Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 112

(Dennis's

POV)

The car hummed softly as the driver navigated the road toward the center. The inspection day was now inescapable, like it was literally that day. I stared out the window and watched as my reflection stared back at me in the glass a woman composed and unreadable. But inside? A shitty mess.

I tightened my grip on the leather bag in my lap. A part of me still couldn't believe I was doing this again. Stepping foot into the very place I swore I'd never return to. But Dr. Aurora's words from years ago echoed in my mind. "Freedom has a price, Dennis. Are you willing to pay it?"

The memory hit me like a fist to the stomach, dragging me back to a time when I wasn't in control-when my survival depended on my ability to comply, to nod and smile and accept the unimaginable.

•

(Flashback)

I was patient #271. At least, that's what the small tag on my wrist said. My real name didn't matter here.

The center was a maze of cold hallways and inaudible nightmares. Every corner held cameras, and every shadow held secrets. I didn't remember how I got here only that one day, I woke up strapped to a bed with lights glaring down at me and a woman in a white lab coat peering into my soul.

Her lab coat was too white...

Dr. Aurora.

Her smile was purely predatory. "Welcome, Dennis. You'll adjust soon enough."

Adjust. That was what they called it. The injections, the isolation, the endless psychological "evaluations." Adjusting meant breaking-breaking us down until there was nothing left but obedience.

But I wasn't like the others. I didn't adjust. I watched. I listened. I learned. And after months of playing their game, I saw my chance.

got so nervous and super eager. whenever she visited. That day, I overheard a conversation

but one had escaped during transport. The guards were panicking, and Aurora was furious. I realized then that even this

restricted area, stole a lab coat and blended in. The escape was full of adrenaline and desperation, but I made

•

freedom came with

to rebuild my life piece by piece. But she reminded me that no one truly

Here's the deal, Dennis. I let you live your pretty little life, and in return, you send me recruits. People who won't be missed." I'd hesitated, horror and shame clawing at my throat. But what choice did I have?

•

(Present Day)

It was a monolithic structure that seemed to swallow the horizon. My stomach grew more upset as the driver pulled

in my chest, heavier than I could bear. My stepson and my daughter. My

eyes dimming, of Hendrix's sharp wit dulled by the center's grip, made my knees weak. But what could

grip on me was as strong as it had ever been. And yet, as I walked through the gates,

it's time to stop running. Maybe it's time to fight

•

(Dr. Joe's POV)

always chaotic, but this

my bones. The staff moved like ants,

and obedient faces. At least, most of them. A select few-Angel, Hendrix, and their little band of misfits-were anything but. They thought they were

•

reports on my desk and scanned for inconsistencies. The patient logs. The medication

my thoughts. It was one of

"Yes?" I snapped.

the inspection," he said. "Dr.

him with a wave. As the door closed, I leaned back in my chair, trying to settle