Dangerous Little Geniuses

Elena hurried down the polished hallway, her heels clicking softly against the sleek floor as she made her way toward Dr. Bennett’s office.

The moment Aubrey mentioned her sons, Elena already knew they had caused trouble again.

At this point, she was no longer surprised by it.

She barely paused to knock before pushing the office door open.

Inside, Ethan and Liam were sitting comfortably across the leather couch while arguing over something on Liam’s tablet with complete seriousness.

The second they noticed her, both boys brightened immediately.

“Mom!”

Ethan jumped off the couch first and rushed toward her before wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

“You’re finally done,” he complained dramatically. “Do you know how long we’ve been waiting?”

“Mommy,” Liam added while walking over beside his brother, “you’ve been working too hard again. You look tired.”

Elena could not stop the soft laugh that escaped her despite her exhaustion.

“I’m fine,” she assured them gently while brushing Liam’s hair away from his forehead.

The twins clearly disagreed.

Before she could even protest, Ethan guided her toward the couch while Liam handed her a bottle of water with the seriousness of a personal assistant.

“You skipped lunch again,” Ethan said accusingly.

Elena blinked once.

“How do you know that?”

The boys exchanged identical looks before Liam answered proudly.

“We checked.”

Dr. Bennett let out a long suffering sigh from behind his desk.

“That,” he muttered tiredly, “is exactly the problem.”

Only then did Elena fully notice the older man sitting behind the mountain of files covering his desk. His glasses rested low against his nose while exhaustion was written all over his expression.

Elena slowly narrowed her eyes at her sons.

“What exactly did you two do this time?”

“We improved the institute’s security system,” Liam answered confidently.

“You hacked the system again?” Elena asked.

“It wasn’t hacking,” Ethan corrected calmly. “It was advanced troubleshooting.”

Dr. Bennett looked genuinely offended.

“You locked the entire administration department out of their computers for three hours.”

“They needed stronger passwords,” Liam replied without remorse.

Elena covered her face briefly with one hand.

“You two cannot keep doing this.”

“But people here keep overworking you,” Ethan argued immediately. “Someone has to monitor the situation.”

“And you forgot to eat,” Liam added. “Again.”

Dr. Bennett leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply.

“They also replaced every desktop wallpaper in the building with a warning message,” he informed her.

Elena already looked afraid to ask.

“What warning message?”

Liam smiled proudly.

“Respect Dr. Morrell or face consequences.”

For several seconds, Elena said absolutely nothing.

Then she slowly turned toward her sons.

“You threatened the entire institute?”

“It was a polite threat,” Ethan clarified.

Dr. Bennett looked exhausted enough to retire immediately.

Despite herself, Elena nearly laughed.

Honestly, nobody inside the institute truly disliked the twins. They were terrifyingly intelligent for six-year-olds, but they adored Elena so openly that most people eventually softened toward them.

The boys worshipped their mother, and everyone could see it.

Elena finally sat down properly while shaking her head helplessly.

“You’re both impossible.”

“That’s genetically impressive behavior,” Liam replied confidently.

Dr. Bennett pointed toward the twins.

“You see what I deal with every day?”

“They inherited dramatic personalities,” Elena answered.

The twins pointed toward her at the exact same time.

Elena gasped in mock offense.

“I am not dramatic.”

None of them looked convinced.

The laughter inside the office faded gradually before Dr. Bennett’s expression became noticeably more serious.

“Actually, I didn’t call you here only because of those two disasters,” he said while gesturing toward the twins.

“We prefer geniuses,” Liam corrected immediately.

“Dangerous geniuses,” Dr. Bennett replied.

Elena almost smiled again.

“What did you want to discuss?”

Dr. Bennett folded his hands together on the desk before answering.

“I’ve been planning to open a new branch of the institute in Althea.”

The room immediately fell silent.

Elena’s fingers tightened unconsciously around the bottle in her hands.

“Althea?” she repeated quietly.

Dr. Bennett nodded.

“The institute there will focus on traditional medicine, rare medicinal compounds, and pharmaceutical research. It’s a massive opportunity, Elena, and after careful consideration, I believe you’re the best person to lead it.”

Elena lowered her gaze briefly.

Just hearing the name of that city again was enough to drag painful memories back to the surface.

The Lancaster mansion.

The divorce papers she left behind.

The night she walked away before sunrise.

Adrian’s cold voice telling her she was nothing more than an obligation.

Everything she spent years trying to bury suddenly felt painfully close again.

“I don’t know if going back there is a good idea,” she admitted honestly.

Dr. Bennett studied her quietly for a moment before speaking again.

“You’re not the same woman you were six years ago,” he said gently. “You built your own career, earned your own reputation, and became one of the most respected researchers in the country. You can’t let your past control your future forever.”

Elena stayed silent because part of her knew he was right.

For years, she convinced herself leaving Althea meant leaving the pain behind too.

But deep down, the scars never truly disappeared.

Ethan moved closer to her side immediately.

“Mom,” he said softly, “we’ll go wherever you go.”

Liam nodded firmly beside him.

“And if anybody there makes you sad, we’ll handle it.”

Elena stared at her sons for several seconds before finally smiling faintly.

Their confidence grounded her more than they realized.

After a long silence, she finally released a slow breath.

“…Alright,” she agreed quietly. “I’ll do it.”

Dr. Bennett smiled immediately.

“I knew you would.”

Two days later, Elena stepped out of Althea International Airport with Ethan and Liam walking beside her.

The cool air carried the faint scent of rain while the distant noise of the city echoed around them.

For a moment, Elena stood completely still.

Six years had passed since she last saw this place, yet somehow everything still felt painfully familiar.

“Mommy,” Liam complained suddenly while tugging her sleeve, “I need to pee.”

Ethan rolled his eyes immediately.

“You always need to pee at the worst possible time.”

“It’s called having organs,” Liam argued.

Elena sighed softly before pointing toward the restroom nearby.

“Go together and come straight back.”

The boys hurried off while continuing their argument, leaving Elena standing near one of the large pillars by the terminal entrance.

She pulled out her phone and began messaging Dr. Bennett to confirm they had arrived safely.

Then she heard it.

“How could all of you lose track of her? She’s a child, not a ghost. Find her immediately.”

The deep voice sent a chill straight down Elena’s spine.

Her body froze instantly.

Slowly, she turned toward the source of the voice.

And forgot how to breathe.

Adrian Lancaster stood several feet away surrounded by assistants and security.

Even after six years, his presence still carried the same cold authority that made people instinctively move aside for him. His black suit fit perfectly against his tall frame while frustration darkened his sharp features.

He looked older now and far more intimidating than before, but he was still painfully familiar to her.

Elena’s heartbeat became uneven immediately.

For one terrifying second, she thought he would look directly at her.

Panic crashed through her chest almost instantly.

Ethan and Liam.

If Adrian saw them, the resemblance would be impossible to ignore.

“Mommy, we’re done.”

Ethan’s cheerful voice snapped Elena back to reality.

The twins walked toward her casually, completely unaware of the storm happening inside her head.

Elena moved immediately.

“Let’s go,” she said quickly while grabbing both their hands.

Liam frowned in confusion.

“What happened?”

“Nothing,” Elena answered too quickly.

Her heart pounded violently as she pulled them through the crowd without looking back again.

She could feel Adrian somewhere behind her, dangerously close to discovering everything she had spent six years protecting.

“Mom, slow down,” Ethan complained softly while struggling to keep up with her pace.

But Elena could not stop.

Not until they disappeared completely into the crowd.

Behind her, Adrian suddenly paused.

For a brief moment, he felt like he had just seen someone he had not laid eyes on in years.

His gaze narrowed sli

ghtly while staring toward the crowded terminal.

“Elena?” he murmured quietly.

But by the time he stepped forward, she was already gone.