Found Obsession

Chapter 138: Battle I

"I got what you want most."

Her father lifted an eyebrow.

"Your mother?" he asked.

Mother? Rose thought. She had expected him to say the Vatican Book. Isn't that what he—

"I don't know where she is," she said.

Her father leaned back, pressing his lips into a thin line. He turned to Levi, then Wyatt.

Rose sighed. "Levi was never with my mother. Wyatt's security program was done by me."

Her father's expression darkened.

"She's the only little rat who didn't crawl out with the rest of this mess," he hissed.

"Do you have a copy of the list? Or any idea where she might have hidden them?" he pressed.

Rose shook her head, lying. "I still can't remember many things," she admitted truthfully.

"But I'm guessing she's been the one distributing them," she added, lying again. And everyone knew it.

"What did she take?" Rose asked. It must have been something important. But what could be so valuable to her father?

Her father stared at his empty glass of wine, silent.

He ignored her. Then he looked up.

Something was off. Rose could feel it. A hidden secret. Another layer to all of this.

Just like she was keeping a few secrets of her own.

The Red Program. The lists. The real names.

That they had been orphans—survivors of the fire. That she had a second mark. That she had every body except Stella's. That she had the experiments.

And the pill. The one still inside her stomach. She had forgotten about it. She wasn't sure how it could help, but it was there.

"Then, I believe, Rose, you have nothing of value," her father said finally. "At least, nothing worth so many lives."

His gaze flickered, shifting—as if trying to see beneath the table.

Rose reached into the bag.

She pulled out the lampstand. Then the spear.

Then, she pushed her laptop toward her father.

"Is the lampstand, the spear, and the Blue Hansley Program not enough?" she asked.

Her father's lips curled slightly, amusement flickering in his eyes.

"Since you brought them in, I've been wanting to see them," he whispered, tracing the objects but never touching them.

Rose knew. He was connected to them.

Her father's gaze swept across the table, measuring, calculating.

She caught the flicker of dissatisfaction in his eyes. Then, his attention landed on Brianna.

Then, on her.

Rose poured them both a glass of wine, her hands steady.

"Forgive and forget, Father," she said softly. "Erase them all from your mind. Pretend they never played this match." She let her voice drop. "Let the children go."

Her father's lips curled into something mocking, dangerous.

"I need more than this, Rose. Much more."

His eyes bore into hers. "But you look so sure," he said, his voice laced with venom.

"What more do you have?" he asked, now genuinely intrigued.