Page 67 of Fate and Family

“How’s the beta testing?” Thiago asks.

“Level fifty-four is glitchy as hell,” one replies, “but we won’t release it for another two months.”

The other girl stands but quickly averts her eyes. “Sir?”

“Yes, Catalia?” His voice softens. “You know you don’t need to look at the floor when you speak to me, right?”

She nods and lifts her head but drops it again. “Sorry, it’s an old habit.”

“I know,” he says gently. “Let’s have you work with Dr. Shin on that. Did you want to say something?”

She takes a deep breath. “I was thinking about a chess game.”

His eyebrows raise and Thiago’s posture straightens. “Chess? Really?”

“Yeah. Grasshopper already has the algo for it. I thought we could add cool skins for the pieces, create a new scoring system, maybe add a dancing cat or frog. One of the developers at Grasshopper already has most of it completed. We could get it out of beta by the end of the year, assuming Ice Cream Bubble Pop Princess’s new stages don’t need too many resources.”

Thiago scratches his chin and glances at his phone. “I like it. Run it past the team next Monday.”

Ice Cream Bubble Pop Princess? What the hell is going on?

He shows me every room, including the basement, which houses the server room. Once we’re alone under the hum of the servers, it clicks.

“Mobile gaming?”

“Yep. Grasshopper was going to shut this division down, so I brought over only the female developers, hired tutors, and now we’re in the top one hundred on the app store.”

“These women... They were victims of The Deviant’s human trafficking rings?”

He nods. “Yep. I rescued them, gave them skills, ownership in the company, three meals a day, no rent. They’re safe and paid for their work.”

“And what do you get out of this?”

He grins. “This year alone, I’ve made enough through microtransactions to pay for ten years of private school for Maria. Plus, I love taking something from The Deviant and turning it into something beautiful—and equally addictive—with better profit margins.”

“This was your idea?”

He shakes his head. “No, Alana’s. She owns Grasshopper. It started as a gaming company and now focuses on data storage and mining.”

Of course. Alana.

“It’s genius.”

“Oh, and it’s all legal—at least the business side. The housing might be a gray area, but the land is owned by the Olympians, and their lawyers are protecting us. So, if you did want to send a warrant...”

“Nah. We’re good.”

The more I’m involved with the Four Families, the less criminal they seem—and the more dangerous my own coworkers feel. Am I sitting on the right side of history on this one?

Chapter

Thirty-One

Nine months ago…

Dimitri

“I made a friend!” Ian slides out of the Mastodon SUV and bounces into my arms.

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