Fractured by N.O Darling

Chapter 0272

**Mason’s Pay**

After watching the reunion between Josie’s childhood friend to danger, my twent had even there for Harper, |

can’t imagine going over two years without seeing her fike Rottle hard. There's no way I'm going to les

Portelle

gréng, that happen

Josie, Lake and Then had gone to rest for a while, leading e, Dand Axe to continue here acon and Axel re helping

relocate the rogues we had reened and tam helping find the modes witching our ranks

We know for sure that we have a feast one in our assessment offices and we are waiting on test results to see if

Armie and Lola's food had been poisoned. If it comes back that it had the definitely have one in Kaff’s writ

we too. The rogue children had eaten the food given to them, and he been fine. So it can’t her been all the food

that was contaminated if it even was.

| look over all the personnel files of all our assessment staff over the last few years. It seems they are alged

random posts in different locations each day, which makes linding a pattern with a particular staff member

difficult. For now, | am focussing on only the males, as Lola had said it was a male who had overseen her

assessment. Antile had a completely different story and had not been to an assessment office, so we only have

Lola's statement to work from for now.

After what feels like hours of reading over files and finding nothing, | lose my temper and launch the papers

across the room. They don’t hit the the opposite wall with a satisfying thump as I'd hoped, instead, they flutter

around the room, landing softly like large confetti.

“Fuck!!” | roar, gripping thepoots of my hair in frustration

“Are you okay?” A soft female voice asks and | look up to see everyone in the room has stopped what they are

doing to look at me.

“Peachy,” | say sarcastically before turning to leave.

| stomp up the stairs, through the kitchen, and out the back door to the garden. | need sair and stime

to have a fucking breakdown without an audience. A life-sized marble statue of a woman holding a basket of

grapes looks at me, her blank gaze seems judgemental

“Fuck off, Grape Lady,” | shout, making her head crumble into sparkling gravel at her feet. That will teach her to

look atlike that.

| turn away from her, only to see her twin sister givingthe sblank stare. | crumble her head too as |

stride past her to sit on the curved stone bench behind her and | lower my head into my hands.

“Con Harper, helpfind you. Giveskind of clue kid,” | mutter.

Silence is the only answer | get. My mind travels back to her first day of school. She had been so excited to go,

right up until we had gotten to the gates and she had seen all the other children. Her small arms had wrapped

around my leg as she peeked at the kids all running around the yard, waiting for the bell to ring

“Don’t you want to go play with the other kids before you go in?” Josie had asked.

“No. | want to stay hwhere it is safe,” she had said, her voice sounding so small.

It is safe here. You are going to have so much fun,” Josie reassured her.

“But what if they don’t letchagain?” She had asked.

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They will, we will be back in a few hours to pick your up, sie told her.

“It’s givinga funny feeling in my tummy,” Harper whimpered.

“They are called nerves, and It's completely normal to feel his way. | promise you have nothing to worry about,”

Josie had crouched In front of her.

“Don’t worry, no one will keep you from us. We will cback for you soon,” | had told her, placing a hand on

top of her little head to stroke her dark locks.

“But it’s so big, what if you can’t find me?” She asked, sounding so vulnerable.

“Listen, | will always find you, no matter how big the places, because I'm your dad, and that’s my job,” I'd told

her, leaning down to pick her up.

She had wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezedand said, “I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Princess. Now go and show us what a brave girl you are,” I'd said as the bell rang

Harper had given us all a hug before going to stand in line with the other kids. She had looked so small in her

uniform, her backpack almost as big as her. She had turned and given us a little wave before following the others

into the classroom and it had taken a lot of willpower not to chase after her, scoop her up and take her home. |

hadn't been ready for her to go to school, | still wanted her at hwith us, and that feeling had never gone

away, especially now.

“I hope you are going to fix those,” Deacon’s voice pullsback from my trip down memory lane as he sits

besideon the bench.

| look up at the headless statue with a frown.

“I think they look better like this, they were kind of creepy Axel shrugs as he comes to sit on my other side. “That

may be so, but they look expensive, and | think the owner of this house probably prefers them with their heads

intact,” D sighs.

| focus my gift on the stupid statue and reassemble the head, before doing the sto the other.

“There, now can we go and do something productive before I lose my mind completely? | can’t sit in there

looking at papers any longer,” | grunt.

“Let's see if Sage is ready to take another unbonded out,” Deacon nods and Axe and | follow him back into the

house.

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