“How do you plan to deal with it?” she asked.

“I promised I wouldn’t go overboard, right? Just wait for me at home, okay? It’ll be alright.”

The man gently caressed the back of her head before turning to walk out the door coolly.

“Jeremy,” Madeline called out after him.

The man turned around and gave an assuring smile in response to the worry in her eyes. “Don’t worry, just wait for me at home.”

Madeline nodded. After watching him drive away, she headed to the lab.

On the way to Whitman