"There, you're all good to go. I want you back here in two weeks though, to make sure your ribs are healing okay. And remember, you have a concussion, a minor one but still a concussion. Take it easy and if you are having bad headaches come in to see me straight away. I'll prescribe some pain medication and then you're free to go," the doctor said.

He left the room to fill out the paperwork, leaving the four of us in the empty room. Kyran was sitting on the table, pulling his shirt back over his head carefully. The doctor had confirmed he had one broken rib, the rest just bruised. He had wrapped them tightly.

"Your ribs feel better now, don't they?"

Kyran frowned at me but nodded, knowing I was right to have him see a doctor. I just smiled happily, tugging at the sleeves of my sweater. A few minutes later the doctor came in and handed me a packet of paper before telling us we could leave when we like.

"Alright, are we ready to go?" Ty asked.

"I think so."

"Okay then, let's go make sure that crazy lady is locked up."

~~~

The police station wasn't as scary as I had pictured. It wasn't all gray or dark. In fact, it was the opposite. A woman sat at the front desk, smiling from ear to ear. There were a few wooden benches and chairs set up for people to wait.

When the woman seen us, her smile grew wider. "How may I help y'all?" She chirped.

"I'm Rebecca, and this is Hannah, Ty, and Anton. We're here to see Bert and Natalie Belford. We also are here to speak with someone about the investigation on our case."

The woman nodded and typed a few things into the computer. She asked to see our identification, which we gave to her. When she was finished she held her arm out towards a doorway.We followed her gesture and walked through, the lady trailing behind us.

"Alright Officer Hunter and Officer Nolan will be with you in just a moment. This is the room you'll be talking to them in, so go ahead and make yourself comfortable."

The room was plain, with white walls a circular wooden table and eight chairs. We all took a seat and waited for the officers, who came in about fifteen minutes later. Ty muttered a 'finally' under his breath which lead me to jabbing him in the side with my elbow.

"Sorry about the wait," one of the officers said. He was short and round, with a shiny bald head and tiny brown eyes. The other officer was a woman with her brown hair pulled up into a tight bun. She smiled apologetically, taking a seat across from me.

"Okay, we've got a lot to cover, but I'll start out by saying that Officer Hunter and I are of course, promising to keep this as private and confidential as possible," the man said.

"Thank you officer," Hannah said.

He simply nodded and said, "Let's get started."

~~~

"I know you all have been through a lot these past few months, but we can assure you that you're never going to have to deal with Natalie again. And, we will do everything we can to find Anton. I've been informed that you'd like to visit with the Belford's, correct?"

"Yes we would."

"Okay follow me."

Officer Hunter stood up and headed down the hall, through two gray doors that led to a room filled with several booths. Natalie was sitting on one end of the room while Bert was sitting at the other, both behind the large glass window.

"You each get to visit them one at a time. You have fifteen minutes with both of them," Hunter said before stepping out.

Kyran turned toward me. "Who wants to visit who first?" He asked.

"How about Rebecca and Ty go first," Hannah suggested.

We agreed and Ty decided to talk to Natalie first so I stumbled over to Bert and took the seat across from him. When I looked through the glass I noticed the dark bags beneath Bert's eyes, but he was still grinning at me. He pointed at the phones and I nodded to tell him I understood. I picked it up and raised it to my ear.

"Hey, how are you doing?"

"I'm good. I can't say I'm a fan of this place, or these handcuffs, but I'm good."

"That's good to hear. Um, so, what's going to happen now?"

"Well, my sister is mentally unstable, so I'm not sure what's going to happen to her. But, you don't need to worry about that," Bert answered.

"No Bert. That's not what I meant. What's going to happen to you and us?"

He sighed and ran a hand over his face. "I don't know what's going to happen to me. I do know that you are going to go back to living your normal lives."

I laughed, shaking my head at him. "You don't get it Bert. Our lives are never going to be normal. They are never going to be like they were before, and I'm not sure I want them to be. We've grown as people through this. Everything is different now."

"We told the police about our adoptive parents, and Jack is going to be arrested for sure. None of us know where our lives are going from here, and we certainly don't want you to be locked up in here the rest of yours either," I said.

"Rebecca I broke the law. I committed a crime. I ruined your life and I deserve to be in here."

"So you regret what you did?" I asked.

Bert looked caught off guard, his mouth opening but then closing. He shifted in his chair and squinted. "I don't regret my research and discovery, but I regret so many of my choices. I regret the way I did things. I regret leaving behind my sister and taking advantage of you and Ty."

"Listen Bert, I'm not going to say what you did was right in any way, because it wasn't. But I want you to know that I don't hold it against you. Sure, you could have gone about things differently but you were following your dream. You made some mistakes, but everyone does."

"I know Rebecca and that means a lot to me, but some mistakes are bigger than others, and some are unforgivable. I'm okay with whatever is in my future," Bert replied.

Someone tapped my shoulder and I looked up to see Ty waiting to switch. I sighed and said my goodbye to Bert before sliding out of the seat. I crossed the room and sat down across from Natalie. For a moment, I just looked at her but when she snapped and picked up her phone I did the same.

"Why do you even want to talk to me?" She spat.

I didn't bother to respond to her question and instead asked my own. "You've been through a lot in your life haven't you?" Natalie looked at me, eyes wide in shock. Slowly, she nodded.

"If you wanted to be a part of the experiment then why didn't you just ask Bert. Why didn't you accept his help and then go back to your research with him and Whitney?"

Natalie sighed tiredly, placing her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her palm. "Betrayal hurts, and that hurt doesn't just go away. It hurt to think about them. It hurt to think about their betrayal."

I nodded in understanding. "I get that, but it wasn't really Bert or Whitney who betrayed you. Anton's father betrayed you when he left, but Bert and Whitney were trying to help do what was best for you."

"Whitney betrayed me when she married the love of my life and stole my research. Bert betrayed me when he sided with her and again when he married Whitney. And when Anton's father left me, they wanted get rid of me. Everyone I've ever known has betrayed me."

I sighed again, for what seemed like the hundredth time today. "Trust me Whitney, I know what betrayal feels like. I know how much it can hurt, but the way you handled it got you here. If you're not going to—"

"How were you betrayed? Did your seventh grade boyfriend cheat on you? You poor baby," Natalie growled sarcastically. I felt my blood boiling inside me, raising higher in temperature with every word that left Natalie's mouth.

"My mother died because of me. She died and I never knew her. And do you know what my dad did after that? He left. He just disappeared. You aren't the only one who's had hard times. You are not the only one who has been left. So do not tell me I can't understand, and do not tell me I don't know what it feels like."

Natalie looked back at me, mouth open and eyes wide. She blinked a few times and licked her lips. She lowered her head and whispered something so soft that a normal person wouldn't have been able to hear it. But I'm not a normal person.

"Your mother isn't dead."