The room became very quiet.
Not normal quiet.
The kind of quiet that happened right before something important broke.
Bianca stared at Ward.
Ward stared at the floor.
And that alone told her everything she needed to know.
Because people only avoided eye contact when they were about to say something painful.
Or when they’d been caught.
Usually both.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Ward sighed.
The sound carried years of exhaustion.
“Bianca—”
“No.”
She held up a hand.
“No speeches.”
Another finger.
“No ‘it’s complicated.'”
A third finger.
“And absolutely no ‘we were waiting for the right time.'”
Ward remained silent.
Which was a terrible sign.
Because that was exactly what someone said when they were waiting for the right time.
Bianca laughed once.
A sharp sound.
“Oh wow. It WAS the right time excuse.”
Maya wisely took two steps away.
Survival instincts.
Good for her.
Evelyn Voss watched the exchange quietly from beside the window.
Looking entirely too calm.
Bianca had officially decided the woman was dangerous.
Anyone that relaxed around this much tension had seen far worse.
Ward finally looked up.
His expression was serious.
“Your mother wasn’t random.”
The words hit harder than Bianca expected.
Not because they were shocking.
Because deep down— she’d already suspected it.
Ever since finding the photograph.
Ever since remembering the warnings.
Ever since realizing her mother had spent half her life looking over her shoulder.
Bianca swallowed.
“What does that mean?”
Ward exchanged a glance with Evelyn.
The old woman gave a small nod.
Permission.
Or approval.
Neither option made Bianca happy.
Ward took a breath.
Then spoke.
“Your mother worked for Horizon.”
Silence.
Snow continued falling outside.
The mountain wind rattled softly against the glass.
Bianca simply stared.
“…what?”
“Horizon.”
Ward nodded.
“Years ago.”
The words felt unreal.
Wrong.
Her mother?
The woman who forgot birthdays sometimes?
The woman who couldn’t keep plants alive?
The woman who burned toast so often it became a family joke?
That woman?
Working for a secret organization?
No.
Impossible.
Then again— a month ago Bianca would’ve called dimensional fractures impossible.
Her standards had changed.
Unfortunately.
Ward continued.
“She wasn’t an agent.”
“Then what was she?”
“A researcher.”
Bianca froze.
Something clicked.
A memory.
Small.
Insignificant.
Until now.
Stacks of books.
Her mother working late.
Notes scattered across tables.
Complex diagrams Bianca never understood.
Her stomach tightened.
“No way.”
Way.
Apparently.
Evelyn finally spoke.
“She was one of our brightest minds.”
That got Bianca’s attention.
Because Evelyn didn’t sound proud.
She sounded regretful.
And regret was much scarier.
“What happened?” Bianca asked quietly.
No jokes this time.
No sarcasm.
Just a question.
Evelyn looked toward the storm outside.
Like she could see something hidden within it.
“She discovered something.”
Bianca immediately hated that answer.
Not because it was cryptic.
Because it sounded important.
And important discoveries never ended well in stories like this.
“What?”
The old woman remained silent for several seconds.
Then:
“A pattern.”
Bianca groaned.
“That is not a real answer.”
Maya nodded.
“I agree.”
Ward looked mildly surprised.
Maya seemed proud of herself.
Honestly?
Fair.
Evelyn sighed softly.
“The fractures.”
That got everyone’s attention.
Including Bianca’s.
“The same fractures you’ve seen.”
The old woman turned toward her.
“Years ago, your mother discovered they weren’t random.”
The hallway suddenly felt colder.
Bianca crossed her arms unconsciously.
“What does that mean?”
“It means they were increasing.”
The smile disappeared completely from Evelyn’s face.
“Slowly.”
“Consistently.”
“Every year.”
Bianca felt her stomach drop.
Because that sounded bad.
Really bad.
And Evelyn clearly agreed.
“Something was weakening the barrier between worlds.”
Nobody spoke.
Even Maya looked unsettled now.
Ward finally continued.
“Your mother believed something was coming.”
The words echoed in Bianca’s head.
Something was coming.
Not might.
Not could.
Was.
Past tense.
Certain.
Planned.
Real.
The memory of the giant eye flashed through her mind.
Watching.
Waiting.
The whispering.
The cracks.
Subject Twelve.
The Void.
Suddenly none of it felt disconnected anymore.
The pieces were starting to fit.
And Bianca wasn’t sure she liked the picture.
“She tried to warn people.”
Evelyn’s voice had grown quieter.
“SOME people listened.”
The way she said it made Bianca immediately suspicious.
“Some?”
Ward looked away.
Ah.
There it was.
The part nobody liked.
“Others didn’t.”
“Let me guess.”
Bianca folded her arms. New chapters come out on g.com first.
“They thought she was crazy.”
Nobody answered.
Which was answer enough.
A bitter laugh escaped her.
Of course.
That sounded familiar.
Her mother had spent years being called paranoid.
Obsessive.
Unstable.
Bianca herself had said those things.
The guilt hit unexpectedly.
Sharp.
Painful.
The last argument returned immediately.
The tears.
The shouting.
The slammed door.
If they ever find you first…
run.
She hadn’t understood.
Not then.
Now?
Now it sounded terrifying.
Ward’s expression softened slightly.
“You didn’t know.”
Bianca looked away.
“Still said it.”
Nobody argued.
Because nobody could.
The truth was annoying like that.
A sudden notification appeared.
> [ Quest Updated ]
Discover The Truth About Horizon
Progress: 31%
Bianca blinked.
Then pointed at the floating screen.
“Thirty-one percent?”
Ward frowned.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
Thirty-one percent.
Meaning most of the truth was still hidden.
Wonderful.
Absolutely wonderful.
Because apparently every answer just created five more questions.
Then Evelyn said something that made the room freeze.
“Your mother didn’t disappear.”
Silence.
Bianca’s heart skipped a beat.
“What?”
The old woman looked directly at her.
Every word clear.
Careful.
Deliberate.
“Your mother was taken.”
The world stopped.
Just for a second.
Bianca heard the wind.
The distant hum of facility generators.
Her own heartbeat.
Nothing else.
Taken.
Not dead.
Not missing.
Taken.
By who?
Why?
How?
A thousand questions exploded through her mind.
Ward looked grim.
Like he’d hoped this part wouldn’t happen yet.
Too bad.
It already had.
Bianca’s voice came out barely above a whisper.
“Who took her?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Which meant the answer was bad.
Very bad.
Then Evelyn slowly looked toward the storm beyond the mountain.
Toward the endless white horizon.
And for the first time since meeting her—
Bianca saw genuine fear in the old woman’s eyes.
“That’s the problem,” Evelyn said quietly.
“We don’t know.”
And somehow— that answer was far more frightening than any name could have been.
End of Chapter 17 guy’s I’ll not be able to post new chaos due to exam’s.