Inside the car, Daemon sat in the backseat with Ruby beside him, his eyes closed as they waited for Miss Shaw's text.
They were now parked beside a quiet park where couples sat together on mats in the candlelight, and Vannesa, in the driver's seat, watched in a daze.
"Mom?" Dani called tapping gently on her mother's arm.
Turning her head to Dani in the passenger seat, Vannesa simply smiled.
"I'm okay. I always knew he would eventually leave, but I didn't think he'd leave us homeless," Vannesa chuckled weakly.
"At least he made us good food" Ruby muttered in the backseat.
"That he did" Dani laughed.
"I think I'll miss the food more than I'll miss him" Nisa chipped in.
Daniel was neither a good father nor a good husband, but he was a good cook, and he took pride in it. Every morning, he would make lunch for the family since, for some inexplicable reason, the family never had breakfast. Although he had a good job, he also mixed in with the wrong people, not to mention his gambling problem.
"I knew he was staying because of Mom's money. You should have opened your own account," Ruby added grudgingly, and Daemon immediately shoved her with his shoulder.
"What? I'm just saying Mom made all the money, but she still put everything in the family account. Now he sold the house and didn't even leave us some money. He cleaned the account, and you all say I'm cruel"
"Ruby, that's enough," Daemon scolded, his tone firm as he glared at the girl. Shrugging, Ruby moved to the back of the SUV, sitting alone with a few of their belongings.
"Not even a toothbrush, he cleaned the house, where do you think he put our things?" Dani asked mostly in wonder.
"Probably burned them"
Daemon turned to Nisa, who was sitting by the other window looking at the shrubbery outside.
"Why now?" Deamon asked.
"Pick one; we were running a little low in the financial department, Mom started a new project and then there's. . ." Ruby paused at this point, struggling within herself, she gritted her teeth and remained silent.
The other four in the car immediately turned to her, their eyes squinting curiously. Ruby never cared before if her words hurt anyone. Why would she stop herself now?
"Daemon, who was that woman?" Vannesa suddenly spoke up, her eyes moving from Ruby at the back of the SUV to Daemon behind her.
"I can't tell you that" Daemon shook his head.
"It's okay, I know about your Mom's activities" Vannesa tried to reassure him.
"Still can't tell you" he smiled at her, his lips tight.
"She works with Queen's Circle, just a group of women who take care of the assets of some special people"
Daemon and Vannesa turned to Dani in surprise, their eyes wide.
"What? I'm about to become a Ranger it's all theory before any fun stuff. We learned about some local organizations at the Academy" She explained.
"Daemon, did your Mom get you involved in her shady business?" Vannesa asked, turning again to Daemon, her eyes soft, but within them, Daemon could see pain.
"I will inherit everything, everything except..." his voice trailed off and he didn't continue.
"Oh, that's right, I met your lawyer today." Vannesa suddenly recalled her weird encounter at the Orphanage.
Daemon's heart skipped a beat and his shoulders grew tense.
"You did?"
"Yes, it was a bizarre encounter" Vannesa replied, her eyes distant.
Studying her for a moment, Daemon swallowed and turned to face the window as Vannesa retreated to the front, resting her back on the backrest again with her eyes on the windshield.
"He made you a deal?" Daemon asked.
"He did" Vannesa replied but pursed her lips and didn't go into detail.
"You asked him a question?" Daemon asked again and beads started to form on his forehead.
"About your abilities. He reacted strangely after he answered, said I put a hex on him"
Daemon let out a long breath and his shoulders fell as a smile appeared on his face.
"My Mom put a hex on him" Daemon explained.
"What hex?" Dani turned curiously as she'd noticed Daemon's reaction.
"To answer any question you ask him and obey any command you give him as long as it doesn't hurt me. The only way to escape the hex on him would be to break the condition in the first place" Daemon answered, a relieved smile on his face.
"By giving you up?" Vannesa asked, turning as if to look over her shoulders but her eyes were unfocused.
"Yes, by giving me up you would have broken the chain of a series of events my Mom arranged. One of which will resolve the current financial problem you are facing"
"We are facing" Dani interjected, her eyes fixed on Daemon's relieved features.
"Daemon my Mom would never abandon you or give you up. You are part of this family now" she added.
Daemon turned away from the window to stare at the back of Vannesa's headrest for a moment, then he felt a hand on his thigh and turned sideways to see Nisa looking at him with a warm smile.
"Tell us more about Mr. Hagen; he seems cunning. Are you sure your inheritance is safe with him?" Vannesa asked as her mind traveled to everything she knew about Daemon's mother.
Before Daemon could answer, though, Vannesa's phone vibrated, and they all froze as they turned to it, some glaring at the back of her seat as they couldn't see her read it.
"Finally" Vannesa groaned and started the engine. Behind her, the three fourteen-year-olds cheered happily.
Daemon stared out the window with a pensive look as the car drove away.
****
The next morning, the family gathered around a table in a luxurious dining room with glass walls and elegant paintings around them. They sat together for breakfast, but Daemon was not with them.
"Where did he go?" Vannesa asked, frowning as she glared down at Ruby, who absentmindedly picked eggs from her plate.
"Ruby?" Nisa called, anger evident in her tone.
"I don't know, okay? He left a note saying he'll be back before noon," Ruby shot back, glaring at her twin.
"You realize he's into some shady buds right?" Nisa asked shifting in her seat.
"I don't care"
Dani stole a glance at her mother, who simply shrugged back without saying anything, and she helplessly turned back to the arguing twins.
"Listen, I love Dae but I'm not going to sit here like that's cool"
"What exactly do you know that he is doing anyways?" Ruby finally looked up from her plate.
"Who knows what he inherited from his psycho mother?" Nisa roared impatiently.
"That's enough!"
The twins both turned to their mother who glared back at them, her eyes wide and lips tightened.
"Listen, I don't care if Daemon is the angel or the devil; he is part of this family now. He was with us when we had a house and last night? Believe it or not, he could have left and abandoned us outside of that house, but he didn't. Lest you forget, the boy is a hybrid and an empath. That shitty necklace around his neck is not powerful enough to stop him from sensing how you feel about him. Your disgust for his mother" Dani glared at Nisa and then turned to Ruby with a pointed gaze.
"And your excitement at his enigmatic lifestyle." Lowering her gaze for a moment, she looked up and continued.
"He is a hybrid and can easily get himself either another family or a simple life without us. So for once, drop the logic aside and let your emotions knock some sense into you"
Vannesa, Ruby, and Nisa stared at Dani for a moment and then glanced around each other.
"Any idea what any of that means?" Vannesa asked quizzically, her forehead wrinkled in her frown and she glanced between the twins.
"No clue," they muttered, shaking their heads sideways.
"It's this stupid breakfast thing" Ruby pushed her plate away.
"Okay, that's enough with the language. I'm not allowing any more of that from any of you" Vannesa tapped the table and glared at her three daughters who meekly nodded back at her.