Alex's fingers danced across the keys of the laptop, his eyes fixed on the screen as lines of code flashed before him. The quiet hum of his surroundings was the only sound accompanying the rapid tapping of keys. It had been months since his escape, and the world had been relentless in its attempt to keep him in the shadows. But Alex, with his unparalleled intellect, had always been two steps ahead. Now, with his survival secured and his mind sharper than ever, there was one question that burned in his mind: Where were his parents?
The hacking was simple—nothing compared to the security networks he'd broken through in the past. But now, as he sifted through surveillance data, he could feel the weight of years of uncertainty pressing down on him. He had known his parents had been in hiding, their identities erased from official records, but this was the first real sign of their existence. His father, Marcus Virelli, a brilliant and ruthless scientist; his mother, Evelyn Cross-Virelli, an enigma in her own right.
For twenty years, Alex had wondered if they had survived, or if they had been consumed by the systems they had tried to escape. Now, he knew the truth.
They were alive.
And they had built a life far away from the reaches of government control and hidden organizations. His parents were living under new identities in a town far from New York. A small town tucked away in rural Pennsylvania. Alex's heart tightened as he accessed the camera feed showing the quiet street where they had settled.
The house was modest—nothing like the manor he had grown up in. His mother stood in front of a small supermarket, her face radiant as she spoke with customers. His father was there too, standing by the door, his eyes scanning the street with the same vigilance Alex had inherited. They had changed. They had adapted. But they were alive, and they had built a family.
Alex zoomed in on the children.
Two new figures, younger than him, stood near the door of the supermarket. The boy looked about 18—tall, dark-haired, and with an intensity in his eyes that could only come from Marcus himself. The girl, no more than 10, stood beside him. She was small, with bright eyes that were full of curiosity. Her expression was sharp, though—too sharp for a child her age. She, too, seemed to share something of her father's intelligence.
Alex's mind raced. A younger brother and sister. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. The concept of family was foreign to him now—ruined by the cruelty of the world and his own unrelenting pursuit of knowledge. But these children—his siblings—had been born into this world, living lives he had never known. They were his blood, his flesh. They had his father's genius, a legacy he was all too familiar with.
But there was something that bothered him. The boy, despite his brilliance, seemed too normal. His face, his demeanor, everything about him screamed "too good to be true." The girl was a puzzle. She didn't belong in that life. And Alex was beginning to wonder if there was something more to their existence than just a family trying to start over. But for now, the answers were beyond him. He would need to investigate further.
He pulled up their fake identities, the documents that had been carefully forged to keep them hidden from prying eyes. The names were ordinary—no significant ties to any major corporations, no criminal activity, nothing that would stand out. Just a family living an average life. But for Alex, there was no such thing as ordinary. Every detail, every nuance, was a clue waiting to be uncovered.
With the information on his parents now in hand, Alex's focus shifted to his next goal. He had been tracking the movements of the Winchester family for some time, ever since he'd heard rumors about Nathan Winchester and his daughter, Selene. Nathan Winchester, a legendary monster hunter, had been a figure Alex had studied from afar. Selene, his daughter, was just as notorious. Together, they had become a formidable force against the supernatural threats that lurked in the shadows.
But something had gone wrong.
Nathan Winchester had disappeared. Captured, Alex suspected, by one of the many dark forces that had risen over the past few years. Alex knew the hunt was dangerous, but this was something different—something more sinister. The witch who had taken Nathan was just a piece of the puzzle. The true threat was still out there, and Selene, now 23, was left with the monumental task of finding her father.
Alex dug deeper. Using his advanced hacking techniques, he accessed encrypted channels and intelligence reports. He sifted through contacts and networks, piecing together information from all corners of the globe. The witch who had taken Nathan was a powerful creature, far older than anyone could imagine. Her methods were precise and cruel, leaving no trace of her victims.
But Selene Winchester, as Alex soon discovered, was relentless. She wasn't just looking for her father. She was hunting, gathering intel on every supernatural creature that had surfaced over the years. Vampires, werewolves, witches—she was tracking them all, trying to understand the forces that had torn her family apart.
Her search, however, was not without its risks. The more Alex dug, the more he realized how deep this web ran. The supernatural community was fractured, its various factions at odds with one another, each with their own agenda. The witch who had captured Nathan wasn't the only danger. The entire system of hidden organizations, each working in the shadows, was far more complex than Alex had anticipated. And somewhere in the middle of it all, was Selene Winchester, hunting her father's captor and seeking answers to questions no one had the courage to ask.
But Alex wasn't done yet. He needed to get to her. He needed to find her before the witch did.