Chapter 117: Silence After

Gideon and Delilah walked side by side as they left the lab.

He had planned to check every locked door, to see what was inside and take anything that could be useful. In the end, there wasn’t much beyond a few C-4 charges, some firearms and ammunition, a couple of generators, and the usual personnel rooms.

There were also canned food and water supplies that were still usable, even though about half of the storage had already been consumed.

What caught his attention the most, however, was a blueprint of the entire facility. He took it immediately, already planning to hand it over to William.

Maybe one day, having a bunker like this would prove useful.

While Gideon continued searching the room—what looked like a head office, judging from the leather sofa, the mahogany shelves, and the heavy desk—Delilah suddenly spoke.

"What do you think about those logs?"

He knew what she really meant. Whether he found it shocking enough to dig deeper. To search for the missing pieces. Or worse... to tell everyone about it.

There had never been a meteor. It was a living thing. Something that came from this world, something that either hatched or died, but whatever process followed was what brought about the apocalypse.

"I’m surprised," Gideon said. "And if you’re asking whether I’d look for more information if I had the chance... I would."

He pulled out the blueprint and spread it across the table. It unfolded like a map.

"There are other bunkers like this one," he continued, tapping the marked locations. "They’re far, but these are probably the closest ones."

Delilah stepped closer, her eyes widening as she looked at it.

"This..." Her voice tightened. "This is where the last expedition went."

Gideon blinked, then nodded slowly as it clicked into place.

"That’s where your husband ’died,’ isn’t it?"

He remembered what Aaron and Kilian had said. The last expedition before Leon’s death.

So he had been looking for this bunker. Whether he found it or not... that was another question.

"Yes..." Delilah’s voice dropped. "He was being hunted by the Order of the West. There was even a bounty on him."

She didn’t say anything more after that.

Gideon let out a quiet breath. "It’s fine if you don’t want to tell me the rest," he said. "But you need to understand something."

He looked at her, his tone steady. "If one day he stands in front of you as an enemy... you’ll be the one who has to end it."

Delilah didn’t say anything and that silence was loud enough as an answer.

***

After making sure he had explored every part of the bunker, Gideon decided it was time. He helped Delilah set up the C4 charges, placing them in key spots. The explosives could be triggered with a single press from the controller she held.

They didn’t need to destroy everything completely. It was enough to make sure no one could ever get inside again.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked once more when he found Delilah in her room.

She was sitting at the edge of the bed with her back facing him, staring at something on the table. She didn’t respond, not even when he called her name again from the doorway.

Gideon stepped closer, and from where he stood, he could finally see the photo frame clearly. It was a family picture, still with Leon in it.

Summer and Freya looked younger there, especially Freya, who seemed to be around ten. It must have been taken not long after they first found this bunker.

He reached out and gently touched Delilah’s shoulder.

She jolted immediately, wiping the tears from her cheeks before turning to him.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t notice you."

She smiled, but the tears in her eyes hadn’t fully disappeared, and for some reason, that sight bothered him more than he expected. He had told himself to keep his distance, to act like nothing more than a subordinate as she wanted, but standing here now, that resolve didn’t feel as firm anymore.

"We don’t have to destroy it," he said. "I can seal the hatch instead. No one will be able to get in, and we can take the documents or burn them... whatever you want."

Delilah shook her head slowly. "No... it’s not just about the documents." Her gaze returned to the photo. "There are too many memories here."

Her fingers lingered near the frame before she continued. "Everyone always said my husband was a jerk. And he is... but there was a time when he wasn’t."

She went quiet for a moment, as if weighing the words before letting them out. "I kept believing he would change one day, but he never did. How foolish of me."

Gideon didn’t know what to say to that, so he simply rested his hand against her back, a quiet gesture more than anything else. He had never known Leon, but the feeling wasn’t unfamiliar.

Once, he had believed his own father would change too, and he never did... or maybe they were just never enough for him to try.

"So... I think it’s time for me to move on," Delilah said, turning back to him. "Thank you for helping me. And... I don’t mind you getting closer to me, Gideon. It’s just..."

Her face suddenly turned red, and for a second, he didn’t understand what she meant.

"I saw what you did with my daughters and..." She took a breath, then stood up. "I need some distance from that."

She walked past him and left the room just like that, leaving Gideon standing there as his thoughts started racing, trying to catch up with what she had just said.

At first, there were too many possibilities, too many interpretations, but one of them quickly stood out and refused to leave.

"...Did she see me with Summer and Freya having sex? When?"

The answer hit him almost immediately.

The motel.

"Shit." He ran a hand through his hair, his thoughts unraveling all at once. "Of all the times... why that one?"

Now it made sense, painfully clear in hindsight. It was honestly a miracle she hadn’t slapped him or done something worse like cutting off his dick, especially after what he had said before. That night had been... a lot, even by his own standards.

Not that he regretted it, but still, any mother—no matter how grown her daughters were—wouldn’t take that lightly. And now, the real problem wasn’t just the situation itself, but what it might have changed.

"Is she going to think I’m some kind of perverted bastard now?"

Gideon dropped onto the bed, shoulders slumping as the weight of it finally settled in. For once, he had no idea what the right move was.