He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.
-Confucius
T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters, Belle City, 8:13p.m
As Raphael ran to the elevators with Judy, he pressed the button and waited patiently. None of the elevator weren't coming for some reason. Suddenly, there was a loud sound from around the corner. It was a deafening thumping sound. Raphael grabbed his gun and told Judy to stay where she was. She obeyed and remained by the elevators.
Then, Raphael heard a deep, raspy voice speaking to him.
"The elevators not working?" The voice said. He chuckled.
The lights suddenly turned on and made Raphael feel on edge. Raphael saw the man's body built silhouette emerge from within the darkness, followed by two others. Obviously, they had sabotaged the elevators. He looked back to make sure Judy was alright, but there were two men holding her and keeping her from running away. There were five muscular and trained men against one of Raphael. He looked around and thought, "What am I going to do?"
Seakards Factory, Belle City, 8:19p.m
There was an irritating scratching noise coming from around the corner. It sounded like someone scratching their long, pointed nails across a blackboard. Then, the sound suddenly changed to a noise that resembled metal being rubbed against another piece of metal. Denella slowed her pace and headed towards the disturbing sound.
She swallowed, and she could feel her body shaking again. Denella edged forward. She could hear the soft whimpers and cries of someone, but it didn't just sound like one person. Around the corner, she saw someone tied to the wall. Their face looked tired and worn. There were dried tears on their cheeks. It was sweaty, and they had blood coming out of their nose. Their clothes were ripped and torn. Denella could barely recognize the person, but from what she could see, she could tell it was her mom. Even though it wasn't her birth mom, it was still her mom, and now she was safe.
Beside her mom was a tortured John. His face was tired, but there was a look of relief all over him.
Denella ran over to her mom and John and got her pocketknife out to cut the ropes that were now digging into their skin. There were marks on her mom's soft, but slightly wrinkled skin. Celcus had warned Denella not to bring any weapons, but she couldn't risk coming unarmed.
Celcus must have been the one who deceived Brandon and made him believe that John was actually visiting his mother. But Denella knew that it couldn't be true since she spoke to Maryanne.