Victor paid close attention to the couple’s expressions after he spoke. Although both of them appeared slightly worried and anxious, there were no signs that their concern was related to him or Rupert. If anything, all the evidence pointed toward the source of their unease being the girl, Charlotte.
Realizing this, Victor nodded to himself. At the very least, it ruled out one of the possibilities he had been considering from the start, that the two might be a couple hiding a potentially anomalous child or something along those lines. The concern they displayed seemed genuine, driven more by the care and apprehension of parents than by fear of being exposed.
As they made their way down the long hallway leading to the mansion’s living room, Victor and Rupert took the opportunity to contact Emily once again. They explained everything that had happened up to that point in detail, including the couple’s behavior and the situation involving Charlotte.
More importantly, Victor asked Emily to run another scan, hoping to determine whether the anomalous fluctuations were still occurring and, if so, where exactly they were being detected. The wait felt longer than it really was as they stood by for a response. However, after another sweep and several rounds of verification, Emily came back with the same answer as before: nothing.
It was true that the initial fluctuations, with frequencies strikingly similar to those recorded during the appearances of the sisters of the [Angel of Death], had originated from the community center. According to Emily, however, those fluctuations had simply vanished a few minutes after Victor and Rupert entered the building, as though they had never existed in the first place.
In short, there was currently no concrete evidence linking Charlotte to the target they were pursuing. No signs, no energy signatures, and no trace capable of establishing a direct connection between the girl and whatever it was they were searching for. Even so, both Victor and Rupert felt, unmistakably, that there was something strange about Charlotte.
It was the same feeling that surfaced whenever they ventured into the unknown. The same sensation that preceded encounters with anomalies or the discovery of anomalous environments. A sharpened instinct, refined through years of experience, warning them before their minds could even identify the danger. The chill creeping down their spines. The hairs on the back of their necks standing on end for no apparent reason.
The unsettling impression of being watched by something invisible. And above all, the feeling, difficult to explain yet impossible to ignore, that there was something wrong with the air around Charlotte. Something their eyes couldn't see and their equipment couldn't detect, but their instincts stubbornly refused to overlook.
Charlotte looked like an ordinary girl. But that was all she did, look like one. That said, Victor chose to keep any initial conclusions to himself. To be honest, starting a conversation with a family by telling them there was a good chance their daughter was a wolf in sheep's clothing, or, more accurately, an anomaly in sheep's clothing, seemed like a terrible idea.
Victor maintained a neutral, professional expression, pushing his suspicions to the back of his mind for the time being: “Before anything else, I know this question might sound a little... strange” Victor began, drawing the couple’s attention back to him. His voice was calm, but it carried the seriousness of someone searching for something specific: “But it would help us a great deal if you answered as honestly as possible”
Victoria and her husband exchanged a brief glance before nodding. Both looked nervous, but willing to cooperate. Victor waited a few seconds, making sure he had their full attention before continuing: “Mrs. Victoria, during your pregnancy with your daughter, were there any complications of any kind? Anything unusual? It doesn’t necessarily have to be something serious. Strange symptoms, abnormal test results, periods of unexplained discomfort... anything that stood out to you at the time”
The woman frowned slightly, already searching through her memories: “Even if it seems irrelevant” Victor added, leaning forward a little: “I’d like you to mention it. Sometimes the details that seem insignificant end up being exactly what we're looking for”
The couple stared at Victor in silence, confusion evident on their faces as they tried to understand the reason behind such a specific question. Victor couldn't blame them. Even to him, it sounded strange when spoken out loud.
Still, depending on the answer he received, it might be possible to extract a surprising amount of information. Any detail, no matter how small, could become an important piece of the puzzle Victor was trying to assemble.
Besides, Emily and Laura would probably be able to make far more progress in their investigation if they had some kind of concrete lead to work with. Even a simple suspicion was better than continuing to grope around in the dark.
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Earlier, while reviewing the organization's database, Emily had uncovered something peculiar: Victoria, Charlotte’s mother, had been listed as infertile years before Charlotte was born. It was official information, backed by medical reports and examination records.
And yet Charlotte existed. That contradiction could not be ignored. Victor and Rupert had already reached the same conclusion. This wasn't some coincidence or clerical error. Something was happening around this family, something hidden beneath layers of secrets carefully buried over the years.
Maybe it was connected to Charlotte. Maybe it was connected to Victoria. Or maybe it was tied to something far bigger than either of them could even imagine. But one thing was certain: whatever the truth was, Victor and Rupert were determined to uncover it. Sooner or later, they would find out exactly what was going on.
Returning to the present, the couple seemed visibly uneasy about how to approach the subject. Victor could understand why. It wasn't exactly easy to explain: for years, you're considered infertile, and then suddenly you have a daughter. It was the kind of story that would inevitably raise questions.
On top of that, the presence of Victor and Rupert, two figures who, in their eyes, represented some form of official authority, certainly did nothing to make the situation any more comfortable.
For a few seconds, silence settled over the room. Charlotte’s mother exchanged a quick glance with her husband, as though searching for support before speaking. Then she took a deep breath, gathering the courage needed to revisit memories that were so deeply personal.
“No... not that I can remember. There weren’t any complications of any kind. It was a normal pregnancy... a smooth one” Her voice was hesitant at first, but it grew steadier as she continued: “Charlotte was always a healthy child. In fact, she was so healthy that even the doctors were surprised a few times”
A gentle smile appeared at the corner of her lips, the kind that surfaced almost unconsciously whenever a mother spoke about her daughter. Her hand slid across the table until it found her husband's, giving it a loving squeeze.
“Charlotte has always been everything I ever asked for. Everything I ever prayed for” Her voice lowered, carrying an emotion she could barely conceal: “Even when countless doctors and surgeons told me it was impossible... even after all the tests, diagnoses, and hearing over and over again that I needed to accept reality...”
She paused for a moment. Her eyes found Charlotte, and all the tension in her face seemed to melt away. There was only pride, affection, and unconditional love in that gaze: “I never lost hope” A genuine smile brightened her face: “I never stopped believing that one day I’d have a daughter. That one day, Charlotte would be here with us”
When she spoke her daughter’s name, her words carried such sincere affection that they needed no explanation. The diagnoses, the impossibilities, the years of uncertainty, none of it mattered. To her, Charlotte was a small miracle that had refused to disappear.
Victor nodded slowly. Well, that definitely matched the information the organization had on Victoria. Even so, a part of his mind refused to accept such a simple explanation. So she had simply prayed... and ended up having a daughter? No matter how he looked at it, that didn’t seem normal.
If things were really that simple, there wouldn’t be countless families around the world trying to adopt children. There were limits human beings couldn’t control, forces completely beyond their influence, and mysteries that remained outside their understanding regardless of faith or desire.
Lost in thought, Victor discreetly lifted his gaze and studied Charlotte for several seconds. His expression remained unreadable, but his mind was working at full speed.
Naturally, all those rules and limitations stopped meaning much when it came to an anomaly on the level of one of the sisters of the [Angel of Death]. Beings that seemed to exist on the edge of reality itself, as though they inhabited a world of their own governed by laws entirely different from those known to humanity.
Their powers were so absurd and inexplicable that not even the organization, with all its resources and decades of research, had developed a proper system to classify them. Still, there was another problem. A much more serious problem. Was Charlotte the person they were looking for or not? As strange as Victoria’s case was, miracles did happen.
Rarely, but they happened. It wouldn’t be the first time something seemingly impossible had appeared without any logical explanation, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. So why the hell couldn’t he believe it? Why was there still a persistent feeling lurking in the back of his mind, whispering that something was wrong? Something that didn’t fit.
Once again, the irritating buzzing Victor always heard whenever he drifted too far from the truth echoed through his ears. Relentless. Persistent. A sharp noise that seemed to pierce his thoughts without giving him a single moment of peace, like a damned fly circling his head with the sole purpose of slowly wearing down his sanity.
Victor clenched his teeth, feeling the familiar discomfort spread through his mind. Right... This couldn’t be dismissed as a coincidence anymore. There was something about Charlotte. Every time he considered leaving her alone, abandoning the investigation, or simply walking away, his senses reacted immediately.
The buzzing returned without fail, like a desperate alarm trying to stop him from making a mistake. In short, the senses he had inherited from the [Angel of Death] were pointing directly at Charlotte.
Whether she was an anomaly or not, whether she was a victim or responsible, no longer mattered. Every piece of evidence he had gathered, and, more importantly, his own supernatural instincts, was converging on her.
Victor let out a slow breath as he watched the girl from a distance, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully. No. He simply couldn’t leave. Not while Charlotte remained surrounded by so many unanswered questions. Not while that damned buzzing kept telling him there was more beneath the surface than Victor was capable of seeing.
