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Bile climbed up my throat as the photos continued.
Saul’s gleaming eyes on me.
Grace’s distant gaze towards the window, overlooking the swamp beyond.
"Each of these people came to us. We didn't seek them out. We don't need to, you see. It is man's lot to want more than what they have.” He leaned forward, continuing the slideshow of evil, his lips tilting upwards at the horror on my face. “Let's take you, for example. You could've sold your house. Taken the money and moved on. And yet, you stayed. Came to us. Because you wanted more," his nostrils flared, his eyes dancing as he watched me. "Isn't that right?”
I swallowed the knot in my throat.
He suddenly stopped, nodding towards the screen. “And there’s the ambassador’s wife.” The woman was on a bed, her hands and feet tied. There were several men around her, grinning from ear to ear. I recognized the worn and wrinkled face of several priests, still in their frocks. One of them in the infamous white.
She had a hallowed out look on her face.
“All these people, trying to weasel their way out of their obligations,” he tapped again, "just…”
tap
“like..”
tap,
“your…”
he tapped one more time, landing on a photo,
“father."
There was a whoosh in my ears as I recognized the next photo.
A 1927 Bugatti Coupe, smashed into a tree. The front was black from char and melted metal.
Suddenly, the screams from my nightmares filled my ears.
I froze in fear, my palms moistening with sweat, my heart pounding.
"I see you recognize the image," I could hear Saul talking but I was barely registering the words, "though I heard you didn’t remember that night."
In shock, I finally tore my eyes from the screen to look at him.
He’d settled back in his chair, with Grace curled tight in his lap. He kissed her forehead, smiling at me. "Do you think we're monsters, Summer?"
My lips parted, but I couldn't speak.
"I've personally been called worse, but," a shoulder came up as he stroked Grace's hair, "I don't believe in monsters, Summer. Only a handful of people understand the world and how it works; those who follow their goals, no matter the cost. Monsters? They don't exist. There is only one thing that is guaranteed in life. You may think that is death, but I don’t believe in monsters and I don't believe in death."
He raised his hand, tugging up the sleeve of his grey suit and shirt to reveal red scars across his own wrists.
“There is only destiny. Each one of us has our own to fulfill." He gestured at his scars, “That’s what my father taught me, when I tried to get out of my contract. Unlike you, Summer, I wasn't afforded a choice—I was born into it through blood and water. Raised with no choice but to embrace my lot.” He leaned back in his chair, tugging his cuffs back down. His gold OG insignia ring glinted in the muted light. "Just as I have, you will embrace your destiny. No one can escape it. Your father tried, and for that, your mother paid the price. After that, well," he sighed, “he fulfilled his obligations before he died. Releasing both him and you and your sister from the Magnolia. But, like a pet to his master, you returned to us.” He tapped the paper, “You. Belong. To. Me. I am your destiny. There is no getting out of this contract. Do you understand?"
Fear clawing my chest, afraid I wouldn’t leave this room alive, I nodded.
Just like those people, just like both Rook and Lux had tried to warn me.
I was fucked.
“Yes.”
"Good," he pat Grace’s knee and she quickly scrambled to stand behind Olivia, who was watching with an unconcerned look on her face. They all were. None of the guards blinked an eye, not even Maxon.
