Dangerous Games

A DATE WITH THE DEVIL

Kali looked up at the house. If she could even call it that. Something about this family made them hungry for prime real estate. From the marble fountains to the immaculate shrubs and garden, the manor looked like it could have been owned by an Earl or a Duke. Kali wouldn't be surprised if she was told the building used to belong to one.

"Mrs. Madden?" Kali turned to the maid. "Are you looking for someone?"

She stuttered, finding herself as she got out of the car. "Yes. I am looking for Mr. Devon."

"Alright. Please come in." She began to walk Kali towards the house. "He hasn't been in the best health these past few weeks. I'll tell him you are here to see him, but I can't promise he would agree to sit with you. He hasn't had visitors in weeks."

"That's alright. If he won't see me, I'll leave a message."

She had come prepared for any event. She'd prefer to say all she had to to his face. If he refused, she had typed and printed a detailed letter explaining their entire situation from its beginning to the end.

"Please wait here." The girl advised before going up the stairs.

Kali had never been to Claudius's house before. She knew what she wanted, but she suddenly found herself growing nervous. She stood in the same position the maid left her in, bending her heels to get her leg moving as a distraction.

The maid returned with a smile. "He has agreed to see you. Please, follow me."

"Thank you."

She went up the stairs and entered into his room. The first thing she noticed was the tubes, a mass number of tubes connected to his arms and chest. He looked feeble. Worse than when she last saw him at the exhibition. His breathing was raspy. She could hear it even before she got to the chair in front of his bedside. His eyes, droopy from exhaustion and ailment, followed her.

"Good morning, sir."

"Why are you here?" He asked as he indicated for the girl to leave them alone.

"I came to ask for your help."

He gurgled before coughing. "Help? What can I help you with."

"Flora Jenkins."

He came alert, his eyes finally focusing on her. "What about her."

"It's a long story, but she is in a lot of trouble, and you are the only one I know who can save her. Save us."

"Us?"

"You might not care about this part, but Samuel is in trouble, too."

"And you."

"I saved myself, but Samuel hasn't freed himself because he hasn't been able to save Flora."

"Tell me what you want."

"It's a little bit of a story. I need you to understand the story so you know why I am here for you."

"I don't have time to waste."

"I'll make it quick." She said defiantly. She reached into her pocket and brought out the envelope containing the letters she had written. "Or I can leave this for you to read. Either way, you will hear me."

"Tell your story." He grumbled after some thoughts.

"I met your grandson for the first time when he asked me to marry him. I met your daughter before that, and she forced me into the marriage by threatening my family's future. I was in debt, the debt you have probably heard she paid off. She gave me no choice, and I accepted. Samuel had no choice either. He didn't want to marry me. He never wanted to separate from Flora, but your daughter wouldn't let him. I have been trying to figure out why for months, but I found the answer. It was you."

"Me?"

"Your will, Ysabel has it. I can't tell you how I know, but I do. It was understanding the contents of that will that finally helped me understand a little of what her plan was. She married me to Samuel to prevent him from marrying Flora because he was going to."

Claudius's eyes sparked with wonder. "He was?"

Kali smiled and nodded. "Yes. He was. Ysabel forced him to break up with her to prevent this and then made him marry me to make sure Flora didn't get what was hers under the condition of marriage to Samuel."

"What did she offer Samuel to make him leave her?"

"Her freedom. Flora...bought organs for her father. He was dying, and she was desperate for him to live. She is still paying the woman whose organs she bought, and our lawyers say she will still go to prison if Ysabel decides to report it."

He coughed, and she stopped, sitting and waiting for him to recover, but he didn't. She watched with worry for a moment before jumping to her feet. She rushed to his side and filled the glass by his bedside with water. She helped him get the mask off his face and climbed on the bed to delicately feed the water to him.

"It's alright." She spoke softly, wiping his lips with a finger. "Breathe and drink."

He coughed again, and she offered him some more water, rubbing and patting his back until the spasms stopped. When he was better, she set the cup aside and helped him place his breathing mask back on his face.

She helped him with the pillows on his back and the blanket over his legs. She returned to her seat.

"Continue." He rasped. "How can I help?"

"That's up to you. I can't. Samuel doesn't know what to do, but something tells me you can. Something tells me you are as shrewd and calculating, maybe even more than she is. You are her father, after all. I am guessing whatever you can come up with to save Flora would be enough."

"And you? What do you get?"

"Samuel's freedom. This has been holding him in place all this time."

"And he can finally leave this farce of a marriage and return to Flora."

Kali smiled, not bothering to inform him not everything was a show. While she wanted to do the right thing, she was still afraid. Samuel still loved Flora, and, no doubt, when he didn't have his mom's threat hanging over his head, the pressure would return. She was afraid to lose him, but she was also done with the doubts.

Whatever happened, no choice would feel like his if his mother's hold did not fall. If they wanted to start a new chapter, they needed to end the previous one. Once and for all.

Claudius, unaware of her dilemma continued to ramble. "I knew it was too radical when he announced his wedding. I thought the boy was stupid or seduced. I should have suspected Ysabel had a hand, but it never occurred to me."

"It didn't occur to a lot of people."

"Who else knows about this?"

"The people that need to, but that isn't your concern. You care about Flora. That's why I came. I hope you can do something for her, or all this will be for nothing."

"I'll see."

She picked up her bag and stood, dropping the envelope at his bedside. "I am sure you will. I have done what I came to do. I'll leave that with you. It's more detailed and less rushed. You can get acquainted with what your daughter planned while you think about things."

As she left, she looked back at the house one more time. There were two things she hoped to achieve. One, she wanted Claudius to help Flora. He had more power and more reach than the rest of them. If someone could go toe to toe with Ysabel, it would be him. Secondly, and on a more personal field, she wanted him to turn all of Ysabel's hard work to ashes.