Shattered Heart's Plea

Chapter 10: Who Are You?

Chapter 10: Who Are You?

***

The wind knocked back into her senses, and Zoe stepped away from Kinsley, gasping. Kinsley reached out to steady her as she tumbled, but she moved back. Nina swiftly grabbed her instead, helping her regain her balance.

Her head pulsed as she tried to refocus her mind. She wasn't sure what she saw in the vision or its significance, but it felt different. There was a tinge of familiarity she couldn't ignore.

"Sir," the voice of the guard shattered the thin line of focus she had.

Kinsley averted his gaze from her to approach his men. Zoe watched as a guard conveyed a message to him. Once the guard left, Kinsley wearily looked back at Zoe. She flinched when their eyes met, feeling as if her golden, fiery gaze was being extinguished by the stormy clouds in his.

"The legal team would like to have a word," Kinsley looked at her with a wary gaze. "I have somewhere to be. Your lady's maid will show you to the office,"

Kinsley turned on his heel and walked away not giving her another glance.

Zoe took a sharp breath as she followed Nina back to the house. The cold breeze brushed against her skin, amplifying her sense of loneliness. Without Kinsley's presence—no familiar face around—she felt isolated and alienated.

As much as she tried to ignore the stares, each one pierced through her like a sharp blade of judgment. She recognized the faces of the guards she had assaulted earlier that day. While they didn't give her looks of feral anger, they did look down at her as if she didn't belong in such a place.

Which she believed entirely.

"They should be waiting inside, Miss," Nina gestured to the double mahogany doors.

Zoe pressed her lips into a flat line and gave a single nod to Nina. She took a moment to compose herself, bringing her mask back up before reaching for the doorknob. As soon as her fingers touched the steel handle, she felt the enchantment within it.

She shook off her curiosity and stepped into the meeting room. A long table dominated the center, with six men in suits standing on either side, seemingly awaiting her arrival. The attorneys, she presumed, greeted her formally before she gestured for them to sit down.

"Good day, gentlemen," she looked down at the black tablet that slid towards her on the table. "Shall we start?"

"During your hospitalization, we have consulted with your attorney, Attorney Khaelie Hernandéz," Attorney Guzman explained. "She briefed us on the case along with the primary witnesses, Mister Briagas and Mister Kinsley. This case will not proceed with the usual manner of being taken to court. Instead, our legal team, in collaboration with the Hernandéz Firm and Imperial Valor, will handle the necessary duties covertly."

"I guess you can't really tell the local news the truth about this—supernatural case," she sighed. "What about the Anonymous? Do I have the authority to know how you managed to detain these criminals?"

Zoe looked down at the tablet in front of her as it lit up. It wasn't the usual digital device but something powered by some kind of magic. Her eyes narrowed as she inspected the softly crackling effect of the magic's residue on the tablet before scrolling through the information about the so-called 'Anonymous' group of first-degree criminals.

"So, I take it that I don't have to worry about anything? Legal matters seem to have already been taken care of," if you can even call it legal, she scoffed at the thought.