Page 37 of Severance

Anthony crosses his arms over his chest defensively and leans back in his chair. His expression is soft as he diverts his gaze to Dahlia.

“You know about her?” he questions her calmly.

Dahlia shakes her head as she sits down in the chair behind her. “I don’t, but I met a little girl and I had this feeling... I can’t explain it.”

Anthony purses his lips as he nods slowly. “That’s right, at the coffee shop.”

Standing in place, my body falls rigid as my eyes bounce back and forth between the two of them. “What the fuck are the two of you talking about?”

Reaching out, Dahlia grabs my hand and squeezes it lightly. “Kai.” Her bright green eyes are damp and her voice is small and pleading. She takes me back, years ago, to the young girl who took my heart and ran with it.

Taking a deep breath, I sit down beside her and hold her hand tightly in mine.

“Please, just listen to what he needs to tell us,” she urges. “He has no reason to lie because there’s nothing for him to gain from fabricating a story like this one.”

In disbelief of her ignorance, I shake my head and scoff. “And what makes you think that?”

Dahliastares me down with conflicted eyes. “Because, the little girl that I met at the coffee shop looked exactly like you.”

Dahlia

The air in the room is thick with tension and silence fills the empty space. Kai’s face pales as a wave of confusion passes through his soft brown eyes. His internal conflict is evident as his mind attempts to process my words.

As soon as the words left my mouth, reality slapped me in the face. Reality’s a bitch and she’ll hit you harder than a freight train when you least expect it.

Tearing his eyes and his hand from mine, Kai leans forward as he reaches behind his back. Leaning back in his seat, he pins his gaze on Anthony as he carefully rests his pistol on his lap. Anthony glances down but remains impassive and unaffected by the subtle threat.

Kai clears his throat and cocks an eyebrow when Anthony looks back up at him. “You have ten seconds to start talking or I won’t even think twice about leaving your brains scattered on the wall.”

Shaking his head, Anthony sighs and rolls his eyes in annoyance. “Your threats are not necessary, Kai. I have no intention of withholding any information from you.”

Kai scoffs. “Because you didn’t in the past, right?”

“Anything that I have ever kept from you was because it was in your best interest.”

Glancing at the wall behind Anthony, Kai motions to the clock with his head. “Stop stalling. You have five seconds.”

My face contorts as I spin to face him and narrow my eyes. “You will not be killing him,” I bite out before lowering my voice. “We fucking need him and we might in the future too.”

Kai’s eyes soften at my words and he nods slightly before turning back to Anthony.

“Talk.”

Taking a sip of his drink, Anthony sets it on his desk and settles back in his seat.

“After the farm was raided, Dahlia was taken to the hospital as part of their protocol to make sure that she wasn’t harmed in any way. Because of her age and stature, no one had noticed that she was pregnant until she arrived and they had to run some tests.”

How did I not know that I was pregnant?

“I was surprised when your parents contacted me. After I found out about what Luca was doing at the farm, I was surprised that he hadn’t taken extra precautions with any type of prevention.”

“No,” Kai interjects. “They made sure that all the girls were on birth control. I was sure to give Dahlia hers every day.”

The pills they were giving me… the pills that I didn’t take.

Both men look at me at the same time and I look down at my feet as I feel the room is closing in on me.

“Dahlia...” Kai’s voice trails off as he looks at me with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

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