Chapter 7 No.7

"Mommy?" Kaylee sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. "You smell like ozone. Did you explode something?"

"Metaphorically," Katarina said, kissing her forehead. "Go back to sleep."

In the suite next door, Dimitri sat in his office chair. His tie was undone. He was watching the security footage from the hallway again.

He watched Katarina hug Draven. He watched the way she shielded him from the guards.

"She's a good actress," he muttered to himself. But there was a doubt gnawing at him. Draven never let anyone touch him. Not even the nannies. Why her?

Draven was sitting on the floor, playing with a set of magnetic blocks. He was building a complex structure.

"Draven," Dimitri said. "Why did you let her hold you?"

Draven didn't answer. He placed a red block on top of the tower.

Dimitri sighed. He turned to his computer. "Lars, get me everything on Katarina Acosta. The last five years. There's a gap. I want to know where she was."

Suddenly, his screen flickered. A skull and crossbones appeared in pixelated green.

"Sir!" Lars's voice came over the intercom. "Someone is bouncing a signal off our server. They're trying to mask an IP address."

"Who?"

"It's... it's coming from the suite next door."

Dimitri's eyes narrowed. "Katarina?"

"I don't know, sir. The encryption is military grade. It's... it looks like the signature of the hacker 'Ghost'."

"Or," Dimitri said, standing up, "it's a woman trying to spy on me."

Next door, Kaylee was typing furiously on her tablet under the covers.

"Oops," she whispered. "Almost got caught."

"Kaylee, lights out!" Katarina called from the bathroom.

"Yes, Mommy!"

The next morning, Katarina dragged herself to the hotel buffet. She needed coffee. Intravenously.

Kaylee skipped ahead to the dessert section.

"Can I have a donut?"

"Protein first, sugar later," Katarina said, piling eggs onto a plate.

Kaylee ignored her and beelined for the donut tower. She reached for the last strawberry frosted one.

Another hand reached for it at the same time.

Kaylee looked up. Draven looked down.

They froze.

It was daylight. No shadows. No sleepiness. They stood face to face.

It was like looking in a mirror.

Kaylee's eyes went wide. "Whoa."

Draven stared at her. He blinked. He slowly pushed the donut toward her.

"Thanks!" Kaylee beamed. "I'm Kaylee."

Draven didn't speak, but the corner of his mouth twitched. A tiny, almost invisible smile.

"Draven!"

Dimitri marched across the restaurant. He looked like a thundercloud in a polo shirt. He grabbed Draven's hand and pulled him back.

"I told you not to bother them," Dimitri growled at Kaylee.

"Hey!" Katarina slammed her coffee cup down. It spilled. She didn't care. She marched over. "Don't you dare yell at my daughter."

"Then keep her away from my son," Dimitri snapped. "She's harassing him."

"He gave her a donut!" Katarina shouted. "Are you blind? Look at them!"

She pointed at the kids.

Draven was waving at Kaylee. Kaylee was waving back.

Dimitri looked at them. He saw the resemblance. The dark hair. The eyes.

"She looks like him," Dimitri said, his voice losing some of its edge.

"Coincidence," Katarina said quickly. Too quickly. "Kids look alike."

"It's uncanny," Dimitri murmured. He looked at Katarina. "Did you clone yourself?"

"Funny," she deadpanned. "Come on, Kaylee. We're eating in the room. The air here is toxic."

She grabbed Kaylee's hand and stormed off.

Dimitri watched them go. He looked down at Draven. Draven was looking at his hand, the one that had touched Kaylee's. He looked... happy.

"Lars," Dimitri said into his phone. "Forget the background check. Find out who the father of that girl is."

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