Page 46 of Brix

“The first time I wrote to them, I was nine years old. A child. A baby begging for help in my village. My father was an animal, and he treated women worse than animals. He didn’t allow us to learn to read or write or do anything other than breed and cook. My mother chose to defy him.

“Every day while he was out with his men, she would allow me to look at books. When we were very lucky, we could walk into Accra when he was gone for days or weeks at a time. That’s when I took my chance. I’d read about these amazing people, the Lightkeepers. What a farce!”

“They weren’t a farce. They truly helped thousands of people.”

“They didn’t help me. I begged them, pleaded with them to send help to my village. When my father was killed, I thought perhaps that was their way of assisting us.”

“Lightkeepers didn’t kill your father. My grandfather and his men killed him.” Her head snapped up, and she stared at him. How was this possible?

“Then he is guilty for all of this as well because he left me to a fate far worse than the one I had. My father ensured that I would never have children, never give birth. I was actually okay with that. But the man left in charge used that as an opportunity to do what he wished to me. You left me with the devil.”

“Your mother could have helped you,” he said, staring at the woman.

“My mother?” she laughed. “My mother was so used and broken she could barely see any longer. Her entire body was failing. Do you know how old she was? Twenty-one. That’s right, she was only twelve when she gave birth to me. Twelve.”

“I’m sorry that your upbringing was difficult, Deirdre, but it’s still no excuse.”

“You truly do not understand. They ignored my pleas. Not once, not twice, but three times. When my brother helped me to escape, I was still but a child. Fortunately, I’d learned much from my father.

“By the time I reached Morocco, I was a teenager. I wrote to them again, pleading for help. I was ignored. When I reached London, I thought perhaps they just needed to see me. So, I went to their headquarters. It was just a small two-room office space with an elderly woman at the desk. She was pleasant, kind but not helpful in the least.

“That’s when I knew I had to find a way to become one of them. Randolph was my ticket. Or so I thought.”

“What do you mean? You wanted to become a Lightkeeper?”

“No. I wanted to destroy them. By getting invited to join, I would be able to tear them apart from the inside.”

“But they didn’t invite you, did they? They didn’t believe you were good enough, rich enough,” said Brix.

“No,” she ground out. “They didn’t. I wasn’t rich enough. I wasn’t white enough.”

“Don’t use the race card,” said Brix. “There are men and women from all nationalities in the Lightkeepers.”

She was silent for a long moment, taking a drink of her water. She carefully set the cup down then looked directly at the double-sided glass.

“Is your grandfather out there? Is he proud of himself for killing my father?”

“I’m proud of him for killing your father. He ordered the kidnapping, rape, and mutilation of twelve little girls. My grandfather and his team were sent in to rescue them, but it was too late.” She slammed her fist on the table and leaned forward.

“It’s always too late!”

“No. Not for Daphne. She and I will have a beautiful life together with her biological parents.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“You’ve found them?” she asked softly.

“We found them, we met them, they are part of our lives now. You will not be. What did you hope would happen, Deirdre? What did you think would happen with all those children gone in one place?”

She looked away from him, biting her lip. It was her one grand failure. She’d planned for so much, but she didn’t plan for all of it. She’d failed.

“At first, I was going to ransom them off one by one, but I realized the futility in that. Ransoming all of them at once was risky. Individually would eventually expose me. I had no help at that time. Everything was being done by me and one lone bomber. I did manage to handle him by myself,” she grinned.

“Congratulations,” smirked Brix. “That’s quite an accomplishment.”

“I thought so,” she said with satisfaction. “The orphanage was my next plan. I would adopt two of the wealthiest, and eventually, when they became ill, and I was going to ensure they became ill, a blood test would reveal their true DNA.”

“Except that didn’t work, did it?” said Brix.

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