. “I was just… checking on a few things. And about to check on you.”

I tilted my head, suspicion gnawing at me. “Check on me?"

His eyes flickered but he didn’t answer. He only adjusted the pile on his desk, making sure the hidden paper was completely out of view.

I crossed my arms over my chest, my voice low and sharp. “You’ve heard, haven’t you? About what my son did.”

His face stilled. “Kael—”

“He killed someone, Darren.”

Darren’s eyes widened like I’d just detonated a bomb right in his office. He stared at me, frozen, his lips parting but no words coming out at first. Then he finally spoke, voice low, strained with disbelief.

“That’s absurd,” he muttered, shaking his head hard. “How on earth could a weak boy like him possibly kill someone? No… something’s wrong somewhere.”

I studied him closely, but there wasn’t a shred of mockery in his voice—he was genuinely rattled. He pressed a hand to his mouth, still shaking his head.

“Where is the boy presently?” he asked, almost like he couldn’t believe he was even asking it.

“With Special Force,” I answered flatly.

The words seemed to hang heavy between us, heavier than anything else I’d said tonight. Darren leaned back in his chair, his knuckles pressing into the desk. His brows furrowed so deep it was like he was staring into some void. Then, all at once, he let out a breath and forced a tight smile.

“Kael,” he said, standing, “we should go out for a drink.”

At first, I wanted to refuse. My chest was still burning with questions, my head still screaming with Mia’s voice, the police, that woman’s grief—but what good would staying here do? My thoughts were clawing at my skull, and maybe, just maybe, a drink could quiet them for a moment.

I didn’t argue. I just nodded, the weight in me too heavy to resist.

Not long after, we were walking side by side under the dim glow of the streetlamps. The city buzzed faintly in the distance, but I barely heard it. My mind kept circling back to my boy—my son—and the impossible accusation tied to his name.

The bar wasn’t far. Warm lights spilled through the windows, and the muffled hum of conversation and clinking glasses met us at the door. Darren led us inside, and soon enough we were seated in a quiet corner, two glasses set before us.

The amber liquid swirled under the low light as Darren poured for both of us. His hands were steady, practiced, as though this wasn’t his first time drowning demons in a bottle.

As he tipped the glass toward mine, he said, “Do you still remember the day your father brought me home?”

I gave a dry chuckle, lifting my glass. “Yes. I remember. How could I forget? You looked so weird and funny that night. Like a stray cat my father decided to drag in.”

A faint smirk tugged at my lips, but it didn’t reach my eyes.

Darren didn’t laugh. He just studied me across the rim of his glass, his expression unreadable. He set his drink down carefully. “Do you know what I first felt when I saw you that night?”

I paused, my glass halfway to my lips. My eyes narrowed at him. “What?”

Darren swirled the drink in his glass, his gaze fixed on the amber liquid like it held all the answers he couldn’t voice. Then he lifted his eyes to me, and there was something raw in them—something he rarely showed.

“Your father’s love for you,” he said quietly, “it always surprised me. A man like him, carrying the weight of the family, carrying you, despite everything… I envied it. Still do. I dreamed of making sure you never lacked anything, Kael. That was the promise I made to him before he passed. To guide you, always.”

He leaned forward, the tension in his jaw showing. “I’m using this moment to beg you… leave this country. Please. I regret that I can’t do anything else for you right now, but I swear, the best thing you can do for yourself, for your family, is to walk away from this cursed land.”

For a moment, his words almost cut through me. Almost. But I set my glass down and shook my head.

“I hear you, Darren. I do,” I said firmly. “But just like I told you yesterday… I can’t leave. Not now.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but I pressed on.

“There are too many things I can’t just let go of. My comrades who died… I can’t just let their deaths be in vain. I promised their families I’d avenge them. And Malik Radwan—” my voice tightened with heat, “—I’m the only one who knows what that man really is. I have to find him. Him and Dr. Milton. People don’t know the kind of monster Milton truly is. And I can’t stop until I uncover the mask he hides behind.”

I leaned back, staring at the ceiling for a beat, then lowered my voice. “Only after that… only after I finish this… can I have the peace I’ve been longing for.”

“Kael—” Darren began, calling my name softly.

I cut in, my tone sharper than I intended. “Tomorrow night is your father-in-law’s birthday party. That’s when Seraphina will sign the contract. After that, you’ll finally be accepted permanently by him, and you’ll enter the Elite Society.”

His lips pressed together, listening.

I reached across the table and gripped his arm. “Once you’re inside that circle, brother… that’s when I’ll need your help the most.”

He frowned. “Help with what?”

“You’ll know,” I said, loosening my grip, “when the time is right.”

We sat there in silence for a moment, the weight of it hanging between us before the alcohol dulled the edges. We raised our glasses again, and for the first time that night, the burn in my throat felt almost grounding.

Then I looked at him over the rim of my glass. “By the way… earlier. That document you were checking. What was it?”

Darren blinked, then gave a small, almost careless chuckle. “Oh, that one? It was nothing.”

He waved it off quickly, like he couldn’t wait to change the subject.

I didn’t press further. Not tonight.

We drank in silence, the kind of silence that only brothers can share—half comfort, half storm brewing beneath the surface.

By the time I reached the dorm, the night had already stolen every ounce of strength from me. I let my body fall onto the bed, not even bothering to undress. The mattress groaned beneath my weight, and for a long moment I just stared at the ceiling, letting all of it—the chaos, the secrets, the weight of my son—settle over me like a storm I couldn’t crawl out of.

My chest felt heavy. My mind replayed everything in pieces—the president’s words, Darren’s warning, Jessica’s insinuations, Mia’s broken sobs. They swirled around, cutting through my veins like poison.

Eventually, exhaustion did what resolve couldn’t. My eyes drifted shut, and I let sleep take me.

---

The following day came fast, almost too fast. I had barely opened my eyes when I was already pulling myself into the suit Darren had insisted I wear. I buttoned the jacket, tightened the tie, but my mind wasn’t on appearances—it was on the party ahead, on Seraphina’s contract, on the doors that would open into the Elite Society.

When I finally stepped outside, adjusting my cuffs against the morning chill, I froze.

Mia was there.

She stood by the car, already dressed. A flowing deep-blue gown clung to her figure, the silk catching the early sunlight like it had been stitched from the sky itself. Her hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and for the first time in a long time, she looked… radiant. Beautiful, in a way that caught me off guard, enough to make my chest tighten.

I frowned, my voice rough. “Mia… what are you doing?”

She turned, her eyes calm, lips curving into a faint smile. “Of course, I’m following you to the party.”

I stepped closer, my worry sharpening as I studied her face. “Are you totally okay? When were you even released from the hospital?”

Her smile softened, though there was a stubbornness behind it. “I’m fine, Kael. Completely fine. I wouldn’t be here otherwise. I can go to the party now.”

I studied her, searching for cracks in her words, for signs of weakness she might be hiding. But she stood tall, her chin lifted, as if daring me to tell her otherwise.

And for reasons I couldn’t understand, I couldn’t bring myself to.