Page 16 of The Other Omega

“I see…”

“I don’t think you do.” The words came out sharper than I meant. “I don’t know where I am. I don’t know where my sisters are, whether they’re here or back home. Either way, they must be terrified, and I’m not doing anything about it. I’m just sitting here.”

I reached out and caught her arm. “Do you think you could let me see them? I don’t know what’s happening here, and I’m happy to help you figure it out, but I need to see them. I need to know they’re safe.”

Mireya covered my hand with hers and gave it a squeeze, then turned towards the others. “Cedric, would you have Ivy and Nora brought here, please?”

“I don’t know if that’s the wisest decision right now, Mireya.”

“Elowen is worried about her sisters. Seeing them will reassure her that they’re safe.”

“I will fetch them,” Eleanor said.

The men around her began protesting in low voices, but she ignored them and left the room. The door closed behind her, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Tell me, Elowen, do you remember anything before the… light incident?”

“Yes. I was at the party, but afterwards my car wouldn’t start, so we decided to walk instead.”

“I see. How about before that? Talk me through your entire day, starting from when you woke.”

I thought back through the day and gave her as many details as I could. “Well… I woke at two in the morning and started work at three. I got the ovens going, baked the first batches of bread and pastries, then waited for everything to cool and packed it.”

“Work?” Cedric asked.

“Yeah. Then I went back home to sleep for a little longer…”

“All right. How about the day before?” Mireya asked.

I told her what I could remember about that day, too. She listened without interrupting, then slid her chair a little closer to the bed.

“Elowen, do you know what day it is?”

“Saturday.”

Mireya glanced at the men behind her, then turned back to me. “What year?”

“Twenty twenty-six.”

“Hmm. Do you know where you are right now?”

I remembered the dunes outside. “Morocco? Dubai, maybe?”

“How about the men behind me? Do you know who they are?”

I looked at the three of them, unsettled by how closely they were watching me. “I recognise the tallest one. I’ve never seen the other two before.”

She seemed interested in my answer. “The tallest one, then. Do you know his name?”

“Yes. His name is Cedric Hart. He’s my biological father.”

Something flickered in his eyes at my words.

“That seems like an important distinction for you to make,” Mireya said. “That he’s your biological father.”

I chuckled despite the tension in the room. “It is.”

“Can you elaborate?”