Shadow of Secrets Pt. 12

**Disclaimer: All characters are 18+, no underage characters will ever be portrayed in any shape or form in this or any future stories.**

**Eva's point of view**

It was early evening, almost dark outside as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm golden light across the city. Erik stood outside, looking up at the skyline with an excited anticipation. It was his mother's birthday today and he wanted to give her something really special -- something that she wouldn't expect. He had gotten paid by Cindy for his help with the camera equipment enough to buy something for his mother on her birthday. He had gone to a jeweler on his way back and picked something for Eva and planned on giving it to her this evening.

Eva sat on the couch of her apartment flipping through her phone mindlessly; enjoying a rare day off from the club. Dating Jax had its perks for her as he had given her the day off without her even asking for it. She had hoped for spending some quality time with Erik but she woke up late to find that he had already left the apartment early in the morning. Once again he had left no note as to where he had gone off to which made Eva feel slightly annoyed with him.

When it was beginning to get dark outside she began to worry about Erik as the city was worse when it was dark making it unsafe for anyone to be out on the streets. She wondered what he was up to that he needed to keep things so quiet even from her. Usually he was always so open and honest about things without her having to even ask him about them.

Just then she heard the front door and she used her hearing abilities to identify that it was indeed Erik. She sighed with relief but her annoyance came back just as quickly. Pretty much the whole day had gone by without her having any clue as to where her son was. She even wondered if he had any idea it was her birthday today. He didn't forget did he? She felt slightly hurt at the mere thought of her own son forgetting her birthday.

But when Erik appeared in the hallway he was carrying a bag in his hand with the logo of her favorite baker on it. He had brought her favorite cupcakes for her which meant he hadn't forgotten her birthday at all.

She forgot all about her annoyance at him being gone all day she smiled bright at him saying "evening honey .... Is that what I think it is?"

Erik's face lit up just like hers when he saw his mother's bright smile. They hadn't been able to spend much time alone; just the two of them in quite some time. Jumping over the couch Erik landed right beside her and leaned onto her shoulder; handing her the bag with the cupcakes in it.

He spoke "yup! It's your favorite too .... Cream filled kind that you love so much."

Eva kissed his forehead and noticed his cheeks getting bright red which she always found cute about him.

She cooed "thank you honey .... Though I shouldn't eat too many of these or I'll have to buy even bigger clothes for myself!" She joked about it but Erik quickly objected "come on mom ... don't do that! You look perfect to me!"

Eva blushed feeling her heart melt seeing how adorable Erik could sometimes be, despite all the recent challenges they faced. Her feelings towards him were complex. There was undeniably maternal affection for him mixed with traces of guilt because she knew there were times she wasn't entirely present in his life due to her career and personal responsibilities. But deep inside, she also secretly admired and respected Erik's independence and resourcefulness. She sensed a hidden potential within him waiting to emerge. The biggest source of guilt however was that Eva had always delayed telling Erik about her powers. At first she told herself that he was too young to even understand any of it but now the longer she waited the feeling of guilt was turning into feeling of betrayal; especially now that Jax had found out about her abilities before her son.

Ever since discovering her powers during her high school years, she couldn't resist the urge to use them whenever possible. Even though using her heat vision caused sweat to form on her brow, she relished the power it gave her. In fact, she often went beyond what was necessary. Whenever she focused her energy and concentrated, she became acutely aware of everything around her - even minute changes such as the rise and fall of temperature in different parts of the room. It helped her anticipate problems or detect unusual activity. With heightened sensitivity and control over her powers, she felt invincible, almost omnipotent. Little did she realize that such belief had set her up for her greatest challenge. When she had Erik she pretty much stopped using majority of her powers suddenly; there were obviously some days when she missed the feeling of using them but her maternal instincts to protect Erik were strong enough to overcome such situations.

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The conversation between Erik and Eva flowed effortlessly, with both sharing stories of their respective days and catching up on each other's lives. As they devoured the delicious cupcakes, their laughter filled the cozy living room, creating a harmonious symphony that drowned out the cacophony of crime and chaos enveloping Darklight City.

After they were done eating Erik gently tapped his mother's knee, signaling his readiness to reveal the surprise he had prepared for her. He reached into his pocket and produced a small, beautifully crafted box.

Eva gasped in disbelief as she opened the gift. Inside lay a simple silver necklace that glistened under the soft glow of the chandelier hanging above them; though instead of a locket in the middle it had two rings interlocked with each other. Eva could immediately tell those rings were significant - one of the rings was her wedding ring and the other one belonged to Erik's biological father. Tears welled up in her eyes as she hugged Erik tightly, overwhelmed by his thoughtful gesture.

"Thank you, honey," she whispered, pressing her cheek against his. "This means so much to me." Her heart swelled with love and joy for having such a wonderful son. Erik grinned, his green eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You're welcome, Mom," he replied, squeezing her waist affectionately. "I just wanted to do something special for you on your birthday. I hope you like it."

Eva sniffled, wiping away a tear with a delicate hand. "Oh, Erik, it's perfect.

Thank you, sweetheart," Eva said emotionally, clutching the necklace closely to her chest. "I love it."

She loved the gift Erik had given her tonight but it also brought back some painful memories for her. Erik's dad was the first man she had loved. He wasn't anyone special but he was special to her. He was just a common man who worked a normal job unlike Eva who used to be so focused on stopping crime in the city. They both were insanely in love with each other but just like so many heartbreaking stories of people of this city; he too was taken away from the world too soon. Erik never got to meet the wonderful man but Eva always could see him through Erik's eyes. He was also partially the reason for Eva to quit her super-heroine job as she would rather die than let the same fate befall her son.

Her son watched her lovingly, pleased that he managed to put a smile on her face. Their bond seemed stronger than ever, as they sat on the couch, engrossed in each other's company. The silence was comforting; each word exchanged held significance. Erik felt a sense of calm wash over him, knowing that he succeeded in showing his gratitude toward his mother.

His throat tightened as he gazed at Eva who was busy wearing the necklace Erik had just gifted her. "So, um, Mom," he hesitated, shuffling a bit in his seat, "what are we doing tonight?"

Eva, caught off guard with the sudden change in topic, blinked a couple of times before smiling softly. "Well, we could watch a movie together, maybe? I've been meaning to introduce you to some classic films."

Erik nodded eagerly. "Sounds great, Mom! I'd love to learn more about the classics."

Eva beamed at him, happy to reconnect with her son in a meaningful way. "Perfect then, let me just grab some popcorn and drinks, and we'll start the movie," she chirped, rising from the couch. The shimmer from the silver necklace seemed to have caught Erik's eye as she got to her feet and Eva noticed his eyes slightly flicker between the necklace and her cleavage but she didn't think much of it.

As she disappeared into the kitchen, Erik took a moment to appreciate the warmth and comfort that surrounded him. Life had its ups and downs, but moments like these with his mom were priceless. Eva returned soon after, carrying a large bowl of popcorn and two glasses of soda.

As they settled down together, she asked Erik, "Do you want to start the movie or should I?"

"Why don't you choose?" Erik suggested. "You're the expert, after all."

Eva chuckled, "Well, I guess a superhero film would be fitting for a kid who's always playing detective, huh?"

He laughed, shaking his head playfully. "If they had any movie made about The Shadow maybe I would have thought about it but no luck there!" Eva tried her best to act natural at the sudden mention of the name of her super-heroine alter ego. She knew how big of a fan Erik was of "her" and yet it only brought back the feeling of guilt for not confiding in him about her abilities. Maybe tonight was the night she could finally come clean? It could only bring them closer right? He surely won't be hurt about not finding it out sooner?

Erik went on however not realizing his mother's troubled state of mind "Besides, I never claimed to be Sherlock Holmes or anything like that."

She handed him the remote wordlessly still debating and trying to make up her mind about coming clean after all these years. It was both nerve-wracking and freeing at the same time. She wanted to be free of this burden of guilt she was carrying but it also meant Erik might wonder if powers of his own might manifest in him. She had been relieved when he had turned 18 and showed no signs of any kind of abilities similar to hers.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'll be back in a jiff. I need to freshen up a bit before our little movie marathon." Eva decided to step away a bit so she wouldn't give away what was going on in her head. Erik merely waved her off, focusing on selecting the movie and being unaware of his mother's troubled mind.

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Some time later, however, the familiar scent of his mother wafted through the air. Erik glanced up and away from the TV screen, astonished at what he saw.

Eva stood, still damp from her shower, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped loosely around her curvaceous body. However the new silver necklace was now around her neck with the two rings resting perfectly in her cleavage.

Her wet dark hair cascaded down her shoulders, adding to her enchanting appearance. A seductive aura emanated from her, drawing Erik's gaze towards her. He felt an overwhelming wave of desire washing over him, causing his pulse to race faster than usual.

Eva, unaware of the effect she had on her son, sauntered over to the couch, her movement accentuating her hourglass figure. As she approached, Erik felt his body reacting, unconsciously leaning forward in anticipation. His gaze followed as her towel slowly slipped lower, revealing an enticing amount of skin and leaving him breathless.

Erik swallowed hard, trying to suppress the growing lust raging beneath his skin. This situation was not only uncomfortable but incredibly inappropriate. Still, he couldn't help feeling aroused. The forbidden nature of his desires only fueled his attraction to his mother further. His fingers twitched nervously as he desperately attempted to change the channel to break the spell that bound them.

Eva's gaze swept over Erik, noticing the tension radiating from his rigid posture. "Would you like me to change into something more comfortable?" she asked cautiously, placing a protective arm over her torso.

Eva wasn't sure about doing this and she wouldn't have usually but Jax's words did have some effect on her. Jax had been slowly corrupting her with his words and without even realizing it she had started to see things his way.

Jax had convinced her how her body was to be admired despite her being self conscious about it. He had convinced her that it was better for her self esteem to wear slightly more revealing clothes in public and be more daring in her choices to bolster her confidence. The way Jax worshiped her body when they were together left her no doubt that Jax found her body irresistible but she wasn't sure about other men. Though seeing Erik's eyes on her did somewhat support Jax's arguments.

Erik hesitated with his eyes nervously going from her cleavage to the floor as she offered to go change before he said "no that's okay mom .... Whatever makes you feel comfortable!"

Eva blushed a bit seeing how nervous she made her own son by just being present in the room with him in a towel. Eva sat down slowly on the couch; carefully making sure that the towel didn't expose any part of her body to her son.

Erik was flipping through the channels without much thought trying to find a good movie or show to watch with Eva as she cooled down a bit from her hot shower. Just as she got comfortable on the couch by leaning back slightly and getting her feet folded up under her sideways; the TV blared out a breaking news animation and sound with the news channel coming up on the screen. Erik involuntarily paused at that channel having seen a familiar face on the screen; it was Cindy.

Cindy was holding a mic in her hand as she passionately talked about the city's recent crime stats report; the news strip at the bottom however caught Eva's attention.

In bold the headline was quickly passing across the screen "Retired ex-league super-heroine known as "Ms. Doppler" now among the missing heroines ... stay tuned for an update."

Eva's eyes went wide as she had known this, Ms. Doppler very well; to her she was Hayley a very bubbly girl same age as Eva all those years ago; she had powers to shape-shift into other people and was quickly recruited by the league. Eva had grown somewhat close to her and had been fond of her. Hayley had left the league shortly after Eva had for similar reasons. Last Eva had heard of Hayley, she had two kids and a husband with whom she shared a quiet suburban life on the outskirts of the city. That was just after Erik was born so now her kids would be around the same age as Erik. Eva leaned forward a bit to focus on any detail the news report might say about her kids. She felt horrible just thinking about something bad happening to them.

Eva's heartbeat was going up quickly as she reread those lines going across the screen wondering what changed for whoever was behind the crimes to go after a retired heroine in hiding as opposed to their normal targets of active league members. There had to be more to it surely!

Eva slowly said "Don't change the channel, Erik. I wanna watch this bit." To which he simply nodded and put down the remote wondering what was causing the sudden seriousness to his mother's demeanor besides the sudden obvious missing heroine news.

On the screen Cindy finally went in for the actual story after wrapping up the crime stats report. She started off by telling the viewers a bit about Ms. Doppler for those who hadn't heard about her in the last decade or so. She explained her powers a bit before reminding the viewers some of her famous exploits when she was an active member of the league. Then the camera panned out to include a stern looking middle aged man who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else than giving an interview; Detective Thompson.

Cindy introduced the viewers to the detective quickly before asking the detective "So what can you tell us about this latest of multiple missing super-heroines and what sets this one apart, Detective?"

Thompson looked uneasily at the camera before clearing his throat nervously; clearly not comfortable being in the spotlight. He replied in a quick short burst or words "it's still an open investigation so I'm not at liberty to disclose much unfortunately however I'll say this..... the department is working under the assumption now that this is a highly coordinated operation of some sorts where they appear to be picking their victims at random though there definitely is a pattern to be found."

Cindy was quick to jump at that piece of information as she asked him "and what exactly is the pattern? to which Thompson waves off his hand dismissively saying "too early to say anything right now though I would hope that you wouldn't poke into police matters and blow any leads that we work hard to run down,Cindy. And I would urge the heroines to be extra vigilant as we can't seem to predict who might be next especially now that they have gone after a retired heroine who had managed to keep her identity hidden for nearly two decades." With that Thompson abruptly ended his interview and went away leaving Cindy to wrap up the segment.

Cindy further went on to let her viewers know about eyewitness accounts of neighbors from the neighborhood Hayley was living in. She explained how her entire house was quiet and empty for a few days so Ms. Doppler could have been taken anytime before that.

There were clear signs of struggle inside the house according to the crime report Cindy had somehow acquired yet Hayley's husband and two daughters (both over 18) were nowhere to be found just like her.

They did find the garage door forcibly opened and few drops of Hayley's husband's blood in the bedroom floor yet what was more shocking was the unknown DNA evidence found on the bed-sheet of the master bedroom in the form of semen. Using that to identify a person of interest had been ruled out already having no match in the system.

Even though the news didn't elaborate any further or make any assumptions; Eva could make her own conclusions. Whoever had manged to get the drop on Hayley had managed to hold her husband as a means to get Hayley to comply; possibly even hurt him a little to show her they weren't bluffing. She was highly trained despite the retirement so getting a drop on her was nearly impossible. They must have threatened her family to ensure her compliance.

The semen found on the bed unnerved Eva even more as it told her that there was sexual angle there and possibly even involved a person who was after these individuals partially for sex as after it he wouldn't have taken them away leaving the main motive of it all only to be guessed.

What was happening here? Eva thought as she considered how she was in a similar situation and the thought of finding herself being taken wasn't as terrifying as it was to think that they would target Erik to get to her.

Erik's voice beside her suddenly getting louder broke her out of her train of thought. She looked at him realizing the news segment had ended and Erik was asking if can switch to something else now.

Eva was heavily disturbed as she rose to her feet and said "I think I'm gonna go to my room for a bit. You can order pizza and we can eat it after." Not saying much after that she quickly went to her room; locking it behind her.

It wasn't often that Eva would get overwhelmed by something like this yet the thought that her past and her abilities could now prove to be a potential threat for her son was a dark thought for her to deal with. She held her head in her hands as she sat on her bed; still wrapped in her towel feeling defeated for the first time in decades. In her mind there was only one person she could confide it all to - Jax.

She picked her phone which she had left on her bedside table only to see there was already a text from Jax about 20 minutes ago. It read "Happy Birthday, Eva. Be ready in the evening cause I have plans and reservations for us. I want you to wear that slutty red dress I got you last week and meet me at the Tony's bar around 8. I'll see ya there. Ohhhh.... almost forgot.... no panties."