Phantom Rider - The Reckoning | Book 2

#32 | Daddy, Mommy

Mila's POV

Bill walked in first. His broad frame filled the doorway, his sharp silhouette cutting against the cold light of the facility. We followed closely. As he pushed the doors open, a scream pierced the stillness - Taylor's scream.

She ran toward us like a mother possessed, her hands trembling as she reached for her child. Bill slowly released the girl. Taylor clutched her daughter, her sobs muffled against the small chest. Tom was at her side instantly, the family folding into a desperate, tearful embrace.

I lingered at the door, watching. The scene unfolded. Something tightened in my chest - a sharp, unbearable pang. I knew that pain, the hollow ache of a mother without a child. But for me, it was worse. I'd never even had the chance to hold mine.

Tears blurred my vision as I watched Tom and Taylor weep together, their child safe in their arms. For a moment, I thought I might find solace in their happiness. But then Taylor turned to Bill.

She fell into his arms, her body trembling. "Thank you, Bill," she whispered against his neck, her voice breaking. "Without you, we'd never have been saved."

She clung to him, weeping, and he held her with a tenderness I hadn't seen in a long time. A part of me shattered as I stood there, invisible. Unwanted.

The room blurred, and the walls seemed to close in. They were all consumed in their emotions—family, love, relief. What about me? My father had thrown me into this hell. My mother was gone. Bill... Bill was holding someone else.

I stepped backward, my feet moving instinctively. No one noticed as I slipped through the door.

The tunnel stretched before me, endless and dim, the flickering fluorescent lights above buzzing faintly. The cries of children reached my ears, muffled at first, then sharper, more distinct.

"Help us!"

A small hand slammed against the glass window of a sealed door. Then another. And another. Tiny fists pounded as desperate faces appeared behind every panel. My heart twisted, their cries igniting something deep inside me.

I couldn't leave. Not without trying.

My legs carried me down the hall. The air grew heavier and electric, the flickering lights pulsing in time with my racing heartbeat. I kicked at the first door, then another, pulling and slamming, but the metal wouldn't budge.

The cries grew louder, filling my ears like a cacophony of anguish. My vision tunneled as memories surged forward, unbidden.

A child's voice. My voice.

"Daddy, don't leave me here!"

The cold metal doors slammed shut. Needles pierced my skin. Straps around my arms and legs pulled tight.

I stumbled back, my head spinning. The walls around me shifted, their surface cold and damp beneath my fingertips. I saw her then - Sasha, cowering in the corner of her cell. She stared at me, wide-eyed, banging on the glass.

"Nastja! Please!" she screamed. Her voice cut through me.

I kicked at the door with all my strength, desperation fueling me. But it wouldn't give. The glass reflected my face - no, not my face. A child stared back at me, her eyes wild with fear.

"Mom? Dad?" words slipped out of my lips.

I was there again. A little girl holding her father's hand as he led her into the facility. "This is where I work," he said, smiling. "You'll love it here." I walked excitedly, he had told me before this was a school for gifted kids. I couldn't wait to play with them.