THE BOY IS MINE

Aria’s POV

I couldn’t sleep last night. The dream came again, but this time it was clearer and stronger.

I saw the boy, his little smile, his laugh, the pain, the hospital, the screaming. Then everything went dark.

But then, I know the truth. The boy is mine. Ethan is my son.

That morning, I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to see him, hold him, and hear him call me Mom. I went back to Westwood Biotech. I knew it was risky, but I didn’t care. I had to do it.

I wore a black hoodie and sunglasses. I took the back door and of course, remembered the codes; I worked there once, before all this madness started, before they took him.

I made my way to the lab. Helena was there, like always. She looked up and froze when she saw me.

“Aria?” she said with surprise in her eyes.

“Where is he?” I asked, stepping closer. “Where is my son, Ethan?!”

Her hands shook. “So you finally came back? You’re not supposed to be here…”

“You lied to me!” I shouted. “You said he died! You said it was over!”

“I was just trying to protect you.”

I didn’t let her finish. I grabbed her arms. “Are you protecting me… or protecting your secret?”

Suddenly, she reached for a syringe, the one she was going to use to sedate me, but I was faster. I pushed her back and ran.

I knew where the children’s unit was. I remembered every hallway.

I soon got there; my heart was beating fast. I stopped in front of the glass door and looked inside.

He was there, standing near the window, holding a small toy in his hand. His face was the same as in my dreams.

I whispered, “Ethan…”

He turned and looked at me, his eyes widened. He dropped the toy.

“Mama?” he said in a tiny voice.

Tears filled my eyes. “Yes, baby. It’s me.”

He ran towards the door and I opened it, fell to my knees as he jumped into my arms. I held him to myself, tight enough that he could almost hear my heartbeat. He buried his face in my neck and we couldn’t help but cry.

“I missed you,” he said.

“I missed you more, baby,” I whispered. “Mama’s here for you now…”

It was the moment I’d been waiting for, the moment that gave me life again.

Suddenly, alarms started to ring, loud and sharp. Red lights flashed everywhere, what was going on? I carried Ethan as I reached for the door but then Dr. Helena slid the door open, and I stepped back.

“Don’t you dare come near us!” I warned her. Ethan clutched my clothes, already scared. Dr Helena grabbed Ethan from me but I fought back, not allowing her to take my son away from me the second time. I slapped her face when I thought she was almost winning. She pulled me by my hair and dug the syringe into my neck, I became calm. My vision blurred and my hands weakened. In my semi-consciousness, Ethan slipped off my hands and she took him. I didn’t know what happened next but this was the last thing I saw: Dr. Helena took Ethan away from me and I heard him crying, shouting, “Mama.”

I didn’t know if it was hours later or even days later, but all I knew was that I woke up in a bed, my muscles were weak and worn out. I looked beside me to see Liam sitting next to me.

He didn’t let me talk, he quickly voiced out. “I see you’ve met Ethan.”

Tears welled up in my eyes. “I want my son, Liam,” I cried.

“You’ll have him when the time comes. But for now, it’s dangerous for both of us,” his cold voice said.

“I don’t care! Ethan needs me, Liam.”

“He’s been fine without you and he will definitely be fine living without you.”

I cried, my chest was too tight, and I felt like my end should just come.

After a while, I started looking around for my phone. I remembered, I had my phone with me before I blacked out.

When Liam noticed I was searching for my phone. He signalled Dr. Helena to hand it over.

“According to the documents you signed before taking the job, you are not allowed to do any private investigation. You are not allowed to hack into the company’s system. You are not allowed to expose the company’s data to external bodies. If you do, Aria, you’ll be dealt with accordingly,” his cold voice warned.

“Liam, tell me. Why do you keep Ethan away from me? Why was I involved in some crazy experiment that I can’t even remember? Why use me for that deadly experiment?” I asked, teary-eyed.

“I think you should return to your work and stop questioning,” Dr. Helena chipped in

“She won’t. We’ll be transferring her soon,” Liam said as he reached for the door.

“You knew about this, yet you kept it from me?” I asked Dr. Helena, who stood beside me. She didn’t respoAh, instead she placed her phone to her ear.

“Yes, come over right now,” she said, moving away.

Then I got a message from Chloe: “We know their next move! They’re taking Ethan to the secret house on Block Way Road tonight. They’re giving him away.”

“What?!” I screamed, and Dr. Helena looked back.

She walked toward me, and I pressed the button at the side of my phone. The screen light tripped off.

“You’re tracking us, Aria?”

My lids lifted in surprise as she snatched the phone from my hands. A second later, the backlight flashed twice: another message from Chloe, I guessed. She read it straight from the locked screen.

“We’ll follow them,” she said, and a wicked smile curled at the corner of her mouth.

“You have a team of investigators. That’s nice, Aria,” she said, heading toward her computer.

“Give it back!” I yelled as I got up and grabbed her hair. I smashed her head on the computer screen, and her head broke. The alarm blared red again in the building. I snatched my phone and stormed out, heading toward the daycare to get Ethan. But my head spun, and my body gave out.

I entered the daycare and searched. Ethan wasn’t there anymore. He had been taken. I took my phone and texted Chloe: “They have taken Ethan. I can’t find him in the daycare anymore.”

She texted back immediately: “We are following them.”

Then I saw some men in black suits walking into the building. They looked like assassins or something similar. I knew something was wrong.

“Where’s the boy?” I heard one of them ask Liam who was standing and backing me while the men were facing the hallway where I hid to watch.

Liam responded, “She took him. Aria ran away with him.”

The man who questioned Liam removed a gun from his behind and pointed it at Liam. I glanced at my wristwatch. It was past 11 p.m.

“I’ll get her and the boy. Just give me some time.”

My heart pounded. I stepped back.

“Do it before it’s too late,” the man warned.

I watched the three men walk out. Then a black van drove in. Liam entered the back as if he were being compelled. But I felt it: something wasn’t right.

Now that Liam had left, I had to leave that godforsaken place.

Tears dropped from my eyes.

As I was about to step out of my hideout, a hard palm tapped me from behind.

“Finally, I got you!”

I stood frozen.