Page 28 of Drama Queen

“Speak.” It’s all the command I need.

“It’s her, sire. I’m sure of it. Traces of her mother are most dominant, but your essence is there too. And power, not like anything I have scented in nearly a century,” I say, keeping my eyes firmly on the floor even though I can hear him rise, walk around the desk, and lean against the ledge on this side. “Except for yours, of course,” I clarify, bowing deeper.

“Of course,” he sneers. “Her mother wouldn’t have gone to these lengths to keep her from me if she wasn’t a true heir.” I feel, more than hear, his approach.

“Do you have any proof?”

“Yes,” I rush out, pulling the tank top from the pocket in my pants. “This was all I could get before I was caught, but you can have it verified.”

“Caught?” The accusation is clear in his tone, while he snatches the shirt from my outstretched hand.

“Well, she saw me scent the shirt, and I was grabbing for more evidence when she interrupted, but I was dressed like one of the security people, and I told her I was just moving her things so we could bring the equipment up for installation...” I trail off at the sound of his approach. I can sense the anger and impatience rippling off him, so I lower my head even further. “But I would bet my last dollar that it is her.”

“Bet your last dollar? What about your life, Mr Jerrilan? Because that is what this will cost if you are wrong.” The tips of his black shoes enter my narrow field of vision from this angle, and I know I am on a knife’s edge. He doesn’t make threats, only promises.

“Yes, sire. I would bet my life.” I firm up my voice and straighten my spine, even from my bowed position, not letting fear cloud my certainty. His kind, especially one as old and powerful as him, can sense every emotion.

“Very well.” I try not to breathe my sigh of relief too loudly as he walks back to the desk and presses the intercom buzzer. “Ms Lowell,” he says, when the secretary enters the room behind me a moment later, “it appears Mr Jerrilan has come through at last. Is everything in place at the school?”

“Exactly as requested, sir.”

“Mr Jerrilan here will give you all the details on his way out.”

Knowing that’s my cue to leave, I take a few steps backwards towards the doors before turning my back.

“Mr Jerrilan?”

I pause, but don’t turn back around.

“Your every moment, from leaving this office, is now for the sole purpose of watching her, protecting her, and keeping her on the path we have set. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sire,” I reply, bowing my head again and walking out of the office.

The curvaceous secretary closes the doors behind us and gestures to a seat in the waiting room we have returned to as she grabs her tablet from the desk.

“Tell me everything.”

Five

“What time didyou get to bed last night?” I ask Mum the next morning as we walk to the train station. Abigail got a call before we finished our meal and ended up excusing herself for a “work emergency.” Mum and Robert had been stealing glances at each other while the other wasn’t looking pretty much the whole time. Once Abigail left, I took the opportunity to leave them to it, claiming I needed to do more unpacking and find my uni stuff before my first day.

“Not too late...” she hedges, cheeks turning pink.

“I didn’t hear Robert leave, so it must have been after I went to bed,” I push.

“We had tea and sat on the front porch for a while. To be honest, I didn’t look at the clock.”

“He seems nice.”

“We have known each other for a couple of years, but of course we hadn’t met in person until yesterday. We would talk on the phone most weeks before we moved—to discuss the billing for the jobs, of course.”

“Of course,” I agree, with a smirk to myself.

I look back over at my mother, and although she looks a little tired, maybe from the late night or the stress of the move, she definitely has a glow about her. She must feel me watching her, and she turns to look at me, cheeks flushing again before lowering her eyes to watch where she is walking.

We approach the station and join the mass of people waiting for the train. Although we actually don’t live far from the city, traffic can be a bit of a nightmare during peak hour with all the commuters, and without guaranteed parking, we’ve decided that training it most days will be our best bet.

The train arrives, surprisingly on time, and is quite clean—even more surprising. We manage to get a pair of seats together, and both watch the scenery pass by out the window in comfortable silence.

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