I swallowed the curse. “Am I allowed to speak,Vater?”
After a moment, he nodded.
“So, you’re the Caretaker.”
His head cocked to the side, his smile straining a little. “I’m your father.”
“My father’s dead.”
“Is that what she told you?” His expression darkened, the fire crackling and hissing as he frowned. “Your mother, yourrealmother, died shortly after childbirth.”
“Who was she?”
“A doll,” he said flatly. “But a pretty one that I favoured.”
He stood without hurry and crossed the room to a cabinet, lifting a decanter and pouring an amber liquid into a cut-crystal glass.
“She had the strangest craving,” he mused. “This flower?—”
“Why am I here?” I interrupted, immediately cringing when he glared at me. “What do you want from me?”
“Want from you?” His footsteps were silent as he approached, choosing the seat beside me. The leather squeaked under his weight, the sound slicing through me. “You’re my daughter. My flesh and blood, and you were taken from me.” Tipping the glass to his lips he took a sip.
“Where’s… Greta?” I corrected before I called her mum.
“Is that the name she goes by now?” he laughed. “When she was being trained with me, I called her Violet.” Thecrack of his glass against the table made me jump, a little of the amber splashing onto the wood beside the vase. “How… amusing that’s what she renamed you. The name which took away her autonomy. But then again, Violet was always a little on the twisted side. Always seeking attention.”
“Where is she?” I asked again, my voice quiet. Controlled.
Caretaker’shead cocked, watching me. “She’s being punished, of course.” Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a remote and pointed it at the mirror beside me.
The reflection flickered, and I turned to find it wasn’t a normal mirror at all.
“Don’t worry, she can’t see us. It’s one way.”
I jumped to my feet as the surface changed, my heart aching at the sight. It showed mum being suspended by her arms, her head slumped forward and her expression hidden by her hair. She was entirely naked as she was whipped enough to bleed, a man behind her thrusting violently…
Nausea rose up my throat, and I barely kept it down. Mum always said about the mirrors…
“Violet stole more than just you when she left,” he commented.
“She didn’t steal me,” I seethed, turning away from the glass to find Caretaker standing over me, his cologne overpowering. “She saved me!”
He grabbed my wrists, pulling me until we were almost chest to chest. “Is that what you think? That she saved you?” He laughed, blowing the stench of whiskey over my face. “Du dummes Mädchen.You’ll have to ask her yourself when she’s finished with her session. I’m sure she’ll have much to say aboutsavingyou.”
“Get off me.” I tried to tug free, but his grip tightened to bruise. “Get off?—”
Hereleased me instantly, only to hurl me to the floor, looming over me as my nails clawed into the carpet.
“You’re really this ignorant?” he tutted, almost disappointed. “I guess you’d believe anything.”
Tears wet my face, and I flinched when he kneeled to cup my face.
“Do you really think she cares about you?” His voice was deceptively soft, almost gentle. “You’ll find out soon enough.”
My throat tightened. “Why are you doing this?”
“Does it matter?” He rose to his full height and extended a hand as if to help me up. I ignored it, pushing to my feet on my own.
