Chapter 9
Mr. Wilkins walked up and gently patted Sam’s shoulder.
“Now do you believe us?“>
At this point, there was no need for further explanation. Everything had been laid bare. The truth, all along, had been twisted, manipulated by people who’d lied to her and used her.
Jill’s face flushed a deep red. She gritted her teeth, shaking with fury.
“Of course… there isn’t a single decent person in this damn world!“}
Out of nowhere, she summoned a wild burst of strength, breaking free from the guards holding her down. Before anyone could react, she bolted toward the tank’s control panel.}
“No–Jill, stop!”
Her hand slammed down on the red button.
“Sam, if I don’t get to be happy, neither do you! You think you two can have
“No! Don’t!!“}
a
happy ending? Dream on!”}
was too late.
Sam’s eyes went wide with terror, veins bulging in his neck as he lunged forward. But it
The machine roared to life. Blades spun up with terrifying speed. In seconds, they shredded the last
“Nerissa! Nerissa!!” Sam roared in anguish.
a w w w w umains of my body inside the tank.
“Let me go! LET ME GO!” he screamed, trying to throw off the people holding him back as he attempted to leap into the tank.
Jill laughed maniacally, tears streaming down her face. Her hair was wild, stuck to her cheeks, her smile so twisted it looked more like a ghost come to claim a soul.
Even after the machine ground to a halt, Sam was still screaming, still trying to break free.
“Why did you stop me?! WHY?!“}
No one dared to answer. No one knew how.
“Nerissa…” Sam’s voice cracked, his eyes red and raw as he looked at me–what was left of me.
“I’m sorry… I should’ve protected you.“}
He turned his gaze upward and I realized–he could see me. My soul–hovering above the tank.
“Please… don’t go. Stay a little longer. Just a little longer.“)
I slowly shook my head.
Maybe it was because my body had been destroyed, but I could feel it–my soul beginning to fade. I looked down at my fingertips. Tiny, translucent bubbles fizzed out of them, like soda losing its carbonation. That was what it looked like… the end of a soul.
Sam reached out, trying to grab my hand, but every time he did, it slipped through me.
He had always been calm. Always in control.
But now, he couldn’t even hold my hand–and the tears wouldn’t stop pouring down his face.
“Nerissa… please, just a little more time.”
“Don’t go. Don’t leave me.”
“I was such a fool. I did so many terrible things. Can you stay just a little longer? Let rne atone for it. Let me make it right…”
I didn’t respond. I just… closed my eyes.
And in that moment–my soul completely disappeared.}
From that day forward, I no longer existed in this world.
***2
Epilogue:
Sam locked himself in the lab for three days straight. No food, no water, not a single word spoken.
When he finally emerged, he was a different man. Gone was the composed, brilliant researcher. He stumbled as he walked, nearly collapsing before his assistant caught him in time.}
“I need to atone…” he whispered.
Soon after, the gene serum developed through collaboration between humans and merfolk was released–and it received overwhelming praise.[
As for Jill, the woman who had nearly destroyed it all–she was sentenced to life in prison.
While combing through evidence, investigators discovered Jill had been secretly leaking sensitive lab data for some time. Using the transmission records, they traced everything back and brought down the entire network in one sweep.
Sam used the fallout to do something more.”
He rescued merfolk still trapped in secret labs. He freed those suffering from torturous experiments and returned them to the ocean- back where they belonged.”
In public, he was still the composed and quiet Sam.
But in private… he carried the weight of regret. A regret that nothing–no object, no photograph, no trace–had been left of Nerissa.
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8:59 AM
But in private… he carried the weight of regret. A regret that nothing–no object, no photograph, no trace–had been left of Neriss8%
Not even a keepsake to remember her by
Once everything settled, Sam took a boat out to sea–alone. He guided the boat toward the waters Nerissa once called home–deep in the heart of mermaid territory.
The ocean stretched endlessly around him, vast and blue, mirroring the ache in his chest.
He stepped to the edge of the deck, arms outstretched as if he could embrace the wind, his eyes fluttering shut.
The breeze tangled in his hair, salt clung to his skin.
“Nerissa…” he whispered into the open sea. “Wait for me.”
“I’m coming.“”
(The End)
