---- Chapter 6 Outside the house, Madison's cries and shouts continued. Nicholas, feeling frustrated, started calling every number he could find for my college. Each call was answered quickly, but very few knew what program I had joined. Finally, a senior who shared my mentor, Kieran Brookes, picked up the phone. When he heard the reason behind the call, he simply said, "Oh, you mean Adeline Lewis? She really did join the program." A glimmer of hope flashed in Nicholas' eyes, and he couldn't help but ask, "Do you know where she went? We'd like to contact her." Kieran sighed deeply. "That's not possible as this is a classified government research program that can't be made public, and those who have joined have absolutely no contact with the outside world." He added, "Remember what happened to Adeline's mom? She was allowed to stay in touch with the outside world, and that's how those criminals found ---- her. She died along with them. The government won't risk another incident like that ever again." Nicholas' gaze went blank, frozen in place. He realized that I was truly gone, and even if he wanted to get me back, there was no way. Kieran called his name a few more times, but with no response, he eventually hung up. Brandon buried his face in his hands and started sobbing. None of them could accept the truth-that I wasn't coming back. "We really lost Adeline..." The research went very smoothly. What should have taken ten years to complete was finished in eight years. Under the watchful eyes of national leaders, we conducted an official test of the weapon we had developed. The leaders were greatly impressed and shook each of our hands one by one. "Thank you for your hard work. ---- My colleagues and I looked at each other, all with tears in our eyes. "It was our duty." Due to the classified nature of the work, there was no press conference. Instead, we were quietly granted three months of vacation time. I booked my flight early and planned to fly back to Stratminster to visit my parents' grave. Years ago, Mom had died in the line of duty, and now I was carrying on her legacy by continuing to develop this work. After getting off the plane, I raised my hand to hail a cab. Once I got in and closed the door, I casually gave the address of Mom's memorial grave. When I noticed the driver didn't respond, panic rose in my chest. But when I looked up, I found myself staring into familiar eyes-it was Nicholas. We hadn't seen each other for eight years. Even though we were only five years apart in age, he looked much older. Through the mirror, I looked radiant and ---- healthy, but his face was weighed down with sorrow. I felt awkward and instinctively tried to get out of the car when Nicholas stopped me. His voice trembled uncontrollably as he said, "Please don't go. I swear I wasn't following you. This really is just a coincidence. Adeline, it's been so long." He didn't seem to mean any harm, so! slowly sat back in my seat and gave a brief acknowledgment. However, I had no desire to catch up. Nicholas seemed to sense it and swallowed whatever he had planned to say. Over eight years, many things in my heart had long since settled into peace, and I no longer held any resentment toward them. Once we arrived at the cemetery, I got out of the car. As I closed the door behind me, I heard a cautious voice call out from nearby. "Adeline?"