Hi my friends. Hope you are all well.
Here is the next part of Evander &Alyia
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The Zero Hall was located on the ground floor of the skyscraper building named "HOPE", which also housed Evander's work office, the main central office for the "Mind healing project team" and all the other facilities related to research, the laboratories, control and operating rooms which run the program. The skyscrapers had eighty vast floors, each dedicated to one aspect of the project.
Aside from Evander, all the other staff lived on the residential buildings on the other part of Azure.
The top floor of "HOPE" skyscraper included Evander's Penthouse. Tania knew that aside from the main elevators and the Aeromobiles, which flew almost everywhere inside the building from point A to point B, there was a direct, personal elevator inside her brother's penthouse, which travelled straight down to the ground floor. That was a much quicker route.
She was also aware that if she wanted to forget about what her brother said about the possibility of that girl being a criminal, a potentially lonely, scared and in pain girl was in need of her help, sooner rather than later. However she also needed to take a little more time to gather herself together before approaching her. She needed to have a plan. So she was torn between picking up the exact route of transportation.
Finally, she decided she couldn't waste any more time. Taking a deep breath, she changed her way from the central elevators, toward Evander's penthouse, which was just a short walk down the shiny hallway, decorated with the latest pieces of art and furniture.
Very soon Tania was standing just outside the formidable smart iron gate of her brother's penthouse. Even his penthouse was imposing....Tania thought to herself dryly.
The words E.P short for Evander Peirce, was etched on the sturdy doors. The door was dimly lit a red light, which after recognizing Tania through the iris scanner turned in to a green light and started to open.
Tania was welcomed inside as "Welcome Tania" by his brother's not very welcoming voice, played to her by the smart house. She rolled her eyes!
The house was designed to the perfection. And not just any routine standard of perfection, but her brother's version of perfection.
It was meant to look peaceful, which, it was when, her brother wasn't inside. As she stepped inside, under her feet began a small version of the deep blue ocean and all kinds of living creatures. Evander thought of it as an aquarium but it was much more than an aquarium, with a depth of nearly seven meters and covering all the six hundred square meters of the ground floor of the penthouse. Aside from the second floor rooms, everywhere you walked, there was part of the ocean and possibly an exotic fish that followed you behind. The reflection of the blue water and all the fish and other creatures swimming around on the mostly glass walls or the very mirrors inside the penthouse, gave the real impression of walking inside the ocean itself. Amazing was not powerful enough word to describe the sensation. The music which was played randomly by the house could be heard all through the house, along with the ever present sound of waves in the background. Evander considered that sound to be serene and peaceful.
Ignoring the servant robot, which welcomed her and all the amenities like the food menu, the spa and massage recommendations offered to her by the smart house, she hurried down the first floor's hallway toward the last door.
Tania always prided herself of being brave. But at that moment she was standing in front of the black door opening to the elevator which took her down straight to the ground floor of "HOPE', she was terrified.
Damn her brother and his unusual requests and damn herself for accepting it. She always knew it was a bad idea to get in the middle of Evander's private affairs, and that concept was officially confirmed at that moment.
She wasn't exactly sure what or who she was really afraid of. The stranger who could be a criminal? No, it wasn't that. Thanks to the very relentless daily self defense classes Evander had forced upon her from the first day of her adoption, now she had no problem even fighting the most powerful men. And she knew Evander was certain about her safety or he wouldn't have sent her here. No. She wasn't afraid of that girl. The sad truth would be, she was afraid of the situation, in which she would find the young girl, who was supposedly her brother's charge?
Was her brother really a tyrant as most of the people described him? What kind of a person would that make her if she loved her brother? Had he tortured the girl beyond repair? What kind of people her family were really? She loved her entire family. True, they probably were the weirdest family ever, but they all loved her unconditionally. All her brothers cherished her. Aside from Evander, the rest of her family including her parents, never even raised their voice to her. Her parents, although it took them a little while to accept her in to the family, but after the first few months, they both adored her. Evander always said they all spoiled her too much. And it was true. She was spoiled. If her heart desired something, she would just ask her parents or one of her other brothers and they would gladly get it for her in no time.
The most strict between them was Evander, who always said that if she wanted something it shouldn't be offered to her on a silver plate and she had to work for it. However, even he gave her too much leeway.
Soon she found herself standing outside the door of the Zero Hall. She always wondered what really went on inside that Hall. As promised by her brother, this time the door opened for her and after a not very short walk across the hall, Tania found herself standing by the door in the corner of the Hall. She knew she could open a window to look inside the small room. So she punched in a code in the small keypad on the wall and a small window appeared on the door. The room was lit by a faint light and a deafening silence was the only sound she heard.
As Tania looked inside, she saw a small naked frame lying down on her stomach on the mattress. Her bottom was a deep red shade with some bruises and several welts from what Tania knew was probably a belt. The extent of her injuries was limited to that, and nothing more. At least from where she was standing behind the door. Still, she let out a sigh of relief. She had imagined a much worse scenario. The girl seemed completely still. However as her brother had warned her, Tania knew she was awake.
