Liam kept staring at the black screen, long after the video had ended. The room felt unnaturally quiet now, the kind of silence that screamed with buried truths. His father's words echoed in his mind: You may already have abilities...
He clenched his jaw. So that was it? Was he just an experiment? A product of one of those horrifying procedures carried out in the bloodstained depths of this hidden lab? The thought twisted something deep inside him. The System, the enhancements—did they all come from here? From his father? From this place reeking of secrets and suffering?1
Lana must have seen the conflict etched on his face, the haunted look in his eyes, because she stepped forward and said softly, "Maybe he didn't tell you everything. Maybe there's something more to all of this."
But Liam didn't answer. His body moved on its own as he walked toward the object covered by a thick, dust-cloaked tarp in the center of the room. With a single motion, he pulled it off.
