Page 15 of Where We Began

His fingers come together like two crashing waves. He stares at me over the top of them. “Years ago, long before you were born, your father and I worked together. He was brilliant at his job.” He hesitates. “Hopefully he still is.”

I'm hunching close, with my breath boiling in my lungs. “What was his job?”

“On paper he was a programmer, a systems analyst. In reality he was a devious hacker.” I don't know what any of that means—he spots my crinkled brow. “He worked with computers. My god, you don't know even know what those are, do you? Of course not. Joseph would have kept away from any technology that could be traced back to him.”

It's like my brain is swelling, unable to fit in my skull. “I don't understand.”

Silas leans back in his chair. His mouth is drawn tight. “When I said I'd tell you, I assumed you'd grasp the basics. Your father has done you a disservice by letting you grow up stupid.”

“I'm not stupid,” I say seriously.

He glances down his nose at me. “You are.” Putting his fingers to his temples, he takes a moment to think. I know I'm frustrating him, but I'm just as irritated. “Do you know what money is?”

“Of course I do.”

He purses his lips doubtfully. “My family's business was built on protecting people's money. Your father helped me build it into something even bigger. An empire.” Drumming his fingers on the desk, he stares out the window. I don't know why; he can't see anything because of the blinds. “Joseph was my confidant. We did much good together. We also did some things in the name of the greater good, only.”

My muscles hurt from perching on the stump without budging. He said he'd tell me the truth, but none of this makes sense.

He can tell he's lost me again. “Your dad was in charge of stealing secrets and keeping them. He was supposed to zip his damn mouth. Then when things got too hot for him, he vanished, nearly ruiningeverythingI'd suffered for!” His fist slams down on the desk; I startle. In a blink he goes from languid to wild, his lips pulling back over his teeth. “As I said, he's a coward.”

Blood is swishing through my pulse at rapid speed. I can't look away. I worry if I do that he'll strike the way a feral dog would.

Silas puts his palms together at his chest. He starts breathing in a deliberate pattern until he's calm. “You're my anchor, you know? You’re the thing that will keep Joseph from ever,everthinking of betraying me again. As long as you're in here he won't run. And as long as he doesn't run...” He gives me a smile that's the closest to genuine I've seen from him yet. “You'll be perfectly safe.”

There it is. The last bit that I need to know.

My fate is wrapped up in my dad's. Once, he'd escaped whatever work he was doing with Silas. Thanks to me, he can't do it a second time. Or he could, but—No,I tell myself firmly.He won't do anything that could put me in danger.I have to believe it or I'll fall to pieces.

“Any questions?” he asks. Of course I have plenty. I'm more eager to get away from him, so I shake my head. “Then leave, and tell Dominic I'm ready for him.”

Sweat sticks to my throat. I want to run, but I'm nervous my legs will give out, so I walk to the door instead. When I open it, air and life and every day sounds become music to my ears.

Dominic is waiting for me against the wall. He scans my face, then my trembling hands.

His smile is tragic. “If it's any consolation, it'll be worse for me.”

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