Reborn In a Murderer’s Embrace ( Dexter )

Before the guard could finish his sentence, a delivery truck hurtled our way out of nowhere.

"Bang!" That was the sound.

Instinctively, Colin wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his embrace, shielding me from the impact.

But Damian... Damian wasn't so lucky. The truck sent him flying.

"Run... get out..." Damian's voice was raspy, barely there, as if he'd mustered all his strength for those words.

Get out.

He wasn't talking about escaping the immediate danger, but rather, like Truman from "The Truman Show," breaking free from a world under constant surveillance.

"Dr. Damian!" The hospital's security rushed over, surrounding Damian, and dialed 911 for an ambulance.

I stood frozen, my fingers numb.

Damian was a target too...

And me, I hadn't even come close to reaching Damian's level...

Who was behind all this? How could they be so terrifying?

For the first time, I felt a profound sense of dread and fear, from head to toe.

To those at the top, we were no more than ants, easily crushed if they so wished.

"This world is like a giant anthill, with clear divisions of labor and hierarchical structures... You don't touch the interests of the elite unless you can fight your way in. Otherwise... if you threaten their interests, your fate is sealed."

In the truck, Damian's words echoed in my ears.

From matters of capital and conspiracy, nations and wars, to neighborhood gossip and workplace rivalries...

Human ambition and darkness grow with one's station, shifting and magnifying.

"Colin, what's real and what's fake, in the world around Phoebe and me?" I whispered, gripping his hand tighter.

"Every one of us is the protagonist of our own world; everyone else is just background," Colin squeezed my fingers back. "To me, you're always the protagonist, but I don't want to be just background."

"What if... I'm not really Phoebe?" I looked into Colin's eyes.

What if it turned out I wasn't Phoebe, that my memories were just part of some experiment, an implant? What would Colin do?

What could he do...

My nose tingled, a heat rising in my throat.

I raised my hand to Colin's face, resting my forehead against his. It all seemed so unfair to him; he'd suffered too much for Phoebe. If the truth turned out to be different from what he believed, how would he cope?

Just the thought of that outcome made my heart ache as if it were about to shatter.

I didn't know if it was the memories or if I had truly been reborn... I wasn't even sure if I was Phoebe anymore.

It felt like the whole world was a fabrication, an experiment designed for me.

"You are..." Colin's certainty never wavered.

I didn't know if he had some truth that I didn't, or if he was just deluding himself.

"From a scientific perspective, the

idea of soul rebirth and parallel universes is plausible. We can't deny the unknown just because science hasn't affirmed it yet..." Colin pulled me into a corner, cradling my face. "Phoebe, don't overthink it. you; I've never stopped trying..."

From the past to the present, and into the future.

He was always striving to protect me.

The ambulance arrived, taking Damian away.

protect

News from the hospital wasn't promising; Damian was alive, but the chances of him waking up were slim.

After all Damian had done for the organization, to end up disposed of like this...

It's said, "The hare is cooked when the hunting dogs are no more." Melody's contracting HIV wasn't the end; it was just the beginning of a nightmare.

With Damian gone, Melody would live every day in fear of death, clinging desperately to Dexter Fitzgerald as her lifeline, hoping he'd save her.

"Bro, sis-in-law, thinking we can

uncover the truth and stand up to et

the powers-that-be through conventional means is a fairytale. We need to work together.

At the hospital entrance, Colin and I ran into Matthew again.

Damian had barely been admitted when he showed up.

"You're well-informed..." I eyed Matthew warily. His sources were frighteningly good...