It's been 3 months since me and Ace talked at the park and I've gotten closer and closer to getting her to trust me. She is very guarded though, and doesn't tell me anything besides what she would tell the press. I check my watch to see what time it is. 2 PM. I only have about 12 more minutes in this dreadful meeting. But I guess being CEO of a security company comes with its downsides. My phone beeps and I ignore it, hitting the silence button. It beeps again. And again. And again. Finally I've had enough and check it, and see that Everett has been trying to call me for the past 30 minutes. Dang it! My phone has been on do not disturb so I haven't got his calls. I walk out of the conference room and answer.
"Everett, I swear someone better be dying. I was in a meeting." I say, my voice low.
"Lily's missing!" I hear his panic through the phone and I immediately grab my coat and run out the door.
"WHAT?!" I say as I crank my car and race down the highway to my apartment."She was here one second, I went to make dinner and I came back and the door was open and she was gone!" Everett exclaims, trying his hardest to keep his calm.
"Do you know where she would go?!" I yelled as I jerked the car to the side into the parking lot. I hung up the phone when he didn't answer fast enough. I raced up the stairs, knowing the elevator would be too slow. I bursted the door open and looked around, seeing Everett pacing the carpet. Before I could yell at him my phone beeped and I saw Ace's callers ID. I sighed trying to make my voice sound as normal as possible and answered.
"Hello?"
"Hey Xavier…uh…By any chance do you know a child named Lily?"
Shock hit me and my words didn't comprehend.
"Y-yea." I finally sputtered out. How did she know Lily? What was going on?
"She's kinda with me." Ace said, confusion in her tone. I could hear Lily laughing now, and relief hit me for only a moment before I was filled with dread.
"Ace, where are you?" I said, fearing her answer.
"The mansion." she said, muttering something to a feminine voice on the other side of the phone.
"I'm on my way." I said hanging up the phone. I shot Everett a look that said I would deal with him later and raced out of the apartment. My phone beeped with a text from Ace. I saw her address on the screen and cursed under my breath. I forgot that I wasn't supposed to know where she lived. I swerved around cars that honked angrily around me. Once the mansion was in sight, I swerved into the driveway and raced to the door. A maid opened the door, so Ace must have told them I was coming. I heard laughter from inside the family room and followed the sound.
"Ace?! Lily?!" I yell, coming into the room and seeing them playing a board game and laughing. Ace has her honey brown hair into a bun and a pair of lavender sweats and a slightly darker shade of purple t shirt. I didn't recognise Lily's clothes, so Ace must have given them to her. Lily's shirt matched Ace's in color with overalls with a rainbow on the front pocket. Lily looked like she was enjoying Ace's company, laughing as Ace obviously let her win. Lily noticed me and her grin grew wider.
"Daddy!" She exclaimed as she jumped from the table and into my arms. Ace looked shocked at first, but quickly masked it and laughed at Lily's enthusiasm.
"Hello Princess. You look lovely." I say, giving her my full attention, discreetly looking for any sign she has been harmed.
"Ms.Ace bought me new clothes!" She said, her joy clear in her face.
"She did, did she?" I give Ace a questioning look.
"Well her other clothes were dirty, and after I gave her a bath I asked my maid to take us to buy her some new clothes. This is what she picked." Ace said with a shrug. I wanted to thank her but my words got choked up. Lily? Dirty clothes? Something was wrong.
"How did you find her?" I asked, trying to keep my voice under control.
"I was taking a walk in the park and I…"
"Lily! Why were you in the park by yourself?!" I scolded, my fear slowly fading as I realized she wasn't abducted.
"I remembered you and uncle Everett talking about someone named Ace and I wanted to meet her." Lily said, smiling at Ace. Ace walked around the table and grabbed Lily out of my arms before she passed her on to a maid, telling her to take Lily to her room for a nap. She then turned to me, giving me a look that would kill me where I stood.
"Ace-" I start to explain
"Why in the world would you let a CHILD roam the park ALONE?!" She excused, her voice clipped and anger dripping out of it like honey. I stood there shocked. I would have assumed she would be angry because I didn't tell her about Lily, not because she was alone.
"I- My brother was watching her, I was at work." I stutter, still shocked by her anger.
"Well tell your brother that he should learn how to take care of children."
"I will relay the message." I mutter. Ace's anger slowly faded and she sighed.
"My father will be home shortly and I don't want him to hurt you. Please take Lily and leave.." She said, motioning for a maid to wake Lily up. I nodded, grabbing my coat and Lily's dirty clothes.
"Oh and Xavier?"
"Yea?"
"What's your power?" The question shocked me. It came out of nowhere. How do I tell her? "It's complicated…" I responded.
"How complicated?"
Crap, I can't get out of this. Might as well tell her.
"I can manipulate people's emotions." I say as casually as I can.
"What-how?" There was no judgement in her tone, no accusation, just curiosity.
"I can make people feel whatever I want them to feel… But it doesn't work on most psychic abilities. If someone can see the future, for example, they already know their emotions are being manipulated even if it's subconsciously, so my power wouldn't work for them." I will explain. I could practically see the gears in her head turning.
"Would it work on someone without powers?"
"I wouldn't know, I haven't tried." That's a lie. I tried it on Ace and it doesn't work. So either my ability doesn't work on those without one, or Ace has a power.
Ace nodded before the front door creaked open. Panic filled Ace's eyes before she quickly whispered to a maid. The maid grabbed my arm and dragged me upstairs, making me stumble over my feet. She threw me in the room where Lily was peacefully sleeping. Ace's room.