Chapter 52: Pity

Chapter 52: Pity       Adrian's screams filled the darkness of the observation room. His body jerked against the restraints, his wrists bleeding, his face contorted in agony as he begged for something already lost. His pain was suffocating, his cries nothing short of desperate.   But it was all a lie.   Beyond the glass, the lifeless form in the doctor's hands was nothing more than a carefully crafted deception. It was merely a silicone replica meant to mimic what Adrian feared most. The woman lying unconscious on the operating table, half-covered by sterile blue sheets, was not Noelle. She was merely a hired double that Valerian had chosen to be part of, knowing that in Adrian's state of panic, he wouldn't notice the subtle differences.   The real Noelle stood just a few feet behind Adrian, hidden in the darkness of the observation room.   Tears streamed silently down her face, her hands trembling as she clutched at the fabric of her gown. She had agreed to this. She had thought she w