Jade is in her room reading the latest speech that Jessica Miller sent her. She keeps shaking her head at every new sentence. Nothing but inflammatory nonsense. Asking for deviants to be more responsible, asking for the members of Congress to legalize the use of the bracelet nationwide, pleading all in an emotional tone. Wishing that Emily would come back safely. Promising that she’ll be the one to kill the Angel of Death having the opportunity.

What’s your angle here, Jessica?

Jade wants to kill her, sure. Maybe not kill her, but at least bring her to justice. But the speech itself seems to aim to anger humans against her kind. Shifting all the blame to deviants who don’t stop the terrorists, as if they had the means. As if the regular folks could stand a chance, as if they supported the terrorists.

She knows it in her heart that this is nothing but another move carefully thought out from a playbook. That Jessica Miller wrote the speech with a purpose.

What’s your goal? Just the bracelet?

Jessica Miller cares only about results and she’s good at it. Her marketing campaigns are always heavily emotional. She’s not a leader, but she gets things done. Jade has noticed it.

Jade gets up. No… Jessica is doing someone’s bidding. She walks around the room, still with her tablet in hand, rereading it again.

She sits by the balcony, reads another sentence and puts the tablet away. Then who? If not Jessica… Madeleine? Jade shakes her head and laughs. Dumb, uber-rich, shallow Madeleine doesn’t have the mental capacity. She's just a spoiled child with too much time on her hands. Madeleine has no plan of her own. She’s following someone else’s orders. But who?

Jade’s phone rings. It’s Jessica Miller. She looks at it and turns it face down. In 10 minutes, Madeleine will text her too. The dream team, Madeleine and Jessica.

Most likely the President… Jade knows that her stance on deviants is sugar-coated and coded. Always apologizing for misusing words. You never truly mean those derogatory terms. It’s always everyone else that misinterprets you.

Jade grabs the phone again. Two missed calls from Jessica, a text from Madeleine. She scrolls through social media. There are already several posts downplaying the attacks on the students.

Whoever is behind this, I can’t be a part of it. Can’t be someone’s puppet. Not if it costs lives. Being number one is a sham. I knew it, but it really has no value.

She puts down her phone and stares at the wall, only to pick it up again and call the president of the Kenyan institute.

***

Across town, Abigail and Ánh are in the living room. Abigail paces back and forth.

“Abigail…” Ánh tries to stop her.

“I’m not ready to see them, Ánh.”

“Tell that to Rachel. You don’t have to go. Not today.”

Abigail sits on the couch and takes several short breaths in and out. “I can’t keep postponing this. The children need to go home.”

Alex and Rachel open the door and see Abigail shaking.

“Oh, dearest…” Alex shakes his head. “She’s second guessing meeting her parents.”

“Don’t read her mind!” Rachel tells him.

“It’s obvious, sis. I didn’t have to.”

“We don’t have to go. We’ll find some other solution.” Rachel says and Ánh smiles at her.

Alex laughs, “we all make sacrifices. The children need to go home! Well, we don’t need her. Let’s go just us, Rachel. I’ll order them to do as we say.”

“Don’t!” Abigail shouts.

“Oh, dear, I was merely joking!”

“Tomorrow, okay? Tomorrow we meet them.” Abigail looks at Rachel.

***

On the next day, Mary Roberts calls Rebecca Lewis and Mark Parker immediately when her employee shows her something unthinkable.

“Have you doubled checked it?” No! She continuously shakes.

“Yes, ma’am. It’s gone.” The employee refreshes the page several times.

“All of it?!” Mary slaps the computer screen.

“Yes.” The employee’s voice trembles.

The entire capital of the Parker’s Foundation is gone. One second it was there, and the next, gone. Impossible.

Mark answers the call and continues reading the newspaper, faking the shakiness of his voice. Raising it for dramatic effects. He repeats the question endlessly, what happened and, more importantly, he says again and again, how.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

He and Rebecca drive and laugh throughout the entire journey, putting a serious, fake expression when they park on Mary’s company.

“Cher! I have no idea what happened! This is a catastrophe!” Mary shouts when she meets them, greets them with two kisses and Rebecca pretends to smile while hugging her.

She leads them to her office and closes the door.

“The Foundation… the money is gone. The company is safe. We’ve double checked.”

“For now, Mary. For now. From what you told us, the capital that we entrusted you with the foundation is all gone. The company has other teams in multiple countries managing it. Probably why it’s still safe. We have to take the plug here, too.”

“Mark, no, that’s not necessary. We are taking the appropriate measures to ens-”

“I’m sorry, Mary… on the way here, we talked to our lawyers, and they said we should.”

“Rebecca, cher, please help out here!”

“I agree with my husband, Mary. Clearly you have a problem here with a security… how do you say… a bridge?”

“Breach.” Mary helps her.

“Exactly! A breech. We have lost so much because of it. We can’t sacrifice the rest. Until you have the right safety things in place, we can’t leave our money on your hands.” Rebecca puts her hand on Mary’s shoulder. “No hard feelings, please, Mary.”

“I understand and all will be worked out soon enough! I can guarantee you that! In the meantime, there’s a new transfer that needs to be done to the Institute. They are asking for a bit more this time because of the bracelet project, to mass produce it.”

“No,” Mark says.

Mary’s smile disappears and as she quickly puts it back on as soon as she notices Mark and Rebecca’s expressions change.

“Sorry, cher?”

“We have to put a hold on the donations to the Institute for now, Mary. We have lost the entire capital of the foundation.” Mark says.

“Sure, but the company, you can move around some funds, surely!” Mary holds the smile as long as she can.

“That would shake the trust of our shareholders. We can’t do that.”

“What if you sold some of your patrimony?”

“Our patrimony is necessary to guarantee a lot of our investments, you know that. More than that, it’ll be for our children. We can’t jeopardize their future.”

“What about… the good work of the Institute? They need your funds!”

“We are terribly sorry. But for now, the Institute will have to do without us.” Rebecca says.

Rebecca and Mark leave, not before hugging Mary tight and telling her not to worry too much about it.

***

Later that day, Jade opens the door of her house. Her parents are away. She greets Aminu and asks him to come in.

Aminu avoids looking her in the eyes. As he gets in, he looks around the hallway and notices every detail in it.

“This way, please.” Jade shows him the way to the living room.

The boy sits across the room from her, staring at the wall to his right, analyzing the paintings in it.

“Thanks for coming…” Jade clears her throat, “are you thirsty? Do you-”

“No.” Aminu pulls the strings from his hoodie. The one Abigail gave him.

“That’s a lovely hoodie that you have there.”

Aminu taps the fingers of his right hand on his left shoulder and Jade realizes she has misspoken.

“I asked you here… because… well…” her voice trembles.

He looks away still, ignoring the shakiness of her voice and waiting for her to take her time.

“Because I’m giving up the title. Aminu. I won’t be number one anymore,” she blurs it out after what felt like an hour of silence.

He finally looks at her. She sinks on the couch and exhales with relief.

“I’m sorry, I had to tell someone.” Jade smiles.

“What do you mean, o?” he says while shaking his head.

“I mean, I’m standing down. More than that, Aminu. I’m going to Kenya. I’ve spoken with the institute there. They will guarantee a house for me and my family, a decent salary. I’ll take a position in their organization.”

“Why? You are number one in the world.”

“Aminu… Things are getting scarier than I ever thought they could. The reelection of the President. We know she’s not on our side. More than that…” Jade gets up and walks around the room.

She stands in front of him, looking to her side instead at him. Giving him the space he needs.

“More than that, so many outspoken anti-deviant were elected. It’s a matter of time, unfortunately.”

“Until what?” Aminu shakes his head again.

“Until things get extremely dangerous for us. There are enemies everywhere. The people we can trust are fewer and fewer. There’s too much violence around us and nothing that I can do to stop it. Instead, I’m being played to help people who don’t care about us. I’m done.”

“I don’t understand what you mean…” He focuses on the other side of the room and crosses his arms.

“I mean, Aminu… that everything that is happening isn’t a coincidence. These protests are part of a larger plan!” She takes several steps away from him. Another deep breath in while admiring the peacefulness of her garden. “Our future is compromised. Deviants' achievements are soon to be overturned. Maybe not tomorrow.”

“When?” He shakes his head.

“Soon. We are seeing it play out and we are doing nothing, collectively, because they are manipulating our emotions!” Her voice grows, and she turns around, trying to face him.

“Who’s they, o?”

“I don’t know, exactly.” She shakes her head and laughs out of frustration. “But I know…” Jade takes several steps in Aminu’s direction and sits on the floor, looking in his direction. “One thing.”

Aminu forces himself to meet her eyes.

“Jessica Miller and Madeline Clark can’t be trusted, Aminu.” Her voice softens.

Aminu gets up immediately and goes to a corner. He faces the walls while shaking his head.

“Aminu…”

“No, Jade!” He shouts and taps his right hand continuously in his leg.

“Don’t trust them!”

“Madeleine Clark has been nothing but kind to me…” The tapping continues.

“I know…” she says in her lowest volume so far. “Being quite honest now…” her voice raises, and she crosses her arms, “you aren’t the greatest at judging someone’s true character.”

“Why you say that?” Aminu turns around but looks at the floor.

“Aminu. You take things too literally...” she looks away and takes a moment before continuing. “Rarely will people say what they truly mean. They hide behind nuances instead.”

“You don’t think, o… that I can understand if people are lying or not?” The tapping grows louder and faster.

“No. I don’t.”

Aminu scoffs, “because of how my brain works? That’s it? Be literal! What are you saying, o?”

“No!” Jade shakes her head. “Because of how your heart works, Aminu! You believe that people will say what they mean, because you see them for what they can be, not for what they are! You believe that people are truly good.”

Aminu turns around and faces the walls once more.

“My advice? Accept as the absolute, irrefutable truth that most people are selfish and don’t have your best interest at heart!”

No. Madeleine Clark can be trusted. She has helped me throughout the years. What does Jade know? She knows nothing. Padma works with Madeleine in the new place. I can trust Padma.

“I asked you here, because I care. Come back to Africa with me!”

“What?!” Aminu starts snapping his fingers while shaking his head.

“I’m going to Kenya. You can come and go there too, or back to Nigeria. Your choice. Just don’t stay here, please, Aminu! It’s not safe!”

“No, Jade! I have responsibilities,” he turns around and faces her, “you don’t get it, o! I can’t just leave. I have tomorrow work in the institute, I have labs, I have classes.”

“Aminu…”

“We’re not the same. You and I. Opposites.”