Page 4 of Hacker Unknown

“But—”

“He worried it would put you in danger if you met. There are many people who would still want to turn you into a lab experiment. You coming to the United States put your life at further risk.”

“I tried to tell her,” Sawyer grumbled. “She seems stubborn, just like?—”

“She is independent and doesn’t know us. He left you his home in Paris, which will be safer than your villa, along with a trust of two hundred million dollars.”

Anger settled deep in my gut. Money could not fix the lies of omission. “What about my medical records? I have a right to those.”

Thomas slumped into his chair. “I agree, but it wasn’t my choice. Your records will be in safe hands.”

“The veil over my entire life was just stripped, and the one thing that makes me the most vulnerable is my medical data. From what it sounds like, he continued to use it. How am I supposed to live knowing I constantly have to look over my shoulder?”

Sawyer stepped forward and pressed his hand to my shoulder. “Until Devon’s death is investigated more, I think it is best you lay low. When everything is worked out and I know it is safe, I will come to Paris and explain.”

“Or kill me?”

His eyes softened. “That I could never do. By the time I finish telling you everything, you will hate me. I have my reasons.”

I slid the white envelope into my purse. “Honestly, I don’t want to see either of you two again. I don’t need Devon’s money or the house. Donate it.”

“The house would be safer for you. Stay in it until you find something else. The money will be put into a trust for when you decide you want it.”

A single tear slid down my cheek and I didn’t bother to wipe it away. “Don’t contact me unless you have all the data compiled about my blood.” I rose from the chair and turned to leave.

“Wait,” Sawyer’s voice dipped deep.

“Let me see your phone.” Like an idiot, I handed it over. His fingers typed across the screen. “I put a game on your phone. It is called Assassin Annihilation. Join City 333 and look for a player called Ninja Ned. That is the best way to communicate.”

“Don’t hold your breath, I don’t plan to send you anything.” I yanked my phone back. Normal people use text messaging; this guy worried me.

In one day, I found out the man I thought was my world had lied to me for years and left a mess of my life. All I wanted was a pint of chocolate ice cream and a bubble bath. This day could not get any worse. As if the universe listened to my thoughts, it threw down another challenge card.

Benson and Camila were at the front door of the house. Camila rushed up and pointed her finger in my face. “You did this all.”

Benson pulled Camila back. “All you have to do is tell me where the research is.”

“The only person that deserves that research is me. What makes you think I would give it to you if I had it?”

Benson stepped closer. “For my years of having to sleep with you, I deserve it.”

Years after I caught Benson cheating on me, I wondered if he stayed with me all because he knew how valuable I was. “You were only allowed to do that because I saved your life.”

Devon had used my blood to cure Benson’s leukemia. My blood was the cure for many illnesses. I wasn’t created because my parents had sex. My mother’s research focused on creating a human that would never get sick or be able to catch any type of illness. I still had never seen the research on how she did it. From what Devon had told me years after I was born, she tested my blood and the results proved her concept a reality. It was when I was three that she started to experiment with my blood samples to try and cure others who were sick. Her work was government funded. When high ranking officials found out about her research, they had wanted to keep me in the lab, but my mom refused to help, and I wasn’t sure how. Depending on how sick someone was it could take two pints of my blood to create the remedy. Which puzzled me on how Devon had cured Suzanne when I only sent a couple vials a year. When they had taken my blood for Benson, I remembered I was tired for a few days.

“Once again throwing your gift in my face.”

I never considered what my blood could do as a gift. To me it was a curse. People died around me all the time and I could easily save them. Maybe it makes me selfish to want to live.

The butler cut in. “This is not the time to fight.”

I used the distraction to slip out of the house and slide into a cab that dropped off two guests.

Benson screamed, “This is not over.”

Ignoring the threat, I turned to the taxi driver and asked to be taken to the Ross Hotel.

I leaned my head back against the seat as he headed toward the hotel. My flight back to Paris wasn’t for another two weeks. I planned to visit my mother’s grave; one I had never even seen. Devon didn’t let me go to her funeral.

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