Operation: One percent

Chapter 77

Margaret

Slowly I clapped.

"You had me fooled Victoria. I really thought that you actually died back then, but it seems that it was all a ruse. Good job on faking it. "

I started to open up the valve a bit more, just to make her sweat more.

"Now question number one. Why did you take my daughter from me? "

She was now gasping for air, but still able to let out a scream here and there.

"For every minute that passes by, and my question remains unanswered, I will keep opening up this valve. "

"I can't....they will kill me. "

Sympathy really missed me at that moment.

"You have thirty seconds until I raise it higher. "

"Margaret please... open the doors... let's talk outside."

"You think that these doors are your key to freedom, but in fact, you should be grateful. They are keeping you safe from me. "

Jiggling with them in her face, I mocked. 

"10...9.....8.... "

I started counting out loud.

"They... Alin...and the rest.... "

I lowered the valve just a bit. I have no use of her if she is dead.

"They figured out that you can ....travel. So...they were determined... they were determined that in every universe, Lilith is in control...they..are in control. "

Strained, she spoke.

"Once they travel....they want almost nothing changed in terms of their power. "

I raised an eyebrow at her explanation.

"And what does that have to do with me? "

"Margaret...at that time.. the power to jump universes was not synchronized... There are still several universes that are not in sync, and that will take time ... They figured out... "

She took a deep breath of whatever oxygen she had. I increased the ventilation.

"They figured out that if you are with your daughter...Maryam will keep dying, and you will keep jumping until you save her. And if you were to disturb anything, everything that they have could fall apart. "

"Hah, who are they to say that if I am with Margaret that she will die, and I will jump and screw everything up? As if I had the power. "

"They couldn't leave it to chance Margaret. Please let me go now. "

"Oh, but we are only getting started. Tell me, how come Maryam doesn't know that you are actually Eucia? "

"We never crossed paths after that night. She was stationed exclusively for Alin, and her obligations ended the moment he came home. "

"Didn't you ever like...go out with Alin where she had to follow you? "

"No...I mean we did...but Alin decided that no one should ever know what I looked like because he was scared that people will target me to get to him. So...we stayed hidden for the entirety of our relationship. Most of them just knew that I existed, but they never really saw me. "

"I see. "

She was held captive but in a pretty cage. A cage is still a cage tho.

"Why did you do it Victoria? "

"Alin threatened my girls...when I refused at first, he burned everything down... My husband..my home...everything. He spared my daughters, and only then I realized that the eldest knew about it all. So she took her own life. She said that she felt so ashamed being my daughter..knowing what I've done... "

Victoria was shedding tears now, and I understood her pain. Somewhat.

"What about Anna? "

"Anna never knew about it, and as I was at that time pretty much prevented to go out, I rarely saw her. "

"Anna said that you are dead. "

"Yeah...I should have been. "

She gasped for air.