Chapter 25- Burning Bridges

Tears streamed down her face as she made her way back. She would dash them away only to have more follow them. She angrily wiped her eyes as she came to the front of the complex. Her mind returned to all those moments where she hid her feelings from Jack. Tears turned to sobs as she dashed into the mail room as the sun rose.

Distant clouds had moved in and were now dropping thick drops of rain as she leaned against the mail room wall with her hands covering her face. Now she was crying as her heart shattered. Allowing herself this moment of release, she kept on crying for a moment. She would miss Jack more than she wanted to ever admit, but her heart still couldn't handle the loss of Daddy Green. Even as he came to her mind, she covered that thought, knowing she couldn't handle it now.

As her sobs subsided and her sniffles became less frequent, her ears caught a distant melody. Rolling her eyes, she continued to sniff. She muttered, "About time your bony ass showed up." Her mind followed the sad song that emitted from the cello the chevalier played.

She knew that he must be under her porch since it was raining and a good musician would never ruin his instrument by playing in the rain. Even better, the tears she had cried would be washed away by the rain. She took her time making her way back to the apartment that had been packed away and ready to go.

She was drenched as she made her way to the stairs, where the music was clearly coming from. As her heels kept a rhythm to the music, she began to concentrate on covering her presence.

Recalling how Nathan taught her the trick on one of his visits to the facility while the other princesses were there. He seemed sad that the others couldn't seem to get it, but she did. Knowing he could not sense her, but still hear her, she reached down and removed her heels. Allowing them to dangle from her left hand, she moved silently up the steps.

As usual, he was lost in that same song. His body moved only the minimal amount it took to create the beautiful music. She smiled wickedly as she noticed his back was to the stairs as he faced the rising sun that was hidden behind the clouds. She held her breath as she inched closer to the stoic man's back and the ebony waves of hair tied with a blue ribbon.

Hagi was in the depths of the melody as he wondered what was keeping that princess. Lulu had informed David that they would be leaving at 10 am today. He had been playing since 6 am and was starting to wonder if he should go back to Jack's and see if she was still there. His eyes snapped open and narrowed as the twittering bird songs suddenly stilled and the sweet morning breeze brought her scent to him. She was returning.

He didn't know she was already behind him. She smirked even more as she fisted the ponytail and pulled his head back roughly, causing the chair to tilt back on two legs and a terrible shriek came from the cello as the bow was drawn awkwardly across the strings. She noticed the quick look of surprise pass quickly before it turned to an angry glare. "I guess I do like this ponytail after all, Lurch," she informed as she released him, being gentle enough to allow the chair to come back to four legs without harming the cello.

He said nothing in reply, but was a bit surprised as he felt a low growl rumble in his own chest. She certainly knew how to try his patience. She seemed to have missed his sudden display of outrage since she was already inside greeting Lulu.

As Hagi walked through the apartment, he noticed many things were already missing. Her large television, many of the devices that surrounded it, and a few of the kitchen items that had been displayed were gone.

"She already sent that stuff to Kai," Lulu informed. The lavender haired girl came to Hagi's side and hugged his middle, "It's good to see you again."

The sudden display of affection brought a small curve to his lips. He then let it fall and answered, "I am glad that we are going back. Saya will awaken soon."

Lulu nodded and pulled back from the hug as she heard Hagi continue, "I am grateful to Kai. She will be in good hands at Omoro."

Lulu frowned and looked up at her mentor in confusion. "Are you talking about Mary Frances?" At his nod, she laughed and explained, "No. Kai is just getting her stuff arranged at your apartment. She's only going to be staying at Omoro for two weeks- when Saya wakes up."

Hagi's brow furrowed, "Surely there has been a mistake… I must…"

Lulu stilled him as a hand went to his sleeve. "Hagi, she's your daughter, not Kai's. Besides, you have a two bedroom apartment and plenty of room. Aside from all that, you are the best person to protect her."

She noticed Hagi's jaw set strongly as he asked, "How did Kai get the key to my apartment?"

"He got it from Joel, asshole!" a voice responded from the bedroom. She poked her head out of the bedroom and glared at him. "It seems I will be staying with you, but I just want my room to myself and you to stay the hell out of it!"

Her head disappeared once again and Lulu watched with widening eyes as Hagi moved toward the bedroom. No one was allowed to bother Mary Frances while she was in her bedroom and Hagi was headed straight for trouble. When she caught the determined look on his face, she backed off. There was about to be a showdown and she wanted no part of it.

~0~

She had set out her clothes the night before on night stand. As she turned toward the restroom, she nearly smacked into the man she'd rather not have in her room. She simply dodged him and went into the restroom.

She nearly had the door shut when she felt him grasp the door and say "We need to talk."

She pulled her shirt off to get him to understand she was about to become indecent, but the stoic expression remained. Giving a feminine gasp of fake shock, she pushed him out of the door saying, "A little privacy, if you please, sir."

The door was closed in his face and the lock clicked. He remained there as he heard the squeak of the knobs before the sound of running water came through the walls. He finally spoke plainly, knowing she could hear, "I visited The Center recently."

He heard her nonchalant response, "So?"

"I spoke with someone named Iris," he informed. When she did not respond, he added, "She gave me a photograph of you… and Mary Frances."

After a breath, she came blazing from the bathroom, wrapped in nothing more than a towel and already wet all over. She backed him into a wall as she glared at him with fire in her eyes. "Where is it?" she growled.

As he produced the photo, her look softened into a pain-filled expression of someone that had lost their entire world. He allowed a frown to etch his features as his brows came together, "Who are you?"

Every word of that question was a dagger into her heart. Her early life that was locked away deep inside- never to see the light of day, flashed before her eyes. She coldly responded, "No one."

She moved along the side of the bed and allowed the photo to casually fall on the bed next to where she sat. Her face fell into her hands as she sighed sadly.

He blinked and then asked in a softer tone, "Where are you from?"

She turned her red, tear-filled eyes to him. "Does it fucking matter?" Turning her eyes to the picture, she said, "Ms. Reyes took me in and raised me like I was her own. She knew she was dying, so she made sure that Mary Frances and Daddy Green were there for me." Her tears fell as she turned to the window and groaned, "Dammit, Mary Frances, why'd you have to leave me with all this shit?"

Hagi took a seat on the other side of the bed. "What happened to her?" he asked as his gaze never left the picture.

"She had HIV, too," she responded sadly. "She didn't want anyone to panic. Knowing that they had no one to pass The Center on to, Mary Frances decided to sell to the city before she got really sick." She turned to him and said, "She died the night before they came."

He reached into his pocket and produced a handkerchief. He nodded for her to continue the story.

She gave a small nod of gratitude and continued the tale, "We were all alone in her room. She was not feeling well and had been throwing up almost everything she ate. When she grumbled about being sick… I panicked. She fell on the floor and hit her head. Blood came from the wound on her head, but her eyes were wide open. I shook her, but she wouldn't move. I r-ran back to my room and shut the door. I kept the covers over my head, hoping it had been a bad dream."

Hagi noticed the sadness that came from her as she told the story. For the first time ever, she was acting her actual age.

She dabbed her eyes, "I went back to her room at 4 am. She was still there. Everyone was still sleeping and I was afraid I would get in trouble, so I buried her in the back yard, next to the shed.

"You have done nothing wrong," he said as he looked at the floor.

She stared into nothingness as she responded, "I have done a lot wrong in my life, but I'll be damned if I ever go back to where I came from."

He then asked stoically, "Why? What is wrong with the place you came from?"

She smirked and answered, "Nice try, Lurch, but you won't fool me that easily." The smile fell as she continued, "As I came back inside and took a shower, I thought, 'She's dead and I look really similar to her. All I need is some red hair dye and to cut off my hair. My eyes were already brown like hers.' So I found a box of hair dye at an all night pharmacy."

Her eyes filled with tears as she was speaking. She kept trying to hold them back, causing him to feel compelled to reach for her. His hand twitched in his lap and he internally scolding himself for it. Why was he having this sudden compulsion to reach for her? Why should he feel the need to comfort her?

"I took a pair of scissors and roughly cut my black hair to the nape of my neck and dyed it and my eyebrows," she sighed. "I took her ID and her social security card before I headed to Mary Reyes' office and found her birth certificate. As soon as it was 9 am, I went to a stylist and used Mary Frances' money to have my hair cut like hers." She ran a hand through her dark short hair. "I avoided everyone except the City Planner that came to speak to Mary Frances about the purchase of The Center. They cut me a check and I put it in the bank."

Again, Hagi felt the need to comfort her, but he grasped one hand with the other to keep it from moving toward her as a tear left her eye. His deep voice responded gently, "You should report this to the police. From what I have been informed, you are only 15 years old. They will…"

She turned and snapped, "They'll send me back! I will not go back!" As an idea popped into her head, she offered him an evil smirk. "Besides, you're going to keep this all a secret, Lurch."

He cringed at the name and the wicked smile she gave him. He had no idea what was going on in her mind. "I won't take money, if that is what you are offering," he said.

The smirk did not fall as she made her way to the bedside table and grabbed a sheet of paper from it. She then came to his side and dropped the paper into his lap before she headed to the window and informed, "You should thank me for intercepting this message. What would your little friends think of you if this got out?" She then added, "Don't try ripping it up, it's just a copy of the original. I'm a lot smarter than you think."

Hagi's eyes widened marginally as he read the copy of a fax from Mao Okamura to Dr. Julia:

We have been given access to several surveillance tapes for Bach Mai hospital in Vietnam. There is a clear view of room 602 and the man that came to visit our Jane Doe. You'll never believe who it is- we didn't believe it either. But he even visited her for 30 minutes on March 23, 2020- around the time you said the baby was conceived. It's Hagi and he visits every other year always on the same day.

His heart shattered as he crumpled the paper in his hand. She began ranting, "So I'm not the only daughter you had. What do they say happened to her? I know from the rest of that fax that the mom is dead. I guess that means that little baby was thrown into an orphanage, huh? I wonder what kind of shit happened to her there. Maybe she was raped or abused. What do you think?" she asked as anger seemed to boil up inside her.

He winced at each of her words. He now had not one but two daughters to explain to Saya. Yes, he had visited the girl in Vietnam, but it was for another reason and he never touched her. How could he have fathered a child with her? From what Julia had said, the baby had no special powers, but the fact that he visited her in an unsupervised room would be enough for them to pass judgment. He recalled that they had found the 12-year-old daughter dead on the beach and burned her body. He responded quietly, "She was killed by a wild animal when she turned 12."

Her eyes blazed as she shook her head. "You're a poor excuse for a father. You make two kids- that we know of- and just abandon the mothers to fend for themselves and when the mothers die, you pretend you have never done anything wrong. I guess your plan was for me to die too, huh? Didn't expect for me to be so fucking resilient- did you, Daddy?" She nearly spit the last part at him.

He knew that by now Mao had already called Julia to inform her of the situation. He rose and made his way to the window across the room. Light filtered through the blinds as he gave a barely audible sigh. How was he going to explain this? His jaw set as he spoke through gritted teeth, "Alright. I'll keep your secret if you do not tell anyone of what I will tell you."

She nodded as her eyes went wide. He was going to confess. The gravity of the situation caused her to sit on the bed and await his confession.

He took a breath and admitted, "I visited the girl in Vietnam every other year until her death in 2021. I knew that it would be suspicious if I was there that year. I don't know her real name, but I know that she has been the only survivor of one of Saya's rampages in Vietnam. She was just a child and Saya had nearly killed her. I do not know why she did not age. I have always felt that it was from Cinq Fleches' drug. I was not informed until 2023 that there was even a child."

She shook her head as she responded, "You still won't admit it. She was your fucking kid! Why can't you just come out and say it? 'I didn't think about it and ended up fucking this girl and I didn't know she got pregnant.' It's better than denying the truth, Lurch."

He cringed at the name and the accusation. He responded, "I have never betrayed Saya. She is my entire reason for existence."

The comment tore at the girl's heart. A man's offspring was supposed to be a pretty good reason to exist and the fact that he obviously felt nothing for her and only for this Saya broke her heart. She inwardly cringed at the blow, but outwardly went defensive. She growled, "Fuck you, Lurch!"

She rose to leave for the bathroom and locked the door. As she turned on the water again, she finally let the tears come. An unwanted child- that was all she had ever been and all she'd ever be. This was the moment she resolved she would find a way to leave this man that had created her and just go. "Watercolors in the Rain," she muttered. Her chin came up amid the spraying water in a defiant position, "I belong to no one." She then said loudly, "You can't break my heart if I have no heart."

The stoic chevalier stood at the window still, going over all that had just occurred. There was a feeling in his chest he did not understand. It was causing his stomach to clench as he heard her words echo through the wall. He had meant to get the truth out, but not to hurt her. Unfortunately, his actions had done exactly that- he had hurt her.

She was obviously surprised he was still there as she stepped out of the shower. Still wrapped in a towel, their gazes locked and they stared at one another for what seemed like forever. She finally dropped the towel without any warning. She knew what he was looking at and commented, "See what happens when you don't look after your kids, Lurch? Take a really good look."

Scar after scar riddled her body. It looked as if someone had taken a kitchen knife and sliced gashes in her breasts, stomach, and back. Small circles had been burned into her pubic hair, leaving scars that would fade in a few years of frequent feeding and some of the serum Dr. Julia had given him.

She added, "This happened to me from the time I was a baby until I was 13 and killed my pimp. I sucked his ass dry for trying to cut out my baby in my sleep. As it was, she died anyway." She looked at him defiantly, "That's right Lurch, you're not just a fucking, dead-beat dad, you're a dead-beat grandfather to a dead little girl. When she was born, she looked just like me. So that means she looks just like you."

He was stunned, though outwardly he didn't show any signs of it. She donned her towel and headed for the bathroom. He sighed inwardly and headed for the bathroom door. Giving a soft knock, he asked, "So what should I call you as you are not Mary Frances?"

She responded through the door, "Mary Frances is dead. She won't mind me using her name since I don't have my own- Girlie is not a name."

He nodded and added, "Whatever name you choose to use, your last name is Goldschmidt. I was adopted by Joel's family…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," she interrupted. "I read Joel's Diary- remember?"

He nodded as she exited the bathroom wearing black skinny jeans and a black skull and crossbones t-shirt with an obvious home-made plunging neckline that revealed the edges of her scars. He ignored the outlandish outfit as he continued, "You should have a name. What did they call you in the place you came from?"

She briefly looked dazed as she stopped in the middle of pulling on a pair of steel-toed black boots. She shook her head as if she was trying to shake off a painful memory. "Having trouble paying attention, Lurch? I told you, I don't have one- kids just teased me. All I know is that I was given up as a baby."

Hagi had enough of that horrid nickname. He spoke in a very calm voice as he asked, "Could you please stop calling me Lurch. I promise not to call you Neige."

This time she looked up from what she was doing and regarded the poker face she had learned would not change. "I'm not calling you dad, if that's what you're asking. What does Neige mean?"

He continued to look out the window and answered, "No, I did not expect you to call me that. Hagi, if you please. As for the name Neige, it's a name they used to call me when they were teasing me as a child. It means snow."

"Skin as white as snow," she murmured in shock as she sat up. "How did you know?"

He did not respond as he continued to look out the window. It surprised her after a time of silence when he gave an audible sigh and commented, "It doesn't matter how many years have passed, the teasing words of children do not change."

"Did other kids call you that, or your brothers?" she asked.

He turned around abruptly and allowed a small scowl to etch his features briefly.

"Kai emailed me copies of some letters Joel had sent. He says that only Joel and Dr. Julia have read them. They were Amshel's letters to Joel I when they were looking for a 12-year-old boy to purchase- you. They detail your family situation and a few other things. He thought I should read them and that I should let you read them, too. I guess that can wait until we get to Okinawa since my laptop and all my other items have been shipped there," she explained.

He nodded sadly, knowing his early life was now an open book to the Red Shield. Then he commented lowly, "It was everyone that called me that- including my parents. It was clear I was not my fathered by the man that raised me. All of the people of my race are dark skinned and I was very light skinned. My blue eyes alarmed them. My mother would get drunk and tease that my father was not even Romani. It was common in those days, to sell our people into slavery. I could see the relief in my father's eye when Amshel offered to purchase me. None in my family even cared when he was taking me away. I looked back, but none of their brown eyes turned to even see me off."

She wondered why there were no tears in his eyes as he told the tale of his youth. She responded in nearly a whisper, "I guess that means we both have pretty rotten parents." She then leaned forward and spoke lowly to him, "I tell you what- all the shit that was discussed stays here and is to never be repeated. You got some really bad stuff on me and I have something rotten on you. We'll just agree to keep our mouths shut, right?"

He nodded. The stuff she knew was already out, more than likely, but he didn't want her to spread around anything that may not have been mentioned. Aside from that, he could sense this girl could do some damage if she wasn't kept a close watch on.