“Follow me.”
They followed the man through the police station, into a back hallway and then towards a door.
“I hope you don't mind, but we will be in the next room monitoring things. It’s for safety. He is cuffed to the table, but…” Bennie shrugged.
Seri took a deep breath. “I understand.”
The Police Chief opened the door and stepped out of the way. Taking another deep breath, he walked in. His first thought on seeing the man who was supposed to be his father was that…they didn’t look a thing alike, besides the fact that he was also a Water Nymph.
Tall with short cyan hair, a broad nose, deep set eyes, a square boxy jaw, pointed ears… The only feature they shared, that wasn’t a generic Water Nymph feature, was their eyes. His father had the same golden eyes as him… The same eyes Skya had. It sort of made him wish theirs were silver…
Robert glanced over, gaze narrowing, before the man looked away on an angry huff. “What?! Come to mock me, Avery?”
Seri scoffed. “I’m not Avery.”
His father did a double take, before just staring while his eyes got wider.
“Yeah, it seems you can see what she saw,” he said emptily…because empty is exactly how he felt.
Seri stared and there was nothing. No rush of emotions like there had been when he’d first caught sight of his mother. No regrets, no mourning the time lost… Just…nothing.
Then again, maybe it was because what he saw in his father’s eyes was so different from what he’d seen in his mother’s. Not an ounce of warmth or love…just cold, hard, fear.
Standing there staring at this man, who had no care for him at all, his thoughts on coming there shifted to the point where he wasn’t sure the conversation he planned to have was even long enough to bother sitting down for.
“You sold me,” Seri stated.
The man hissed. “I will sue you if you dare to spread such an accusation!”
“It’s not an accusation. And while I came in here to ask why you did it, I find now that I am actually here, it doesn’t matter. Because in the end, you did what you did. You sold me. Otherwise, why try to keep my mother from coming to me?
“You yourself never tried to find me. But you did try to replace me. To the point of trying to mentally break down my mother. But she didn’t give in. Not only did she not give you another child, she kept looking for me.
“I’m thinking you tried to replace me not out of guilt, but more in an attempt to erase what you did. Because I bet it was always on your mind, the fear of being discovered. So, of course, you pushed. As if giving my mother another child would somehow shut her up and stop her from looking. The thing is, you can’t replace children. They aren’t objects that are interchangeable. They are beings with feelings and emotions.”
“I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING!” Robert roared, hands clenched on the table.
Seri remained calm and replied with zero emotions. “You did. You sold me. I am pretty sure evidence has already been found, or will be soon enough. And when it is, you will not only rot in jail for what you did to my mother, but also to me. I’m not sure for how long, but I know it will feel like many lifetimes when the trafficking charges get added to the attempted murder one.”
“You… You…” the man blustered, face reddening in anger.
“I think I can be satisfied with ending this chapter of my life by simply saying, I hope you never forget, whether out of regret or rage. I hope that what you did haunts you for every hour you spend locked up, just as it has for the last thirty-seven years. Suffering is my wish for you.”
Robert roared, bursting from his seat. It tipped over as he tugged on the restraints to get to him, ranting and raving. The restraints themselves seemed to tighten, not letting the older Nymph take even a step away from the table. Cops burst in to deal with him as Severo pulled Seri to his side, the man having stayed by the door for the entire exchange.
“If you are still fine with me talking to him, why don’t you wait in the waiting room?”
“In the waiting room?” Seri’s brow pinched.
“I’m going to do some things that…may trigger you.”
Ah…the man was going to use his shadow powers… Seri let out a woosh of air, nodding. “I’ll do that.”
Severo kissed his forehead. “Love you.”
Seri gave the man a wan smile. “Love you, too.”
The second Seriwas out of the room, Severo turned to face Robert. He eyed the Nymph,mind churning over the information he'd managed to get through while Seri had his confrontation. None of what he read surprised him much.
