Daddy [Mommy Sequel]

Chapter 52: Betrayed

"Shit."

As soon as he said the word, he stuttered, looking back to his daughter that was sitting on the bed. He shook his head, covering his mouth.

"Shoot. I meant shoot. That's a bad word—don't repeat that."

Alex faced me once again, fumbling with his hands. That's when I knew something was wrong.

"The Master discussed a plan with the servants once, if anyone—particularly you tried to escape. The chip doesn't only have the ability to read if you violate a regulation, it can also control you as well—brainwash you with certain codes."

"Excuse me?" I asked, and Alex continued, seeming rather anxious and sick.

"'If section or group of students gather together to plan the retreat of the facility, actions shall be enforced. The fellow body of children shall not only witness their execution, but be the cause of it.' Basically, if we don't remove these chips that are implanted in us, the Master is going to download data that with cause us to kill each other—or other students to track us down and kill us to prevent our escape. He's smart, and it's a code he made...a code—"

Everyone went silent.

"Except you Harper. Don't worry, I don't think he will have you killed."

The room flooded in a string of chaos as they understood what Alex said. Charlotte began to cry, and Ace and Alayah were simultaneously screaming, scratching at the back of their neck with panicked motions.

Kai and I looked at each other, our eyes wide in horror. Rosabeth thought it was a game, and she laughed at Ace's and Alayah's panicked screams.

"Wait, really?!" Kai asked, and Alex looked as though he was about to break down.

"Yes, really? Now would be an awful time to make jokes!"

At that moment, I remembered the scalpel I hid under my pillow. Of course, they washed the sheets daily—and every time they did so, I would manage to hide the scalpel in a different space until they changed out the sheets once again. I didn't know why I bothered keeping it, but I was glad I did.

I ran over to my bed and threw the pillow to the side, revealing the scalpel. I pulled it up to reveal it to Alex, and Kai gasped when he saw it.

"You still have that?!"

I nodded.

"Yeah—and I have the map covered too. If the data chip is the problem, all we need to do is get rid of it."

Alex quickly took the scalpel from me, smiling with relief. He didn't hesitate to carefully and strategically push the point into the back of his neck, hoping it would work with the time limit. He winced, hissing in pain.

I watched in relief and joy as metallic liquid left the small wound, followed by blood. The liquid data chip was leaking out.

We had to get rid of the chip.

He removed Rosabeth's next, profusely apologizing to the girl as she whimpered and cried, trying to pull away from the man. Alayah had to hold her down, keeping her in place.

Next it was Alayah, then Ace. Oliver volunteered to go before Charlotte. Then it was Charlotte, Kai, and finally me.

Eventually, Natalia was left.

Alex approached the girl, all of the other children tying their strips of fabric around their neck to stop the bleeding for the time being. Natalia looked up at him, guilt and horror on her face.