Page 122 of The Other Omega

“I believed myself careful when I chose whom to trust.”

Tessa set down the bowl. Her mouth tightened, and I immediately wished I hadn’t said it.

“That was unfair. You have given me no cause to speak to you that way.”

“I know you are frightened.”

I dried my hands on the cloth beside the sink. Father knew people in every ministry that mattered. If I could speak to him privately, he could have Mireya detained before she came anywhere near me again.

At that point, I would rather face my family’s disappointment than spend the rest of my life hiding.

That afternoon, I found the main office unlocked. I was bringing Mistress Kennett the revised inventory when I noticed the pad on her desk, its screen still lit beside an unfinished message.

I set the inventory down.

“Elowen?”

I turned to find Tessa standing in the doorway with a basket of linen. Her gaze moved from my hand to the pad.

“Do not touch that. Mistress Kennett said you were not to call those people again.”

“I need to speak to my fathers. I will use their direct coordinates.”

“You do not know who is answering them.”

“I shall end the call if they answer again.”

“If Mistress Kennett discovers this, she will send you away.”

The sadness in her face caused a sharp ache in my chest, but she turned and walked away. I sat at the desk and entered the coordinates before anyone came back.

A dark-haired man appeared against a plain wall. Nothing behind him belonged to our house.

“May I speak with Lord Cedric Hart?”

“Your name?”

“Please tell him that a member of his family requires his assistance.”

The man stared at me.

“Elowen?”

I disconnected, keeping my hand on the control as the blank screen reflected my face.

Mistress Kennett arrived before I had moved from the chair. One look at the pad was enough.

“How could you be so reckless? Did it not occur to you that our rules exist for a reason? You may have endangered everyone in this house—mothers, children, women who have nowhere else to go.” Her face had gone cold. “Whatever happens now, you can no longer remain at Haven House. Gather your things.”

“Mistress Kennett⁠—”

The door opened behind her, and one of the refuge staff hurried inside.

“How long was the connection open?”

“Less than a minute.”

Mistress Kennett turned immediately towards the security panel. Another member of staff entered, and the three of them crowded around it, speaking too quickly for me to follow.