Page 18 of Blackmailed to the Altar

“Yes,” she whispered and sank to the couch in defeat. What a callous man. I hoped I would get my period soon. My body felt off.

“Have there been other times where Silas has betrayed you?” Like not protecting a partner wasn’t a big deal.

“Yes.” Eden’s eyes filled with tears.

I knew we’d have a breakthrough today. Outwardly, I looked calm and collected, but inwardly, I was squealing and jumping for joy. It really was hard to get Eden to open up to me, and I was glad that today was a step in the right direction. I clicked my pen open and flipped to a new page in my notebook. When Eden wouldn’t open up, I doodled on the page, so she wouldn’t feel surprised once I started taking notes.

I liked to keep everything uniform in session. If I sat through a session and didn’t take notes in the beginning, only to take notes randomly, a client could think there was something wrong with what they said. They would over-analyze it, and that could lead to anxiety, panic attacks, even depression or self-doubt. Inever wanted to cause someone’s emotional breakdown, so it was best all around if I looked like I was taking notes the entire session.

“These betrayals of Silas’, can you tell me about them?” I tried to focus on her tale, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something. My mind grasped at a thought, but it drifted away just as quickly. I shook my head. I needed to focus on my patient in front of me. Everything else could wait.

Eden leaned forward with a gleam in her eyes. That single look told me there was a lot missing from her file. I clicked my pen twice and got to work.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sebastian

The soft hum of the cafe buzzed around me, filled with the noise of clinking cups, muffled conversations, and the occasional hiss of the espresso machine. He was seated in the farthest corner, shadows from the dim lighting draped over him like a shroud. Samuel Moyer. The air was heavy with the scent of roasted coffee beans, and something sweet, vanilla, maybe, but I barely noticed.

“Hey man, how are you?” I joined Samuel, my hacker, at the table, my whole body relaxing as the cool fabric of the booth met my back. I felt better not having such a vulnerable part of me showing.

“You’re late,” Samuel said, his voice sharper than I think he intended.

I shrugged. “Something important came up.” Whether or not it was a lie, Samuel wouldn’t question me.

We were at a place I owned. We washed our money through this establishment, so Samuel frequented here, and other buildings, to check his technology he put in all my places.

He was one of the best hackers in the world, and my distant cousin by marriage. He wanted closer to the throne, so it made iteasier to ask for a favor here or there. Eventually, I’d bring him into the fold.

Just not while I was still figuring out my little mouse.

“Did you get what I asked for?”

Samuel nodded, pulling out a tablet and tapping on the screen. “Yeah. She’s a tough one to track, but I got something. Dr. Mya Rivers, twenty-two, transplanted into her area about a year ago. A genius like you said; military brat, graduated early, top of her class in psychiatry. She’s a firecracker, alright.” He smirked, glancing up at me like he was waiting for a reaction.

Mya’s face flashed in my mind; those defiant green eyes, the way she’d fight me with every single breath if I let her. Her dark skin shimmering in the sunlight. My firecracker. The girl I stole from her perfectly ordered world and tossed into mine, hoping she could fix this mess I couldn’t control.

“What else did you get?” I pressed, ignoring the tightening knot in my chest.

Samuel swiped through more files on his device. “Parents; dad’s military, mom’s deceased now. They bounced around everywhere, so it was hard to pinpoint records. No siblings. She’s had a few articles published on dissociative disorders, and mental health care support in schools, and the workplace. And, uh, it looks like she’s been talking to some big names in the psychiatry industry, but, more importantly, the pharmaceutical industry.”

“Drugs?” My brows were raised, intrigued. My little mouse wasn’t as pure as she portrayed. Maybe there were more than just men who suffered by her hands. What glorious information to keep in my back pocket, in case I needed to put the squeeze on her.

“Yeah, and there’s something in her medical records.”

“What?” My ears perked up, because she was intriguing.

“I feel like there is like a year or two that’s missing.” He sighed. “It’s looking like that was done on purpose. It shouldn’t take me too long to get that information over to you.”

I knew he was exhausted, running errands for me on my little doctor. “What’s been going on with you?” I swapped topics, because focusing on my mouse set my blood on fire.

“I’ve been a little stressed with everything going on, but I’m doing better,” he told me.

“What’s been going on?” It annoyed me that he hadn’t stayed in touch more.

“I had to reach out to Silas, because I found out the company I started with is embezzling their investors’ funds. I can’t get caught up in that kind of smoke, you know?” He took a sip of his coffee.

“So what are you planning on doing?” I asked, as a server swung by and dropped more napkins on our table.

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