Wake Up Saga: Whispered Deception

Chapter 2: Final Countdown to Confusion

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am working on chapter 3 right now! I needed to re-write this chapter as I did not like it and knew I could add better details and changed some stuff.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Final Countdown to Confusion

"No. No, no. That just won't do. Unacceptable," Maximillian Blackwood sneered, his cold, gray eyes narrowing as they roamed over the young girl standing before him. She was rigid, arms folded neatly behind her back, doing her best to maintain an air of composure despite the palpable tension in the room.

The woman beside her swallowed hard, casting a nervous glance at Max before hastily pulling the fancy blue dress away from the girl's thin frame and replacing it with a bright pink one, nearly identical to the first.

"This one, Mr. Blackwood, sir?" the maid asked, her voice trembling as she noticed the girl's look of disgust.

Max caught the expression and, without a moment's hesitation, swung his hand forward, relishing the way the girl's head snapped violently to the side.

"Seraphine, darling?" Max purred, watching as she cradled her face in shock, fear dancing in her wide eyes. "I've spoken to you about making faces. My daughter Cassandra does not express herself in that way. Today, you are to be her substitute. Your job is simple: smile. That's it. Understand?"

Seraphine Everhart nodded, her heart heavy. She had been with the Blackwoods since she was two years old. After a tragic accident took her mother, her father was sent to a reprogramming facility for reasons unknown to her. That left young Seraphine clinging to her deceased mother when Maximillian discovered her, swiftly scooping up the crying child and whisking her away to his home.

When they arrived, Cassandra, then five, took an instant liking to the smaller girl, insisting that her father let her keep Seraphine. Without hesitation, Max complied. After all, when Cassandra wanted something, she wouldn't stop until she got it.

Max adopted Seraphine within the week, sealing her status as a sort of sister to his daughter—though the biological father would remain oblivious to her fate. As far as anyone was concerned, Seraphine's mother had died while attempting to flee from the newly formed military, known as F.E.A.R. (Federation Elite Armed Response). They answered only to the highest elites, and Maximillian Blackwood, Sr. was at the top.

Max smiled slightly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind Seraphine's ear. She was no longer the little girl he had rescued; now at twenty-eight, she felt trapped in a life that was anything but fair. The endless thoughts swirling in her mind were stifled by the forced silence imposed upon her.

Her voice had been taken from her when she was twelve—punished for overhearing something she was never meant to hear. Blackwood had ensured she would never speak again, and he succeeded with terrifying efficiency.

The glowing eye on her palm lit up, displaying a blank speech log with a bold "0" crossed out—a stark reminder of her status as a voiceless servant, punished for reasons known only to those in power. If only she hadn't overheard those secrets in Max's study, perhaps she would have known the normalcy Cassandra enjoyed. She would have been allowed to remain unburdened, free to communicate with those around her.

Cassandra had never been fitted with a speech inhibitor, and after witnessing Seraphine's fate, she had even expressed envy over the glowing mark on her friend's palm. Thankfully, it was the only time Max had put his foot down, and after seeing Seraphine suffer, Cassandra began to grasp the severity of her father's decisions.

"Put her in the pink dress," Maximillian decided, impatience creeping into his voice as he grew tired of the maid's indecision. "It's Cassandra's favorite color, and she should be excited to see Sera in it when we return. She always dressed you in nice outfits."