Page 37 of Dan

“You got it,” said Hiro. He pressed a few buttons on the screen, telling Finley to take a seat at the small desk near the microphone. “Mr. and Mrs. Xavier, I have Finley available for you.”

“H-hello,” she said nervously.

“You’ve really gone all out this time, haven’t you, Finley? You need another treatment. Your psychiatric episodes and dysfunction are running rampant. Get home, and I’ll call Dr. Gunderson,” said her mother.

“I’m not having any psychiatric episodes, Mother. In fact, I never had any episodes. You see, I’ve been examined by some of the best physicians, therapists, and counselors in the world, and they all agree that I am perfectly sane. I am on the autism spectrum. I do have a brain that fires at an abnormal rate, particularly around mathematics, but I am not insane. You, however, attempted to get that cut-rate doctor, if he even is one, to purge my brain of anything you might find valuable.”

“You listen to me right now,” said Zachary. “You’re going to get your ass back here immediately and help us with this business deal. If we don’t close this, our business will be finished!”

“You mean the one that you had me kidnapped for? Is that the deal you’re speaking of? Father,” she said softly.

“Really, Finley. There goes that overactive imagination of yours again. You weren’t kidnapped. You were employed,” laughed her mother.

“I wasn’t employed by those people. They were employed by you and, of course, your cohorts. I’m going to guess that once you bought GAM, you thought you owned me and my inventions. Except I’m a person, and I wasn’t part of the purchase. The inventions, formulations, and ideas are mine. Not yours.

“You know what I find really strange? I’ve never understood how the two of you could so grossly underestimate my intelligence, your own daughter. Grandfather understood.” She took a deep breath, hearing the murmurs on the phone as her parents whispered to one another. “I wonder, did Great-uncle Baker set out to destroy good people as well? Was he as insane as the two of you?”

“Shut up!” yelled her father. “You shut up! He was a great man with ideas that were far ahead of his time. Your stupid grandfather didn’t understand how advanced his thoughts and ideas were. He was willing to let the world see their mistakes and to ensure that we could end any threats, foreign or domestic.”

“They were his mistakes, Dad. Not the world’s. He was trying to kill U.S. soldiers, experimenting on them, causing their premature deaths.”

“You can’t know that. You can’t possibly know that. I’m only going to say this one time, Finley. Get back here within twenty-four hours, or you will be a dead woman. I will make sure of it,” said her mother.

“Such loving, motherly affection,” said Finley with tears in her eyes. “See, Mother, I was able to identify that emotion right away, or lack thereof. I should have known this is what you two were really like. All these years, I thought it was me. When, in actuality, it was the two of you. You two are the ones with no feelings, no emotions, no ability to love. You only know how to hate. And take. That’s what you’re really good at.

“You two discovered that your daughter was capable of doing amazing things in that strange brain of mine, and you decided to use me for your own profit. Well, that ends now. You will never see me again. Never. I’ll be getting married this weekend to the love of my life. The only man who has ever loved me for me. Just me.” She looked around the room at all the smiling faces. Antoine, Ryan, and Wilson gave her a big thumbs-up and a smile.

“Actually, I take that back. I know dozens of men and women who love me just like I am. Whatever your game is, whatever you’re trying to do, it will fail, and I will not help you out of this mess.”

“I knew I should have had an abortion!” Finley gasped, covering her mouth at the cold statement made by her mother. How could one woman be so horrible to her own child? Luke stepped forward, gripping Finley’s shoulders.

“Mr. and Mrs. Finley, can you hear me?” he said in a low growl.

“Who is this? Who do you think you are, listening in on a private conversation?”

“I’m not just listening to this conversation; I have recorded it for posterity. I am someone you do not want to piss off,” growled Luke. “And believe me, you’ve just pissed off more than three hundred people. Three hundred people that will ensure that you never see your daughter again, and most likely, you won’t see tomorrow. We can only hope.”

“I demand to know who you are!” yelled Zachary.

“Demand is it?” laughed Luke. “Alright. Hear me loud and fucking clear. My name is Luke Robicheaux, and you have insulted and threatened the young woman that is about to marry my cousin. You are not worthy to breathe the same air as she does, and me and my teammates will ensure that it never happens.”

There was an eerie silence on the other end of the line. Finley stared up at Luke, who gave her a weak smile, nodding at her.

“Finley, honey, you need to meet with your mother and I. Things got heated, and we’re sorry for the things we said. Just meet with us, and we can make this right. I just need you to help with a math problem. We have to help with this, or your mother and I will be ruined.”

“Sorry, Dad. My services are no longer for hire.” She hit the end button on the call and turned to the room, just staring at them for a moment. “I’m not sure if I should cry or throw something. I want to do both.”

“Then do both,” said Luke, handing her a stapler. She gripped it in her hand, hurdling the object toward the crowded room. Jean stood, catching it with ease, and nodded at her with a little grin. Then she cried. She cried so hard that Wilson was worried that they would need to give her a sedative. Her shoulders jumped up and down, her breath catching in her throat as she threatened to make herself sick.

When she finally calmed down, she realized that she was surrounded by warmth and love. The warmth and love of family.

“I’m alright now,” she sniffed, wiping her eyes with someone’s handkerchief.

“Finley, why don’t you come with us,” said Ella with a smile. Her thick red hair was still shiny, full of curls and waves like a mad nest of fire. Antoine knew what she was doing, and his heart filled with love for his wife once again. “I think we need to pick out a dress, flowers, and so many other important things. You let the team handle the rest. If they need you or that beautiful brain of yours, they can reach you.”

“Are you sure?” she asked Dan, Luke, and the others. “I can go if you need me to.”

“No, it’s safer for you here,” said Dan. “Go with Grandma. She’ll make sure everything is perfect for the wedding.”

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