Chapter 40: The Bite

Gwen POV.

I woke up with a heavy feeling in my chest, and the events of last night came rushing back the moment I opened my eyes.

Mom’s words echoed in my mind, making me let out a quiet sigh.

I still didn’t know what Chris had done or why he had done it.

Maybe Mom was right.

Maybe she wasn’t.

But I couldn’t keep judging him without hearing his side first.

I needed to know the truth before deciding anything.

Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to calm down.

Act like an adult, Gwen.

Whatever he had done…

whatever explanation he gave…

I would think about it only after hearing everything.

I climbed out of bed and opened my bedroom door.

As I started walking downstairs, another thought crossed my mind.

Maybe I should wake Mom first.

No matter what happened, I didn’t want last night’s conversation to damage our relationship.

She had always been there for me, especially after Dad died.

Even if I had to pretend everything was normal for now, I would do it—for her.

Changing direction, I walked toward her bedroom.

I reached the door and gently turned the handle.

The soft click of the lock echoed in the quiet hallway.

As the door slowly opened, my mind went completely blank.

Mom and Chris were lying on the bed, asleep in each other’s arms.

They looked…

peaceful.

Comfortable.

As though that was the most natural thing in the world.

Every decision I had made before opening that door vanished in an instant.

My chest burned, and it felt like an invisible hand had wrapped around my heart, squeezing it tighter with every passing second.

I couldn’t understand why it hurt so much.

I just stood there silently, staring at them before slowly closing the door without making a sound.

I returned to my room and sat on the edge of my bed, unable to think straight.

I kept reminding myself that I had no right to question either of them.

Chris and I weren’t in a relationship.

We never had been.

At most, we were close friends.

So why did it feel like something inside me had just shattered?

I stayed in my room for nearly an hour before I finally heard movement downstairs.

A few moments later, Mom’s voice echoed through the house.

“Gwen! Wake up! Breakfast!”

I closed my eyes for a moment, forcing my emotions back under control before heading downstairs.

By the time I reached the dining room, both of them were already sitting there.

Chris looked exactly the same as always, calm and composed, while Mom avoided looking directly at me.

As I walked closer, I suddenly stopped.

I frowned slightly and sniffed the air.

“Why do you both smell the same?”

For a brief moment, the room became completely silent.

Chris answered before Mom could even react.

“I was exhausted last night. I got up to drink some water, ended up talking to Helen for a while, and eventually fell asleep in her room.”

Mom’s ears instantly turned bright red.

Chris, meanwhile, didn’t show the slightest change in his expression.

His face remained completely calm, as if he had simply stated an ordinary fact.

But after seeing Mom’s reaction, I just couldn’t bring myself to trust it.

As breakfast continued, I kept looking for an opening to ask Chris about what Mom had told me the night before.

The problem was that I had absolutely no idea how to bring it up.

I couldn’t just ask, “Hey, Chris, have you broken any laws recently?” That would sound insane.

Even if he didn’t think I had lost my mind, he’d definitely ask why I was suddenly asking something like that, and there was no way I was dragging Mom into it.

In the end, I stayed quiet, hoping the conversation would naturally give me an opportunity.

Instead, Chris looked at Mom and said, “I think Gwen should be homeschooled for a while.”

Both of us looked at him in surprise.

Mom frowned slightly before asking, “Is that really necessary?”

“I think it is,” Chris replied.

“After what happened yesterday, there’s a chance both of you could become targets because of business rivals. One of the board members was attacked yesterday. Until I know what’s happening, I’d rather not take unnecessary risks.”

Mom thought about it for a few seconds before nodding.

I didn’t object either.

In fact, a part of me welcomed the idea.

If I stayed home more often, maybe I’d finally find the chance to ask Chris everything that had been bothering me.

Unfortunately, that opportunity never came.

The following afternoon, I found Chris sitting in the living room watching the news.

The reporter was talking about Tony Stark’s visit to Afghanistan for another military weapons demonstration.

I honestly didn’t understand why Chris paid so much attention to Stark Industries.

Whenever there was news about them, he always seemed interested.

His phone suddenly rang.

I couldn’t hear the conversation, but I watched his expression gradually become colder.

By the time he ended the call, he looked genuinely angry.

Without wasting a second, he walked over to Mom.

“I need to go to Africa,” he said.

Mom looked surprised but not shocked.

“Africa?”

“There’s an urgent mining deal that requires my attention.”

She studied him for a moment before nodding.

“Alright. Just be careful.”

I quietly watched the exchange.

Neither of them explained anything, yet both of them acted as though they already understood what the other meant.

It wasn’t anything I could prove, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were hiding something from me.

Once Chris left the room, I turned toward Mom.

“Our school has a science field trip tomorrow. Can I go?”

A gentle smile appeared on her face.

“Of course. Go clear your mind. Spend some time with your friends. When you come back, if you still want to talk, we’ll talk.”

I nodded.

Maybe she was right.

Maybe I really did need a day away from everything.

The next morning, our class arrived at Pym Technologies.

The laboratory specialized in genetics, and today’s tour focused on how radiation and other environmental factors affected animal DNA.

As interesting as it sounded, I couldn’t ignore the strange feeling that settled over me the moment I stepped inside the building.

It wasn’t fear exactly.

It just felt as though something important was going to happen today.

We walked through several laboratories while researchers explained their experiments.

Some animals had obvious mutations, while others looked almost completely normal despite years of genetic research.

As we continued walking, my attention was drawn toward a small spider sitting quietly inside one of the display enclosures.

For some reason, it was staring directly at me.

It almost felt like it had chosen me.

Curious, I stepped closer.

The moment I reached the glass, the spider vanished.

I blinked several times, wondering if I had imagined it.

It had been sitting there only a second ago.

Confused, I immediately called over one of the nearby researchers, a young woman wearing an intern’s ID badge.

“Excuse me,” I said, pointing toward the enclosure.

“I think the spider disappeared.”

She looked at me with a puzzled expression before walking over.

At first, she seemed ready to tell me I had simply lost sight of it, but the moment she looked inside, her expression changed.

She quickly unlocked the fiberglass enclosure and began searching through the branches and rocks with growing urgency.

After checking every corner twice, she slowly straightened up and let out a long sigh, rubbing her forehead in frustration.

“Oh, no… this can’t be happening.”

She closed her eyes for a moment before muttering under her breath, “I’m going to lose my job.”

I blinked in confusion.

“What?”

She looked embarrassed for a second before forcing a small smile.

“Sorry. I’m just an intern. If one of the specimens goes missing during my shift, they’ll probably pin the whole thing on me.”

“Oh…”

Seeing how worried she looked, I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”

She gave me a grateful smile before unlocking the fiberglass enclosure and carefully searching inside.

After a few moments she still couldn’t find anything, so I leaned forward to help.

The instant my hand reached inside, I felt a sharp sting in my wrist.

I immediately pulled my hand back and instinctively closed it into a fist.

Looking down for only a split second, I caught sight of two tiny puncture marks before quickly hiding my hand behind my back.

The intern was still focused on searching the enclosure and didn’t seem to notice.

“So…” I said, trying to sound as casual as possible, “that spider isn’t dangerous, right?”

She looked up from the enclosure and shook her head.

“Not really. It’s a non-venomous species. The radiation only caused a few minor genetic changes. Nothing that should make it harmful.”

“What kind of genetic changes?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation going while discreetly rubbing my thumb over the bite marks.

She shrugged.

“We’re still sequencing its genome, so we don’t know everything yet. The analysis should be finished by the end of today.”

“Would it be possible for me to see the results once they’re finished?” I asked.

She smiled apologetically.

“I’m afraid not. They’re internal research documents.”

“I thought it was worth asking.”

She laughed softly before returning her attention to the enclosure.

I thanked her for answering my questions and turned to leave, convincing myself that I was probably worrying over nothing.

After all, if the researcher herself wasn’t concerned, then it couldn’t be that serious.

I had barely taken a dozen steps before an uncomfortable warmth spread through my body.

Within seconds, the warmth became unbearable heat, and my throat suddenly felt so dry that it was as though I hadn’t had a single drop of water all day.

“Where’s the restroom?” I asked.

She pointed down the hallway, and I hurried inside.

I turned on the sink and drank directly from the tap until the burning sensation eased.

As I reached out to turn the water off, the metal handle snapped clean off in my hand.

I froze.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t let go of it.

It was stuck to my palm as though it had become part of my skin.

Panic started rising inside me, and I quickly locked the restroom door.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself.

If this has something to do with me…

then maybe I can control it.

I stared at my hand and quietly whispered, “Release.”

The strange sticking sensation disappeared instantly, and the broken tap handle clattered onto the floor.

I stood there in silence, staring at my hand.

Something had changed.

After composing myself, I told my teacher I wasn’t feeling well and asked to go home.

He agreed without asking too many questions.

The moment I arrived home, I hurried upstairs.

“I’m working on something,” I called out.

“Please don’t disturb me for a while.”

Closing the bedroom door behind me, I slowly looked down at my hands.

Whatever had happened inside Pym Technologies, it definitely wasn’t normal.

——-

Author’s Note

I’ve uploaded a new fanfic set in Battle Through the Heavens!

If you’re interested, you can check it out:

BTTH: Reborn with Thousand-Fold Return System

Also, the first 5 chapters on my Ptron are available for free, so feel free to check them out if you’d like.