Richard and Madam Pearce were startled to see Helma and Cole return.Owen's mother, looking a bit embarrassed, forced a smile. "Hemmy, what brings you back?"Helma nodded toward the dining room awkwardly. "Forgot my phone."Her eyes then found Owen, standing in a corner, his face pale and twisted in
Mira's cheeks were tinged with pink as she lingered off to the side. "Mom, you're just as eager to see your son as I am. Why do you keep teasing me?"Jade grumbled, "We hardly get to visit, and now we're barely staying a few days."The vibe at home was all warmth and laughter.Helma felt her spirits
Helma had spent the better part of the day at the research institute and did not head out in her car until the afternoon. She checked the time; it was just four o'clock. There was still a good chunk of the day left. She decided to drive over to Greenville University.When she got to the university's
Grandma Mary and Mira had already left, leaving the house feeling emptier.In the days that followed, Helma made time to visit Old Madam Guller.Helma would sneak in some work for the institute online now and then, but whenever she felt up to it, she would zip over to Westwood for a secret rendezvou
Helma's eyes shot open, and she caught the sound of a crisp voice just outside the door."Cole, you in there?"That was Neve's voice!Helma's eyes snapped wide in alarm, but Cole, who was right in front of her, suddenly looked all soft and mushy, and he practically raced to the door.Watching him go
When quitting time rolled around, Helma drove herself and William to Colonial Courtyard. The ride was silent until she finally spoke up, breaking the quiet, "Hey, could you keep it under wraps about me leaving Greenville, at least for a bit?"William's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What's
Helma took a deep breath, choosing her words with care."Brother, I'm almost at nine months now, and the baby's due any day. I've made up my mind—I want to head to Pacific City to have the baby.""Head to Pacific City?" Neil's brow crinkled in confusion. "Why there?""To steer clear of Cole," Helma
The next day, Helma was up with the sun.While Jade and Neil were still lost in dreams, she tiptoed out and drove off to Westwood Joint Department.She pulled into the parking lot at 8:30 AM, only to see Cole's car already there, waiting. He was early, and her heart did a little flip.She walked pas
With everyone else keeping mum, Silver Obsidian cut to the chase, "We'll go with Helma's plan."For six months straight, Serena had practically lived in the lab. At first, Starlight Blossom did not seem to do much. Everyone was on edge, wondering if it would make any difference at all. Then, in the
During her month off, Helma took a break from the daily preschool runs and whisked her kids away on a travel spree.The trip was not without its scares—Serena had a severe bout of illness.Helma was prepared, yet the sudden severity of the attack caught her off guard.Without a second thought, she r
Under the questioning eyes of the crowd, Helma fired up her laptop and plugged in a USB stick.The video started playing on the massive screen.The timestamp in the corner showed it was from two nights ago.Usually, the lab was locked up tight after hours, and by eight or nine, the research center w
Hort watched her walk away, a storm of emotions on his face.Ever since she joined the research center, he had seen Wendy as this super-capable girl with a heart of gold.Whenever the team hit a wall with the experiments or the data just would not play nice, Wendy was the one who would spark up the
The poor thing's symptoms were straight out of a horror flick: muscles clenching like crazy, nerves on fire, bleeding inside, gasping for air, and foaming at the mouth. Some of them even had their hearts stop cold turkey.According to the timeline, the rat had been juiced up with three rounds of Sta
With the report out of the way, the experiment team kicked things into high gear to wrap up their project.The meticulously calculated data was in, and the verdict was clear: Starlight Blossom's effects were rock-solid stable. The only thing left for the lab mice was one final shot.The brain trust
"Come on, you think the boss is scatterbrained like you? Someone totally did this on purpose!" "Who would do something that evil?!" "Guess we're gonna have to push back the presentation." Everyone looked like they had lost their best friend, except Wendy. She had this worried frown, but her eyes w
After pulling two all-nighters, Helma had the report materials ready to go.The research center was deserted.She stretched, yawned, and glanced at the clock. One AM.She powered down her computer and left, still yawning.Once she was gone, a sneaky figure slipped into the office...Deputy Commander
Helma had tried to get the scoop from Leon, but the guy was like Fort Knox—nothing useful ever slipped out. Therefore, she backed off from the matchmaking game. Still, she was not blind to Wendy's little crush, especially with errands like these document deliveries. "You got it, boss," Wendy replied