Page 13 of Lessons in Touch

“I started my first business at twenty. It was a small, ambitious tech firm working on a breakthrough idea. That experience taught me discipline and independence. My family—the Thorns—were scholars, not tycoons, but they expected excellence in everything I did. Now I’m running for a Senate seat because I want to shape policy, not just teach it.”

His openness disarms me, and I lean closer, hungry for more—not just the professor, but the man.

I look at him. “You’ve made more money than most people ever will. Why teach?”

He doesn’t hesitate.

“Because it matters to me. I spent years learning things no one explained to me—how systems work, how power protects itself, how people get shut out without even realizing it. I teach because I know what it’s like to be on the other side. And because knowledge, once you have it, demands something back. You either pass it on, or you let it die.”

“That’s incredible,” I say. “Why the Senate? What do you want to change?” I’m genuinely curious, and my admiration for him deepens with every detail he shares.

“Education, for one,” he says. “Access to places like Wolfswood, but without the barriers. I want to open doors, not gatekeep them.”

His passion stirs something in me. It’s a warmth that spreads beyond my chest, settling somewhere lower in my body.

“And you, Rose? Tell me about your family—not the Devereauxs, but the one that raised you.”

No one at Wolfswood has asked about my life yet.

I feel vulnerable talking about this, but his kindness makes me want to open up. Trying to choose my words carefully, I set my book down, my fingers tracing its cover.

“I always knew I was adopted. My parents, Jack and Janet, live in London, where I grew up. They love each other so much, Gabriel, even now after decades together. But they couldn’t have kids of their own, and that pain nearly broke them.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that, Rose. It’s a terrible thing to want a child and not be able to have one,” Gabriel replies.

“So, they adopted me from an orphanage when I was a baby, not knowing—or caring—about my past. They chose me, and I feel so loved because of it. But I always wondered where I came from, especially when I saw how different I was from them.”

“That curiosity is completely natural, especially for a child,” he says.

“I used to ask my mom why they picked me. She would always say I was their miracle, and the answer to years of prayers. That made me feel special, but also sad, knowing how much they suffered before I came along. I wanted to make them proud, Gabriel.”

“You are already making them proud, Rose,” he says. “You’re facing this place head-on. And you are trying to build a better future for yourself. That’s more than enough.”

“Thanks,” I say, meeting his eyes. “Talking about this helps.”

“I’m glad you’re willing to open up to me, Rose. I understand that this must be difficult to talk about.”

“It is, but I trust you…”

We lock eyes for a moment longer than they should, but then I try to gather my thoughts and continue.

“When I was sixteen, everything changed. This man, Victor Devereaux, showed up at our apartment. He said that he was my brother and that he had information about my real parents. I was shocked, but I could see it in his face—how much we looked alike. He told me about the Devereaux family, billionaires with power I couldn’t comprehend. I didn’t believe him at first, of course. Who would believe something like that?”

“You’re right. That must have been so overwhelming,” Gabriel replies.

“Yes, but Victor explained it all to me. Our father, a Devereaux, had an affair with our mother, a regular woman. He used her, abused her, and got her pregnant twice. First with Victor, then with me. Because she wasn’t a part of his world, my father didn’t want us. He believed that we were bastards, so he put us in orphanages. Victor was placed in one in New York, andI—in London, to keep us apart forever. I felt so angry, Gabriel, knowing he tore us from our mother.”

“You have every right to feel that,” he says. “However, here is another point of view, if you’ll allow it. While what your father did is horrible, perhaps it was for the better. Instead of growing up with a cruel man who didn’t care about you at all, you grew up with loving parents in London.”

“Yeah… I guess I never thought about it like that. But it gets worse. After he was done with her, our father had our mother locked in an asylum. She died there, alone, before Victor had a chance to help her. When he spoke about it, I could see how deeply it hurt him. I never met her, but Victor did—he saw her, spoke to her. And knowing he couldn’t save her broke something in him.”

“I believe that, Rose. I know your brother, Victor Devereaux. Not well, but we run in the same circles. He opened a string of mental health clinics not that long ago, specifically to help people like your mother. He’s a good man for doing that,” Gabriel tells me.

“Yes, I believe so too. I’m just hoping that the rest of the Devereaux family is just as kind as he is.”

“So, you haven’t met them all?” Gabriel asks me.

“Not yet. I met Victor, evidently. And I know that I have a half-brother, Henry. But he is living in seclusion in Europe with his wife, and I’m not sure if he’s interested in the family business. And then there is Timothy Devereaux, our cousin, who is now handling the import side of Devereaux Enterprises. I’m actually supposed to meet him over Christmas.”