Chapter 10 Declan #2
Zahra’s eyebrows knit together, vehemently shaking her head.
“No. At least not in the way you’re thinking.
He didn’t hide me away like some sort of expensive family heirloom.
He kept my identity hidden from others because he wanted me to live a normal life.
He wanted to protect my childhood and even my early 20s.
I don’t think I fully realized it at the time, but it was one of the best gifts he could have given me.
The gift of being a normal girl who didn’t have to carry the extra burden of being a boss’s daughter, the burden of wondering if my friends like me for me, or wondering if someone will try to kidnap, torture, or kill me… or worse. I just got to be Zahra.”
“Was it weird being away from your family for most of your life?” I couldn’t imagine not living in the same home as my parents and Aidan.
“I was actually home a lot more than most people realized. I went to public schools in Boston. Under high security, of course, but my father figured no one would suspect a man of his stature to send their child to a public school. Most people in our world are elitist assholes who faint at the idea of sending their child anywhere other than some snooty private school. Plus, everyone thought my father’s heir was a boy, so… ” She shrugs.
“You were hidden in plain sight, with no one the wiser.” It was genius. And ballsy. Two words that summed Naser up to a T.
“He did everything he could to ensure I could have the same upbringing as my peers.” She looks down and breaks out into soft laughter.
“What’s so funny?” I wonder.
“You know my dad never missed any of my recitals or competitions? Whether it was a spelling bee, a debate tournament, or an eighth-grade graduation. You name it, he was there. Except you wouldn’t know it was him.
He would come in full disguise, including makeup, to make sure no one could spot him, and end up ruining my day.
It was incredibly dramatic, though, I can’t lie, it meant a lot to me. ”
“He was an incredible man.” Her description of her childhood sounded happy enough, but still I wondered, “You didn’t feel lonely at all?”
“I did. In some respects, I was living a double life. For my own security, no one could know who my real parents were so I had to lie a lot to my friends. I couldn’t exactly vent to them about my anxieties about becoming a boss one day either.”
“Even if you could…it can be hard to understand the full weight of it all.” Or at least that’s how I had felt ever since I came into power.
Knowing my decisions impact not only my own family but also all the people who work for me and their loved ones is a responsibility that is constantly on my mind.
For a second, I catch a slight break in Zahra’s armor as she gives me an instinctive nod and her eyes fill with a hint of exhaustion.
The moment is gone almost as soon as it had appeared, but it’s enough for me to know she was feeling the same immense amount of pressure as I am.
Enough for me to know I’m not alone in my inner battle…
She knew what it felt like to have your father ripped away from you and not be given a chance to grieve because now you control an empire and tens of thousands of people rely on you.
Her soft voice startles me, grabbing my attention.
“That’s probably why our fathers were so close.
” She looks at the rose in my hand. “No one else truly understood them. In our world, feeling lonely is probably the norm, but suffering in silence is also a choice. A choice that they decided against.”
“Perhaps it's a choice we can also reject,” I boldly declare, holding my breath for her response. She may have opened up to me today, but I have no doubts there are many parts of herself that Zahra is keeping close to her chest.
Zahra picks at her nails, the hem of her blazer, and rubs her neck.
None of which signaled that she’ll be on board for what I’m proposing.
If not for the birds chirping outside or the wind rustling the leaves of the nearby trees, we’d be standing in complete, unnerving silence.
My jaw nearly falls down in shock when she says, “I would like that. To have someone to lean on.”
I blink, needing an extra moment to process.
“Good. Great. Amazing.” Dear god. This is rough.
I can’t remember the last time I’d felt this nervous.
Are my hands sweating right now? No, they couldn’t be.
I pull them out of my pockets and try to nonchalantly wipe them on the front of my pants.
“Well, I guess I should probably get going then. I appreciate you cutting my intern some slack and scheduling this meetup.”
My feet drag as I start my descent back toward the house. My phone starts to vibrate incessantly, but before I can reach for my pocket, Zahra wraps her hand around my wrist, stopping me.
“Wait, hold up.” A panicked expression takes over her face.
I freeze in my tracks. “What’s wrong?”
“Um, I also had something I wanted to talk to you about…a potential problem we need to handle.” She nods her head back toward the garden. A conversation that needs to be kept private. Shit. This couldn’t be good.
“What’s going on?” My tone shifts into business.
“I’ve been running numbers on our shipments and earnings for the past few months and they’re not adding up. We’ve been taking subtle losses that are easy to miss in the moment, but you begin to notice a pattern over time. And I think the pattern is indicative of a major problem.”
“How much have we lost so far?”
She purses her lips. “Close to twenty thousand dollars if my estimates are correct. Both in guns and in surveillance devices.”
I let out a breath. “Well, at least the financial damage isn’t too bad yet.”
“It’s nothing we can’t recover from, currently. But I’m scared of what may happen if this pattern continues. Also, if our thief continues to get braver and braver each month, which, by my predictions, is exactly what’s happening.”
“Shit.”
“My sentiments exactly.”
“Any leads so far?” I check.
“Nothing. Except I’m fairly certain it has to be an inside job. None of our shipments were reported missing or damaged. I only started digging because Damon called me demanding an update on the remaining shipments.”
My nose flares. Damon was never one to control his temper or his mouth. For his sake, he’d better have watched both when speaking to Zahra, or else I would have to have a long conversation, of sorts, with him.
Zahra continues, not noticing my shift in rage.“...I sent Cyrus to hand deliver him some extra weapons to appease him for now. But if it is an inside job, we have a big problem on our hands.”
“Agreed. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head, making me want to head to the warehouses and see them directly. Maybe even plant a fake shipment that we can track,” I suggest.
“I like that idea. I’ll be in contact about when I can head out west, but the sooner the better. For all of our sakes. I doubt the guns and computers are the only things they’re selling. Information is just as lethal a weapon as any.” Her grim expression matches the anxiety roiling in my stomach.
“Have you briefed your inner circle yet?” I’ll respect whatever boundaries she wants to instate. If this is an inside job, we’d have to be suspicious of any and everyone.
“Just Azula. I’d like it if we kept this information as private as possible for now. I don’t want to cause any additional alarm…or let the culprit know we’re onto them.”
I nod. “Understood. I’ll tell Aidan and no one else. You have my number, right? In case you need to update me or reach me at all.” Did that come off as desperate? I sure hope not.
Zahra worries her lip between her teeth, uncertain what to say next. “Yes. I have everything I need. It was good seeing you today.”
For the first time today, I feel the tension leave my shoulders. “You too. I’m looking forward to future meetings in the garden.”
She gives me a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes as I walk back to the front of the house, where my driver awaits me.