Gilded in Gold Ch. 09

Pressing her ears close to the door, she struggled to hear their conversation.

"You're a fucking imbecile," Stephen growled without any preamble.

"I don't even know how he did it. I-I can feel it! Eating... away at everything...all I've worked hard for..." Daniel's voice broke as he buried his face in his hands in abject misery. Tibby heard her father snort in disgust.

"Like I said, an imbecile." Stephen sounded unconcerned and Tibby could hear the clinking of glass and ice. She guessed he must have been drinking.

"What do I do now?"

"Now you fucking go to jail and rot. You are useless to me."

"But-"

"You let the virus do its work. Once the maps are down, take a few of the Consume pills...The powder works faster."

A few of the words were incomprehensible but what Tibby did manage to hear was confusing. Pills, powder, what kind of drug were they talking about?

"But-this will-"

Tibby couldn't hold out any longer, she had to see what was going on. Cracking the door open just enough so that she could see a sliver of Daniel and her father talking in the sitting area, the guards were suspiciously gone.

In a matter of second, Stephen pulled out a laser gun on Daniel, aiming directly at his forehead. Tibby stifled her horrified gasp behind her hands. Her heartbeat stuttered to a stop as she watched helpless from the shadows as Stephen slowly and methodically pulled back the trigger.

"I could just kill you now and spare myself the trouble." Tibby couldn't see her father's eyes but his steady hands and nonchalant pose revealed the apathy he had for his son. "But then they'll have to look into who murdered you and I'd rather just let those idiots think you're a low pimp."

Daniel grabbed the muzzle and pressed it to his forehead. "Then do it!" he shouted, looking up at his father with angry eyes. "It's better than having to feel every bit of mind being minutely stripped away from you," he despaired.

Scoffing, Stephen put the safety back on and pulled the gun from Daniel's hold. "Don't be an idiot. Traces of your psyche will still linger if I kill you. This virus is doing a better job of it than any cleaner I've employed. Maybe I should find this Ezekiel man and employ him," Stephen smirked.

Daniel said something, probably about how his father wanted to hire the man killing off Daniel's brain but it was all a distant buzz to Tibby. From what she gathered, Ezekiel was responsible for whatever was going on with Daniel. Deciding not to push her luck, she crept away from the door and blindly walked back to her room.

What did this all mean? What did Ezekiel do to Daniel? Was she a part of his plan? She didn't want to doubt his love for her, especially when his accusers were her shady brother and father. Maybe they were mistaken and Ezekiel had nothing to do with what they were accusing him of.

As Tibby crawled into her bed, she mentally chastised herself for even momentarily doubting Ezekiel. He loved her and she loved him. So what if they'd only known each other for a few days, it was enough for her to know he'd protect her from Daniel. He would find her and take her away from this hell. Eventually falling asleep with that thought on the forefront, her mind still held a small kernel of doubt that lurked in the background.

When she woke in the middle of the night to a loud knocking on her door, the man outside was the farthest thing from Ryan Ezekiel.