A Contract of Hearts

CHAPTER10

A Name Everyone Hates

"Tell her the truth."

The words stay on the screen even after the rest of the screen goes dark.

No action.

No sound.

There were only two of us in that frigid glass room. It felt like the world hadn't determined what we were yet.

My chest rises too quickly. "Who are they?" I ask.

Alexander doesn't answer right away.

That stillness is scarier than any threat.

Finally, he says, "People I thought were gone."

"What happened?"

His mouth grows stiff. "Buried."

I chuckle once, but it's sharp and broken. "Not at all."

He twists a little, and his eyes move over the dark displays as if he expects they may come back to life.

"They don't want money," he replies in a gentle voice. "People want to be seen."

"What are you talking about?"

He looks at me.

And for the first time, he loses some of his grip. "Me."

I feel sick to my stomach.That's not a good enough excuse to get my sister.

"It's for them."

I get closer.

"I don't care about your enemies." I care about Zara.

He blinks his eyes once.

He also knows what that name signifies.

I say, my voice cracking, "That man knew my name before I even got to your building."

"He knows more than that," Alexander says.

"Tell me then!"

He gently breathes out.

After that, he points to one of the lifeless screens.

It comes back on.

The file opens up.

My name is there.

Amara Cole.

There are lines of data below it that I don't understand.

But there is one thing that is clear.

A sign.

Next to my mother's name, it was stamped.

I can't get air.

I say quietly, "That's my mum." "Yes."

My heart skips a beat. "What does that mean?"

Alexander isn't sure.

That concerns me more than anything else. "It means," he continues slowly, "you were never meant to be outside of this system."

I step back.

"What system?"

He doesn't respond right away.

Instead, another screen lights up.

A younger version of him comes to see him.

Not the same.

Not as much control.

Angrier.

There is a title next to it.

ALEXANDER VAUGHN: THE NEXT VAUGHN EMPIRE

I add, "This isn't just business." "No." "Then what is it?"

He is now looking at me straight on.

And I can see it.

Tiredness.

Not power.

Not in charge.

More like being exhausted.

He explains, "Before either of us could choose, something was built."

My phone is vibrating.

Once.

Twice.

I get it out immediately.

We don't know the number.

My hands shake when I talk.

There was no sound at first.

A voice came after that.

Not the same guy as before.

Not Alex.

A woman.

Take it easy.

"Who is this?" she asks. "You are standing in something you don't understand.""I snap."

"You already know who I am."

I can't get enough air.

The voice keeps on. "You just don't remember."

I grip the phone more tightly.

"What do you want?"

A soft pause.

Then: "Don't trust him anymore."

I gaze at Alex.

He is looking at me.

"Why?" I murmur in a quiet voice, as if he can hear everything.

The woman stops talking so loudly.

"Because he's the reason your mum left."

The words felt like glass cracking in my chest. "No," I say right away. "That's not true."

"Ask him," she says.

After that, the queue stops moving.

I turn around and face Alexander.

"What did she mean?"

He doesn't move.

Doesn't even flinch.

And that silence...

That's not the answer I was looking for. "Tell me," I beg again, this time louder.

His voice is quieter now. "I didn't kill your mum."

I'm stuck. "But you knew her."

A pause. "Yes."

"I can't breathe." "And you didn't tell me." "I couldn't."

"Why?" He looks at me.

"Because your mother wasn't just someone I knew," he explains.

The screens around us blink again.

They all become red.

There is a noise that warns you in the room.

Then—

A fresh photo has come out.

A file that says:

VAUGHN HEIR PROTOCOL IS CLASSIFIED

My stomach drops. "What is that?" I say it quietly.

Alexander doesn't say anything at all.

Instead, he gets closer to the screen.

His hand is up in the air.

Now press enter.

The file opens.

And inside it—My name again.

Not as Amara Cole.

But as something else entirely.

A title I've never seen before.

And below it—

One thing to do:

All current lines end if she turns on.

"I can't breathe." "What does that mean?" I say it quietly.

You can hardly hear Alexander's voice. "It means," he says, "you were never a victim in this system."

The screens flicker in a very bad way.

The alarms go off.

A door opens somewhere far away.

Then another one came.

And then you can hear a voice all across the building.

Take it easy.

It's chilly.

"Subject confirmed."

"Run," Alexander whispers in a faint voice that I almost miss.