Chapter 45
Dev
I was trapped in my worst nightmare.
Armed guards stood outside my bedroom door. The locks had been magnetically sealed by the house system, trapping me inside.
I had access to nothing but my bedroom and bathroom. The space itself was enormous — bigger than most houses — but it felt suffocating.
I wanted out.
The moment dinner ended, I had been ordered upstairs. No explanation. No discussion.
Just guards.
I slammed my fist against the door.
“You can’t keep me in here!”
The door suddenly swung open.
Dominic stood in the doorway.
I stepped back instinctively.
“What the hell is going on?”
The door closed behind him with a quiet click.
“This is merely a formality,” Dominic said calmly. “Your father and I agreed it would be best if you didn’t run back to your… apartment too quickly. You are still needed here.”
“What do you want, Dominic?”
He began strolling slowly around the room as if he owned the place, running his fingers across my desk and books with casual ease.
“Just to talk,” he said lightly. “This role at the paper is very important. As you well know.”
He turned back toward me.
“You can’t take it on lightly.”
“Duly noted,” I said flatly. “Now I’d like to leave.”
Dominic smiled.
Then he tossed a folder onto my bed.
“Do you know what my gift is?” he asked. “My ability is a rather interesting one.”
He looked at me.
“It’s touch-based.”
“I can read images of importance in a person’s mind… simply by touching their skin.”
I froze, my gaze dropping instinctively to my hands.
“It’s a very useful skill,” Dominic continued calmly. “Particularly in business. You’d be amazed at the kind of leverage people carry around in their heads.”
He gestured toward the bed.
“Yours, however, was more interesting than most.”
“Take a look.”
I stared at the folder like it might bite me.
Slowly, I stepped toward the bed and opened it.
My stomach dropped.
Seph’s face stared back at me.
The photo had been taken on the streets of Telluride. I was pulling her through a crowd, the two of us running from Soldiers of Light.
The image was grainy, clearly pulled from a security camera.
But her face was unmistakable.
So was mine.
“She’s pretty,” Dominic said thoughtfully. “Striking, really. That colouring alone would make her stand out anywhere.”
He studied my reaction with quiet interest.
“There weren’t many records about her at first. I wouldn’t have thought twice about it… until I saw her in your mind.”
He smiled faintly.
“Persephone Quinn.”
“You leave her out of this,” I snarled.
“Happy to,” he replied lightly. “She is my good friend’s daughter, after all. Georgina has been looking for her for quite some time.”
He shrugged.
“She won’t tell me why. But I have my sources.”
His smile widened.
“And wouldn’t you know it… they uncovered some very interesting medical records.”
I lunged forward and punched him hard in the face.
The door burst open instantly.
Two armed guards rushed in and grabbed my arms, wrenching them behind my back.
Dominic wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
“No, no,” he said calmly. “It’s alright.”
He waved the guards off slightly.
“We’re fine, aren’t we Dev?”
“If you even touch her—”
“Here’s what is going to happen.”
His voice turned cold.
“You are going to accept the position at the Redgrave Publishing House.”
He took a slow step toward me.
“And then you are going to hand over every key and every piece of authority to me.”
“You may remain as the public face of the operation, of course.”
His smile returned.
“But the information we publish… will be entirely at my discretion.”
“And if you refuse…”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“I will kill her.”
The room went silent. Dominic said it so casually it took me a second to realise he meant it.
Dominic leaned closer, his voice lowering.
“You see, I know what she is. And I know what she can do.”
“There are a great many people who would love to use her because of that.”
He tilted his head slightly.
“But not me.”
His expression hardened.
“She’s an anomaly.”
“And anomalies should be eradicated.”