Chapter 53: A Silent Farewell

On August 2, 1998, Raccoon City in the afternoon was wrapped in sultry, overcast clouds. The air carried the heavy, stagnant feeling of an impending rainstorm. Pedestrians on the street were few, and even the loudspeakers of the shops along the street lacked their usual clamor.

Jill changed into dark gray casual clothes, shedding the sharpness of her S.T.A.R.S. uniform, with only her sidearm concealed at her waist. She held Chloe's hand and walked with steady steps toward the agreed-upon location, remaining vigilant of her surroundings the entire time.

The two finally stopped in front of an independent coffee shop hidden at a street corner. It was far from the main road, with front and back doors leading to alleys. Inside the shop, tall green plants separated the space into semi-enclosed booths, offering high privacy—it was the meeting point Alyssa had designated in advance.

The moment Chloe followed Jill through the shop door, her fingertips subconsciously gripped Jill's sleeve, and her gaze paused ever so slightly as it swept across the booth by the window.

She knew all too well who was sitting there.

The young woman, now in her early twenties with short hair neatly framing her face, sleeves rolled up to her forearms, and eyes as bright as tempered fire, was the future adoptive mother of the protagonist Grace Ashcroft. After beginning her legendary life in Raccoon City, she would die alone in a hotel in Wrenwood City, becoming yet another human tragedy created by Umbrella.

"Officer Valentine." Alyssa stood up first, reached out to shake Jill's hand, her tone crisp and direct without any unnecessary pleasantries. "I am Alyssa Ashcroft. This place is safe; I have already confirmed there is no surveillance or tailing."

"Sorry for the trouble." Jill nodded in acknowledgement, gently bringing Chloe to her side. "This is Chloe, the core victim of the Arklay incident and the only living witness to the human experiments of the Umbrella Corporation."

Chloe nodded slightly at Alyssa. Without a word, she sat quietly beside Jill, like a silent shadow.

She did not interrupt once throughout the entire conversation. She merely kept her eyes lowered, listening as Jill laid out the truth about the Arklay Spencer Mansion, the T-Virus leak, the annihilation of the S.T.A.R.S. team, and Wesker's betrayal, detail by detail. She watched as Jill pushed the photocopies of the documents brought from the research facility toward Alyssa, and watched as Alyssa's hand tightened while flipping through the files, the shock in her eyes slowly turning into bone-chilling rage.

"Those bastards..." Alyssa's voice was very low, her fingertips turning white from the force. She had been investigating the Umbrella Corporation for two years and held quite a bit of evidence regarding the company's gray market dealings, yet she had never imagined that they were conducting such inhumane human experiments beneath Raccoon City.

She looked up at the silent Chloe beside her, her eyes filled with genuine pity. When she looked back at Jill, her tone held no hesitation. "This material is enough to overturn the entire Raccoon City establishment. I can have the article ready by tonight and publish it first thing tomorrow morning. Even if they shut down the newspaper office, I have channels to get the truth out."

"You need to think this through." Jill's expression was grave. "Irons and the entire police department have been bought off by the Umbrella Corporation. Once you publish, they will immediately come for you, perhaps even resorting to silencing you permanently."

"From the day I started investigating them, I never expected to walk away unscathed." Alyssa smiled, her eyes showing no fear, only the stubborn persistence of a journalist seeking the truth. "We'll use encrypted channels for future contact. If there is any new evidence or any emergency, we'll communicate immediately."

The entire meeting was brief and efficient, without a single word of wasted breath. Twenty minutes later, Jill left the coffee shop with Chloe and walked along the sidewalk toward their apartment.

Along the way, Chloe remained silent.

She was not acting on impulse, nor was she an ignorant child. From the moment she stepped out of the coffee shop, she had already calculated every possibility in her mind.

Irons had already set his sights on her; today was just a notice, but tomorrow he might bring men to break down the door. The people from the Umbrella Corporation would track her down sooner or later, and as long as she remained by Jill's side, Jill would always be their target. She only had one last S01 Inhibitor left; if she lost control in front of Jill, she would personally destroy the only person who had ever given her warmth.

Staying by Jill's side would only make her a burden. Only if she left could Jill do what she needed to do without restraint and truly be safe.

Once this thought took root, it never wavered.

As soon as the two reached the bottom of the apartment building, they both stopped in their tracks at the same time.

Three police cars marked with the Raccoon City Police Department logo were parked horizontally at the entrance. Seven or eight uniformed officers stood at the door, their hands resting on the batons at their waists, their expressions cold—they had clearly been waiting for a long time. Jill instantly shielded Chloe behind her, her right hand silently gripping the sidearm at her waist, her gaze turning cold in an instant.

"Jill Valentine." The lead officer stepped forward and produced a paper stamped with the police department's official seal, his tone stiff. "By order of Chief Irons, we are executing a mandatory municipal placement for the unaccompanied minor victim, Chloe. You are ordered to hand her over immediately, or you will be charged with obstructing official business."

"Mandatory placement?" Jill scoffed, not yielding an inch, her voice clear and sharp. "Where is the placement approval document required by the Juvenile Protection Law? Where is the court order? Have you read the Victim Protection Ordinance for the Arklay incident? You have nothing. This isn't official business; you're just using a note from Irons to help the Umbrella Corporation kidnap someone."

With a single sentence, she exposed the core of the matter. The few officers exchanged glances, their expressions clearly hesitant. They were just low-level officers who knew deep down that this wasn't by the book, but they were merely following orders.

"Cut the crap! The Chief's order is the rule!" The lead officer's face darkened, and he waved his hand to signal the men behind him to move forward. "Take her!"

"I'd like to see who dares to touch her." Jill drew her gun instantly, the muzzle pointed steadily at the ground, yet exuding an undeniable sense of oppression. The aura of an elite S.T.A.R.S. member was fully unleashed.

"Chloe is a key witness to the illegal human experiments conducted by the Umbrella Corporation. If you forcibly take her today, you will all be accomplices to the Umbrella Corporation in court later. Think clearly: is it worth sacrificing your career for a single order from Irons?"

Both sides fell into a standoff, the air as tense as a drawn bowstring. All the officers' attention was focused on the armed Jill; no one noticed that the girl who had been shielded behind her, who appeared weak and harmless, had already silently taken two steps back.

Chloe glanced at Jill's back and then swept her gaze toward the alleyway connecting to the back street. There was no panic in her eyes, only the calmness of someone who had made up her mind. She knew that if the standoff continued, Jill would only end up with charges of obstructing official business and illegal possession of a firearm, would be completely removed from her post by Irons, or even thrown into a detention center.

Without the slightest hesitation, taking advantage of the moment everyone's gaze was locked on Jill, she turned and stepped quickly into the alley. Her steps were light and steady, making not a sound, like a breeze blending into the shadows, and she soon disappeared around the corner of the alley.

"Where is she?! That girl is gone!"

It wasn't until an officer behind them exclaimed in surprise that the stalemate was broken.

Jill's heart sank violently. Instantly disregarding the standoff, she turned and rushed into the alley entrance, her voice filled with an unprecedented panic: "Chloe!"

The alley was empty, save for half a crushed cigarette butt on the ground, proving that someone had been there just moments ago. The officers were also thrown into disarray. Irons had given a strict order that she must be brought back; now that she had run off, they had no way to report back, so they immediately scattered to search the nearby streets frantically.

But Chloe knew all too well how to hide. Eight years of imprisonment in pitch-black darkness had honed her resilient inner spirit. With the perception granted to her by the virus, once she deliberately hid, these low-level officers had no chance of finding her.

An hour later, a torrential rain began to pour. The officers had found nothing and could only curse as they pulled back and retreated.

Jill was soaked through by the rain, dragging her exhausted body back to the empty apartment. She leaned against the door in the entryway, her fingertips still trembling slightly, her heart filled with self-reproach and regret. She blamed herself for focusing only on the standoff and not watching Chloe, and blamed herself for failing to protect her, letting that child who had just crawled out of hell walk alone into the rain once again.

It wasn't until she looked up and saw a neatly folded note on the desk in the living room, with the spare apartment key she had provided for Chloe lying next to it.

Jill stepped forward quickly, her trembling fingertips unfolding the note. On it was Chloe's chicken-scratch handwriting, messy but devoid of any panic.

"Jill,"

"I'm sorry, I'm leaving."

"I have been keeping many things from you. I am not the ordinary girl you think I am. Remaining by my side will only bring you endless danger. Today's event is just the beginning. As long as I am here, Irons and the Umbrella Corporation will not let you go. I can no longer be a burden to you."

"You don't need to look for me, and you don't need to worry about me. I know how to hide and how to survive. The Umbrella Corporation's target is me. Once I'm gone, their attention won't be fixed on you anymore, and then you can focus on doing what you need to do and bring the truth to light."

"I took an old windbreaker from your closet and the emergency flashlight from the fire cabinet by the door. I'm sorry I didn't tell you in advance."

"Thank you for this past week. It was the first time in my life that I felt like I was living like a normal person. I will remember it forever."

"Please take care of yourself, and you must stay alive."

"Chloe"

On the corner of the note, there was a trace of it being dampened by rain, as if the person who wrote it had let a tear fall onto it, only to quickly wipe it away.

Jill slowly clenched the note, her eyes finally turning red.

She finally understood that Chloe's departure was not out of fear or escape, nor was it an impulsive act; it was a well-calculated, clear-headed choice. In her own way, the child had given everything to protect her one last time.

Outside the window, the heavy rain fell harder and harder, pattering against the glass. The gloom of Raccoon City finally pressed down completely in the midst of this rain.