When Silas reached into the safe, it was as though the whole room was holding its breath. He held his hands out, like an offering, and then gazed down at the tiny device that lay there.
It was smaller than a deck of cards, gleaming and shining under the bright lights of the lab. When Silas held it up for the audience to see, Kat wasn’t exactly sure what she was looking at. But then again, she realized, that was kind of the idea. This was new, fresh. Big. And it was Hale’s.
“Genesis, simply put, is power.” Silas pointed to the sleek panels that formed the device’s shell. “These pull energy from the sun.” He slid open a tiny door to reveal the delicate workings inside. “This technology harnesses kinetic energy so that every time the device moves, shakes, tilts—that energy is converted as well.”
Silas closed the device and held it aloft again. “All of this technology has existed for years. We just combined it and shrunk it, and now…hopefully…it is in a package that can change the world.”
Silas took a cord from the table and attached one end to the Genesis prototype. Then he picked up a cell phone and removed its battery. “Whatever you need charged—whenever it needs charging—all you have to do is plug Genesis in.” He attached the powerless cell phone to the prototype, and instantly the phone sprang to life.
Kat felt the room change. No one moved or spoke for a long time. There was nothing but a long beep and a solemn hush to mark the occasion before, finally, one of the board members dared to speak.
“Foster?” The man cleared his throat. “Are you saying… What you mean to tell us is that Genesis works?”
“Yes.” Silas gave an I told you so smirk. “It does. Of course, this is just a prototype—just one model. But given time, I think Hale Industries could use this technology in a way that touches almost everything. Cell phones. Laptops. I suspect even cars could eventually be completely self-sustaining.”
Kat looked down at the small device one more time. It felt like all of Hale Industries could fit in the palm of her hand. People crowded around Silas, wanting to see the prototype up close, ask him questions. She could feel the whole tide rising, and she knew that the board was pleased. Hale Industries would be fine. They didn’t need Hale, didn’t need him at all, so she reached for his hand and pulled him from the crowd.
“Hale, can I talk to you?”
“It’s incredible.” He looked at her. “Isn’t it incredible?”
“Yeah, but that’s not why I’m—”
“Hazel should have seen this.”
“Hale…” Kat said again, but Hale was walking away.
She tried to follow him, but a most unusual roadblock stood in her way.
“Well, hello again,” Hale’s mother said. She’d traded her black dress for purple, and her short hair was perfectly coifed. Her shoes probably cost a thousand dollars, but even they paled in comparison to the broach she wore at the base of her neck.
“Do you like it?” Her long graceful fingers brushed the diamond-and-ruby pendant that Kat had last seen in Hazel’s portrait. “It was my mother-in-law’s. It has been given to all the wives of the W. W. Hales for generations.” Her gaze slid toward Hale. “Someday it will belong to the wife of my son.”
“That’s nice,” Kat muttered, desperate for something to say.
“I’m so glad you could come today,” the woman said.
“You are?” Kat blurted a little too quickly.
“Of course.” And then the strangest thing happened. She put her arm around Kat’s waist, steered her carefully to a quiet corner of the room. “We were so afraid when Scooter took a leave of absence from school that it would be hard on him. But, honestly, this is bringing us so much closer to our son. And the people in his life.”
She gave Kat’s waist a tiny squeeze.
“You’ll have to come up to the country house, dear. We don’t want Scooter losing touch with his friends. Or…anyone who might be more than just a friend.” She gave a smile, and Kat wondered what kind of alternate reality she had fallen into.
Marcus passed by, and Kat mouthed “help,” but he just offered Hale’s mother some champagne and continued through the room, wordless.
“And how do you enjoy Knightsbury, Katarina…or is it Kat? Which do you prefer?”
For all that she had done in her short life, Kat was not used to playing inside. She didn’t know how to smile and flirt, cajole and confuse someone into believing something was their idea (especially when it wasn’t). No, Kat was a thief, not a con artist, more her mother’s child than her father’s in at least that one respect. So it was with a pounding heart and sweaty palms that she told the woman, “Most people call me Kat.”
“It is a lovely name.” When Hale’s mother smiled, Kat felt a pang of familiarity. Hale was built like his father, with the same broad shoulders and tall frame. But right then Kat knew that Hale was actually like his mother. They had the same easy smile and bright eyes. Charm. They were both charmers. And Kat found herself liking the woman just as, years before, she hadn’t been able to help liking the boy. It felt a little like she was cheating on Hale. With his mother.
“Isn’t that something?”
Kat glanced at Genesis and nodded. “Yes. It really is.”
“It’s going to be quite impressive when we unveil it at the gala next week. You are coming to the gala, aren’t you?”
“Oh, I…” Kat looked at Hale, but his mother talked on.
“You simply must. It’s such an important night for Scooter. He and his grandmother were very close. Did you know that?”
“Yes,” Kat said. She didn’t admit that she’d learned it a little too late.
Hale’s mother smiled. “The company means a lot to my son, and if I’m correct, you mean a lot to my son. I’m the first to admit that he and his father and I have been slightly…estranged. He was a challenging boy. But now he’s a man, and I want to know him. And I believe it’s also important to know you.”
“It is?” Kat asked.
Mrs. Hale laughed. “There will be lots of girls who are interested in him now. There were many before, I’m sure, but now…well, let’s just say this kind of inheritance changes things.”
“Not for me,” Kat said, and she meant it.
“And that’s why I hope that we will be very close, Kat.” Hale’s mother smiled.
Kat’s head was buzzing. No. That wasn’t it. The buzzing was reverberating from the center of the crowd.
“The device shouldn’t be making that noise,” Silas said from across the room.
Kat was more than a little surprised at the speed and agility the old man showed as he raced toward the prototype. There was a loud pop just as he reached it, a burning, hissing spark that sputtered and flamed in a bright arc. Smoke filled the air.
“Foster, what is the meaning of this?” Hale’s father snapped as if Silas were deliberately wasting his time.
“I’m through talking.” He pushed inside a room with plush couches and tall windows, silk curtains, and an oil painting of an English manor. It didn’t look like the heart of a cold, corporate world. It was more like a sitting room. A parlor.
Hale walked to the empty desk, plopped the backpack down on top of it, and rummaged inside.
“I like your office,” Kat tried again. She couldn’t bring herself to face him, so she reached out to let the curtains run through her fingers. “Did you use a decorator?”
“Yeah. My grandmother,” Hale said, and Kat went still.
She hadn’t thought about exactly where they were, but the reminders were everywhere. The tall bookshelves behind the desk were covered with family photos and books, plaques from assorted charities, and mementos of a life well lived. But only one frame sat on the desk. Kat reached for it, looked down on a fourteen-year-old Hale in a uniform she recognized, a burgundy cardigan over heavy gray trousers.