Chapter 2

It was a quiet dinner.

Sara Woodstock and her son George lived in a dazzling palatial mansion within the most exclusive region in Bay Fair. Tall and imposing, the eight-bedroom house had been standing for five decades. However, the interior and exterior had gotten a complete makeover to match modernized standards. George still privately regarded the iconic house as a collision of the ultra-modern and the primordial.

“You haven’t said much tonight,” Sara observed, raising a tall glass of champagne to her lips.

George sliced his roast beef and shrugged. “I don’t have much to say.”

“That’s weird. You always have something to say.”

Silence.

“How was the board meeting?” Sara asked.

George shrugged. “The usual bunch of lawyer sharks just trying to outmaneuver each other as always.”

Sara’s lips turned up slightly by the corners in her own idea of a smile. “I taught them well.”

“What are you doing with this whole driyn thing, Mom?” George asked, sounding exasperated. “You’re making things worse than they really are.”

Sara’s eyes bulged in disbelief. “Me?!”

“Yes.”

“So now you support them? Those monsters tearing apart our city?”

“That’s not what I meant. You’re igniting rage and galvanizing people. You’re…”

“I’m doing what I’m supposed to,” Sara interrupted icily. “Anger is good sometimes. It can be instrumental in propelling positive developmental change if and when it is channeled right. We need to be angry enough to be rid of them. You’ll thank me eventually when they are all dead, and you live in a free city, not being subjected to these bloody detection checks all the time.”

George said nothing and continued to eat his roast in silence. So much for having a conversation.

***

The atmosphere at Bay Fair Law School was warm and radiant, and Mitchell chose to believe the radiance was an augury that the day was going to be magnificent. After months of an internship program with Blue County coupled with exhausting months of the brutal demands of law school and the treacherously difficult exams, she had finally done it. She had fulfilled all the back-breaking demands it took to become a full-time practicing lawyer. And today, she would be given her degree and incorporated into the world she had worked hard to be recognized in. Her family was here on this auspicious day, taking pictures of herself and her few friends, beaming with pride and joy. Later on at home, there would be a private celebration.

Mitchell didn’t graduate valedictorian, but she did graduate Summa Cum Laude and was acknowledged as one of the most outstanding and remarkable students to be produced from the revered law department. She was singled out, too, as one of those students with immense promise, a prognosis strengthened by the brief presence of a few executives from Blue County Law Firm, all of whom attested to Mitchell as a sterling young lawyer who already had a permanent retainer in their prestigious law firm.

Mitchell couldn’t quite describe her feelings as she was finally bestowed her degree. The total sum of years of studying law, months of law school and an internship, hours of reading bulky books, brainstorming, and research had all culminated into this moment. Outside the hall, her family members took more pictures, and everyone was in a general celebratory mood. She was in a conversation with her siblings when she heard a shockingly familiar voice.

“Hearty congratulations to the best newly bestowed lawyer in town.”

Mitchell swung around in astonishment. In the sunshine opulence, looking as handsome as ever was George Woodstock. He radiated and oozed a mixture of old-money mannerisms, intellectual appeal, power, and style.

“Oh! Wow! You came, Mr. Woodstock!”

“It’s George,” he said simply.

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Mr.… Oh, I meant George.”

Mitchell could feel rather than see the puzzling, piercing stares from her family.

“Come meet my family,” she invited him.

George politely shook hands and greeted her father and her brothers and sister with an eternal smile plastered on his face.

“This is my boss from work, George Woodstock,” she proudly introduced him.

“Your boss?” Her father asked.

“Yes, Daddy.”

“What’s your boss doing at your graduation? Aren’t you both just supposed to interact at work and nowhere else?” her father blurted out.

For a moment, the atmosphere was swallowed in silence and dense with awkwardness. Mitchell felt grave embarrassment seeping into her toes.

“You’re right, sir,” George began. “But I don’t think I need to tell you that Mitchie is a profound law star at our firm.”

Stephanie’s eyebrows flickered up in surprise. Mitchie?

“At the firm, we’re in awe of her, and we believe she is definitely going to go places. Besides, I’m not the only high-caliber member of the firm who showed up here today.”

“True,” Mitchell echoed.

Anthony Edwards didn’t seem taken in by the apparent seductive tone of George Woodstock. The boy must have gotten used to ensnaring people with his good looks, charm, and family name. He was no doubt the son of the fiery senator, Sara Woodstock — the number one politician relentlessly obsessed with rounding up and obliterating all driyns from Earth’s surface. He didn’t want his daughter to associate with the likes of them.

“I see,” Anthony said dryly.

“Let’s all gather around for a picture with George,” Mitchell said quickly, attempting to dissolve the awkwardness.

The picture was taken, and Anthony Edwards looked forever frozen in time with a frigid frown.

***

Private celebrations took place that evening at the Edwards residence. Mitchell, in a lovely blue dress and her dark hair flowing down her back in waves, looked like Christmas morning. She was gracious to everyone, accepted both compliments and congratulations with dignity, and expressed her appreciation to everyone present.

She was in a conversation with one of her former classmates who had also just acquired barrister status when her father stopped by. He acknowledged her friend with a small nod and then whispered into her ear.

“Step into my study for a moment.” Then he turned around and left.

Mitchell smiled at her friend. “Be right back. Just stay here.”

Apprehension hammered in her chest. For the offspring of the Edwards family, the house library was used for three things — to get a book, take the driyn injection, or listen to strict long monologues from the patriarch.

“I’m here, father,” Mitchell said, closing the door behind her to drown out the party noise. Anthony Edwards faced her, eyes narrowed with subtle warnings and hands trusted deep in his pockets.

“The young man who came to your graduation today is the son of Sara Woodstock, am I right?” he asked, going straight to the point.

Mitchell nodded. “Yes, you are.”

“Care to explain your affiliation with him? You know very well what his mother stands for.”

“He is my boss, Daddy. I explained that this afternoon. And yes, Sara Woodstock is one of the senior partners at the firm. She was a lawyer before she delved into politics, so she has a significant stake in the company. I have been working under him these last months.”

“And that’s why he attended your graduation?” Anthony asked incredulously.

Mitchell was silent.

“Bosses do not attend graduation ceremonies of their employees unless they have developed a close relationship. I don’t care how competent you are.”

“What are you insinuating, Dad?”

“I’m not insinuating anything. I just need you to be careful.”

“I am being careful.”

“If you truly were, you wouldn’t even be at that law firm in the first place. You graduated Summa Cum Laude. There isn’t a law firm in Bay Fair that wouldn’t hire you.”

“Blue County is the best. They have the biggest prestige.”

“And you have gleaned so much experience from them. So why can’t you just walk away?”

“You want me to resign? Dad, they just offered me a full-time position with my own car, a plush office, a high salary, insurance, and loads of other benefits. I’m kickstarting the career I have always dreamed of, and suddenly, you want me to let it go because of your fears?”

“Legitimate fears, Mitchell. If Sara Woodstock were to ever find out that a driyn works at Blue County, what do you think would happen? She will tear you to pieces. You’ll be at her mercy, and I can bet everything I own that she definitely won’t show you any.”

“Mrs. Woodstock barely visits the firm, Dad. She’s a senator with a full-time schedule and…”

“And a hidden agenda against our kind.”

Mitchell took a deep breath, striving for patience and control.

“I’m not a child, Dad. I know what I’m doing.”

“I pray to God that you do because the stakes here are life and death. You need to think about not just yourself but your siblings. They could all be in danger.”

“As I said, Dad, I’m not a child,” Mitchell said before turning around and sauntering out in a silent, wordless rage.

As she held the door handle, she turned back at him and said, “You can never fully protect yourself enough, Dad. I thought only humans needed to understand this, but apparently, you do as well. No one is ever truly safe. Ever.”

Anthony stared at her, mouth slightly slack, unsure of what to say.

The door slammed.

It had begun.