The silence inside the car was suffocating as Theo drove, his knuckles tight on the wheel. Liam sat in the back seat, shifting uneasily, while I stared out the window, my mind racing. My father’s words echoed in my head, cruel and unrelenting: “You were a vital part of that.” The betrayal stung worse than I ever imagined. My own father had taken pieces of my life—of my mind—and twisted them to fit some grand experiment.

It wasn’t enough for him to explain it away as protecting me. He’d lied to me for years, let me believe I was living my life on my terms. And now, knowing how deeply Chronos Labs had rooted itself in my existence, I wanted to rip it all apart.

When Theo finally pulled into a secluded lot by the park, he shut off the engine but didn’t move. Liam coughed awkwardly, breaking the tension.

“So…what now?” Liam asked.

I turned to face them, my jaw tight. “We destroy Chronos Labs.”

Theo’s gaze snapped to mine, his eyes wide. “Elara, that’s not a small task. This isn’t like smashing a laptop or unplugging a server. Chronos Labs is—”

“Massive,” I interrupted. “I know. But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.”

Liam leaned forward, resting his arms on the back of the passenger seat. “She’s right. Chronos is big, but every system has weak points. If we can find theirs, we can take it down.”

I could see Theo’s reluctance, but he nodded, his expression grim. “Okay. Where do we start?”

---

Back at Theo’s place, we spread out on the floor of his small living room, papers and notebooks scattered between us. Liam produced a flash drive from his pocket, which he claimed contained information he’d been gathering on Chronos Labs before his supposed “accident.”

“It’s not much,” Liam admitted as Theo plugged it into his laptop. “But it’s enough to give us a starting point.”

The screen filled with files—schematics, emails, and what looked like logs of experiments. My stomach churned as I skimmed through the notes, my name cropping up again and again. Each mention felt like a blow, a reminder of how deeply my father and Chronos had invaded my life.

“Here,” Theo said, pointing to a map on the screen. “This looks like the main facility. It’s on the outskirts of town, in that industrial park near the river.”

“That’s where the servers are,” Liam added. “If we take them offline, we’ll cripple their entire operation. But getting inside won’t be easy. They’ve got security out the ass—cameras, guards, the works.”

Theo frowned, leaning back against the couch. “And you just happened to have all this information lying around?”

Liam shot him a glare. “I told you, I was trying to protect Elara. I didn’t trust Chronos, so I started keeping records of everything I could find.”

“Okay, fine,” Theo said, holding up a hand. “But it’s not just about breaking in. We need to make sure this is permanent. Otherwise, they’ll rebuild and come after us.”

He was right. If we were going to do this, we couldn’t leave any loose ends.

“Then we burn it all down,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “Servers, backups, everything. We don’t stop until Chronos Labs is nothing but ashes.”

---

Over the next few days, we worked tirelessly to come up with a plan. Theo and Liam scouted the facility, taking note of the guard rotations and camera placements. Meanwhile, I dug through my father’s files, searching for anything that could give us an edge.

It was late one night when I found it—a blueprint of the facility, tucked away in a folder labeled “Contingency Plans.” It detailed the layout of the building, including emergency exits and a sublevel that wasn’t marked on any of the other maps.

I showed it to Theo and Liam the next morning. “This has to be where they keep the core servers,” I said, pointing to the sublevel. “If we can get down there, we can destroy everything.”

Liam nodded, his jaw set. “And if we take out the security systems on the way, we’ll have a clean shot at getting out without being caught.”

Theo looked less convinced. “This all sounds good on paper, but what if something goes wrong? What if your dad knows we’re coming?”

My chest tightened at the thought. My father knew me too well—he’d anticipate my moves, maybe even set a trap. But the alternative was doing nothing, and I couldn’t live with that.

“We’ll have to take that risk,” I said firmly. “This is the only way.”

---

The night of the plan, the three of us piled into Theo’s car, the tension between us palpable. Theo drove, his hands gripping the wheel tightly, while Liam sat in the back, checking over the equipment we’d cobbled together—a laptop to hack the security system, a set of bolt cutters, and a duffel bag filled with anything we thought might be useful.

I stared out the window, my mind racing. Part of me wanted to turn back, to pretend none of this was happening. But the other part—the part that had been betrayed, manipulated, and lied to—refused to back down.

When we arrived at the facility, Theo parked in a shadowed spot near the edge of the lot. The building loomed in the darkness, its stark exterior bathed in the glow of floodlights. Guards patrolled the perimeter, their movements methodical and precise.

Liam checked his watch. “Cameras reset every ninety seconds. That’s our window to get inside.”

Theo nodded, pulling on a black hoodie. “Let’s make it count.”

We moved quickly, sticking to the shadows as we approached the fence. Liam clipped the wires with practiced ease, and we slipped through the opening one by one. My heart pounded in my chest as we crossed the open lot, every sound magnified in the stillness of the night.

At the building’s side entrance, Theo connected the laptop to the security panel, his fingers flying over the keys.

“Come on, come on…” he muttered under his breath.

After what felt like an eternity, the lock clicked open. Theo gave a small nod, and we slipped inside.

The facility was eerily quiet, the hum of machinery the only sound as we navigated the sterile hallways. Liam led the way, his movements confident despite the tension radiating off him.

When we reached the server room, my breath caught. Rows upon rows of machines blinked and whirred, their screens glowing faintly in the darkness. This was it—the heart of Chronos Labs.

Liam went to work, connecting his laptop to the main console. “Once I start the wipe, we’ll have about five minutes before the backup kicks in. After that, it’s game over.”

“Then let’s not waste time,” I said, grabbing the duffel bag.

As Liam initiated the wipe, Theo and I set to work planting the explosives we’d brought—a last-minute addition to our plan, courtesy of Liam’s resourcefulness. Every second felt like an eternity, the tension in the room thick enough to choke on.

When the last charge was set, Liam disconnected his laptop, his face grim. “It’s done. Let’s move.”

We were halfway to the exit when the alarms started blaring.

---

Can y'all ☆, and comment your opinions on my book please? I'm nearly 16 and I don't mind criticism <3