CEO loves me with all his soul.-Chapter 52.

Isaac arrived at the abandoned ship just as the sun began to rise, casting an eerie glow over the rusting metal and crumbling exterior. He parked his car a short distance away, scanning the area. The coordinates Luri had given him were spot on—this was definitely the place. But something felt off. Too quiet, too still, as if the entire ship was waiting, watching.

Isaac stepped cautiously onto the deck, his senses heightened. The ship groaned under his weight, and the sound echoed in the stillness. His heart pounded in his chest as he moved further in, searching for any sign of Ethan and Leclair. His instincts screamed that something was wrong.

"Where the hell are they?" Isaac muttered under his breath, his eyes darting around for any clues.

Just then, a shadow moved in the corner of his vision. Before Isaac could react, something hit him hard from behind. The world tilted, and darkness quickly followed.

When Isaac awoke, his head was throbbing, and his wrists were tightly bound. The cold metal chair he was tied to only made his discomfort worse. The faint hum of machinery in the background sent a chill down his spine. He glanced around, quickly assessing the room. It was sterile, cold, and filled with various medical equipment and instruments that looked far from ordinary. There was no mistaking it—this was a lab.

Ethan, Yuin, and Leclair were tied up alongside him, their expressions varying from groggy confusion to tense awareness.

"Well, this is just great," Ethan groaned, tugging against his restraints. "First, I wake up in a sinking room, and now this? Could this day get any worse?"

"You had to say it, didn’t you?" Yuin quipped sarcastically. "Because now we’re tied up in a creepy lab with no idea who the hell brought us here."

Isaac glared at both of them, his jaw clenched. "Shut up, both of you," he snapped, his voice low and dangerous. "We’re in enough trouble without your childish bickering."

Yuin raised an eyebrow. "Oh, look, it’s the mysterious Man coming to the rescue," he sneered. "How’s that going, by the way? Looks like we’re all in the same boat now."

Ethan turned his head toward Isaac, his own irritation growing. "Why are you even here, Isaac? What, you thought you’d come and play hero, save the day, and get all the credit?"

Isaac’s eyes narrowed, and he shot a sharp glare at Ethan. "Maybe if you could keep yourself out of trouble for five minutes, I wouldn’t have to constantly clean up your mess."

Ethan smirked, despite the dire situation. "Don’t act like you’re here out of concern for me. I know exactly why you’re here—it’s Adrian, isn’t it?"

At the mention of Adrian, Isaac’s jaw tightened further, but he said nothing. The silence spoke volumes.

"Thought so," Ethan continued, rolling his eyes. "How could a cold-hearted guy go around spreading kindness."

Before Isaac could retort, a door on the far side of the room slid open with a hiss, and a figure stepped in—a man with disheveled hair, heavy dark circles under his eyes, and a wild, almost manic glint in his gaze. He wore a white lab coat, though it was stained and crumpled, giving him the appearance of someone who hadn’t slept—or perhaps even left this place—in days.

"Ah, you’re awake!" The man’s voice was high-pitched, almost gleeful. "Excellent. I was hoping you wouldn’t miss this part."

Isaac’s sharp eyes followed the man as he moved toward a table covered in various instruments, some of which looked disturbingly sharp and surgical.

Ethan glared at him. "Who the hell are you? And why are we here?"

The man turned, grinning widely. "Me? I’m Jael. And you—well, you’re my new test subjects."

Yuin scoffed. "Test subjects? For what? Your lack of sleep experiment? Judging by those dark circles, you’ve already failed."

Jael’s grin widened, clearly unfazed by Yuin’s sarcasm. "Oh, it’s far more interesting than that," he said, picking up a syringe filled with a glowing green liquid. "You see, I’ve been working on something truly groundbreaking. A formula that will enhance... well, let’s just say it’ll unlock your full potential."

Isaac’s eyes narrowed. "You’re insane."

Jael laughed—a sound that sent shivers down their spines. "Insane? Perhaps. But you’ll thank me when this is over."

Leclair, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke, his calm voice cutting through the tension. "Whatever you’re planning, you won’t get away with it. People will come looking for us."

Jael tilted his head, amused. "Oh, I don’t doubt that. But by the time they find you, it’ll be too late."

Ethan shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his sarcastic facade cracking slightly. "Okay, this guy’s officially crazy."

Isaac shot him a glare. "Now you realize that?"

The banter between Ethan, Isaac, and Yuin continued, even as Jael prepared his instruments.

As Jael approached them with the syringe, Yuin leaned back as far as his restraints would allow, his eyes wide. "Whoa, hold on a second. I don’t do needles."

"Too bad," Jael replied with a sinister grin. "You don’t have a choice."

Ethan’s eyes flicked to Leclair, searching for any sign of a plan. Leclair, ever composed, gave the faintest nod—a signal that he was working on something. But time was running out.

Isaac tensed, his mind racing. He knew they had to act quickly, but with their hands bound and a lunatic scientist looming over them, the odds weren’t in their favor. Yet, as always, his determination to protect his brother—and now, by extension, Ethan and Leclair—fueled his resolve.

"Look, Jael, or whatever your name is," Ethan said, his voice surprisingly calm despite the situation. "You don’t want to do this. I mean, think about it. If you kill us, you’re not going to get anything out of it."

Jael paused, his manic smile faltering slightly. "Oh, I’m not going to kill you—at least not right away. That’s the beauty of it."

Isaac exchanged a glance with Yuin and Leclair. This situation was spiraling out of control, and they needed a way out—fast.

"We need a plan," Isaac muttered, his voice low.

Leclair, calm as ever, nodded subtly. "We’ll get out of this. Just be ready."

Leclair had been working quietly, his face unreadable as Jael rambled on. But when Jael got too close with that syringe, Leclair saw his opening. With a swift movement, he flexed his wrists, his mini knife slicing through the ropes. In one fluid motion, he lunged forward, kicking Jael hard in the stomach, sending him crashing into a nearby table.

Jael groaned, stunned by the sudden attack. Leclair wasted no time. He grabbed the fallen scientist, wrestling him into submission and tying him up with the very ropes that had bound his own wrists. Before Jael could shout or call for help, Leclair shoved a rag into his mouth, muffling any noise. The scientist squirmed on the floor, eyes wide with shock and fear, but completely immobilized.

For a moment, there was stunned silence in the room. Yuin, Ethan, and Isaac all stared at Leclair, their expressions ranging from disbelief to admiration.

"Well, that was... efficient," Ethan finally said, blinking at his elder brother.

Yuin added, "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

Isaac, however, simply smirked, his usual sharp retort replaced with an almost grudging respect. "Took your sweet time, didn’t you?"

-

Leclair ignored their banter, his eyes focused and determined. He moved to free Ethan first, slicing through his ropes with the same precision he’d used earlier. Ethan rubbed his wrists, giving his brother an appreciative nod.

"Thanks," Ethan muttered, glancing down at Jael, who was writhing helplessly on the floor. He leaned down and, without warning, delivered a solid punch to the scientist’s cheek, sending his head snapping to the side. "That’s for kidnapping us, you psycho."

Yuin chuckled. "I’d say he deserved more than that." But his amusement quickly faded as his curiosity got the better of him. He turned to Leclair, who was now freeing him. "So, what’s the plan? We can’t exactly sit around and wait for more of his friends to show up."

Leclair finished cutting Yuin’s ropes, then moved to Isaac, freeing him last. "First, we get out of here," Leclair said, his voice calm and deliberate. "Then we figure out why we were brought here in the first place."

Isaac rubbed his wrists, his usual sarcasm replaced by something more serious. "Not exactly a small question, is it?"

Leclair walked over to a corner where Jael had left his phone, picking it up and scanning the screen. He tried to make a call, but after a few seconds, he cursed under his breath. "No signal."

"Of course," Yuin muttered, rolling his eyes. "We’re in the middle of nowhere on some abandoned ship. Why would anything be easy?"

As Leclair pocketed the phone, Ethan took another frustrated glance around the room. There was only one door, heavy and reinforced, and a window that didn’t look like it was meant to open easily. "We’re stuck here for now, unless we can find a way out through that door."

Yuin, who had been pacing around the room, stopped in front of the computer terminal that Jael had been using earlier. His brow furrowed as he stared at the screen, the technical jargon catching his attention. "Wait... I think I’ve seen something like this before."

Ethan and Isaac exchanged glances before moving to stand beside him. Leclair, always the calm observer, hovered behind them. "What is it?" Ethan asked, leaning in.

Yuin’s fingers moved quickly over the keyboard as he skimmed through files. His face paled slightly, and his voice took on a more serious tone. "They’re not just experimenting on random people. These guys are using CRISPR technology."

"CRISPR?" Isaac asked, frowning. "Isn’t that the gene-editing stuff?"

Yuin nodded, his eyes scanning the data with a growing sense of alarm. "Yeah. But they’re doing more than just editing genes. They’re trying to mix human DNA with animal genomes to create enhanced humans."

Isaac stared at Yuin. "You mean... like some twisted version of a superhuman?"

"Exactly," Yuin replied, still focused on the screen. "And it’s illegal. This kind of research has been banned for decades, but someone’s clearly trying to push the boundaries of what’s possible."

Ethan’s expression darkened as he glanced over Yuin’s shoulder at the screen. "But why us? Why go through the trouble of kidnapping people from three different families? Isaac from the Shaw family, Leclair and I from the Levistis family, and you from the Sebanil family? There has to be a reason."

Yuin paused, his eyes narrowing as he scrolled through more data. "That’s the part I don’t understand. There’s no obvious connection between us, at least on the surface."

Isaac’s sharp eyes flicked from the screen to Ethan. "Maybe there is a connection," he muttered. "We just don’t know what it is yet."

Leclair folded his arms, his expression thoughtful. "Whoever’s behind this knows exactly who we are. This isn’t random. We were chosen for a reason."

"Chosen," Ethan echoed, a bitter edge to his voice. "Well, that’s comforting."

Yuin leaned back from the computer, looking troubled. "It’s not just the genetic experiments. There’s more here, encrypted files I can’t access, but from what I’ve seen so far, they’re targeting specific families—powerful ones."

Isaac scowled. "So this isn’t just about science. It’s political, too."

Leclair nodded slowly. "And if they’re using us as test subjects, they must believe we have something they need. Whether it’s our DNA, our influence, or something else entirely."

Ethan clenched his fists, his frustration growing. "We need to figure out who’s behind this and why."

Leclair placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder, a steadying gesture. "We will. But first, we need to get off this ship."

Isaac looked around the room, his eyes landing on the still-unconscious Jael. "And what do we do with him?"

Yuin grinned, his earlier tension momentarily broken. "Leave him tied up. Let’s see how he likes being the one stuck in a cage for a change."

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