50. Jasmine

50

JASMINE

J asmine clutched her mother's jewelry box to her chest as she and Ell-rom headed to William's office through his sprawling laboratory complex. The wooden box wasn't valuable in monetary terms, but along with the tarot cards, two rings, and a simple gold chain, it represented everything she had left of her mother.

"I'll take excellent care of it," William promised, noticing her white-knuckled grip on the box. "We'll start with noninvasive scanning, and if we find anything unusual, I'll consult you on how you want to proceed."

"If there is something hidden inside," Jasmine said, "I might consider taking it apart if the person doing it knows how to return it to its former condition. We could talk to someone who specializes in the restoration of things like that."

William nodded. "That's a wonderful idea."

Jasmine placed the box carefully on his cluttered desk, worried about leaving it there on top of the chaos of papers, tools, and mysterious devices.

Ell-rom glanced at his watch. "We should head over to Roni's office. He only has a few minutes for us."

"I'll take you to him," William suggested. "Roni doesn't have his own office, not because he doesn't deserve one, but rather because he doesn't want one. He enjoys working in the lab's open space." William led them toward a back section of the large room.

As William warned, Roni's space was just one station among many scattered throughout the room. The only distinctive feature was an enormous black swivel chair that dwarfed its slim occupant.

"Behold the Batman chair," William said with a grin. "Don't mock it. Roni loves this monstrosity."

The hacker was surprisingly young and slight, nothing like the imposing figure Jasmine had imagined. She'd also expected him to be surrounded by a team of assistants, given how much work he handled for the clan.

"Hello." Roni extended his hand without getting out of his chair. "It's nice to finally meet you in person." He grinned as she put her hand in his. "I saw you when you and Ell-rom arrived at the village, of course, and I feel like I know you from the background checks I did, but this is the first time that I have the pleasure of actually talking with you."

He was perfectly polite and charming, and she couldn't understand all the warnings she'd gotten about Roni being surly and abrasive.

"Thanks for the fake dossier you prepared for me ahead of the trip to Tibet, and for digging up stuff about my family."

"All in a day's work." He shifted his gaze to Ell-rom. "You're looking better than the last time I saw you, which was also during the party the Clan Mother threw in your honor."

"Thank you," Ell-rom said. "Jasmine and I appreciate you agreeing to see us when you are so busy with other projects."

"Sure thing." He started to swivel his chair toward his desk.

"Don't you have people helping you?" Jasmine blurted. "And your own office? I've heard so much about you that I was sure you had an entire floor dedicated to hacking."

It didn't make sense to her that Roni had to do everything by himself when there was so much to do. Surely, he could delegate some of the less important tasks to others.

Roni spun his chair back. "I like working alone. I used to work in isolation before the clan rescued me, and people only came to me when they needed favors. Now I enjoy being surrounded by people who leave me alone so I can work."

Jasmine tried to parse the contradictory statement—wanting company but not interaction—except she had no more time to waste on personal questions.

"We don't want to take up too much of your time," Ell-rom said, echoing her thoughts. "Can you show us what you have found so far?"

"That's what I got." Roni handed her several printed pages. "There is nothing new in there, but I thought you would like to have the supporting documents. It's your mother's student visa, the date she arrived from Iran, when she married your father, etc. The basic timeline."

Jasmine's heart sank. She'd hoped Roni had found out more, something that would suggest Syssi's vision had indeed been about her mother.

"There is one new piece of information that you might find interesting." Roni smiled, leaning back in his enormous chair, and steepling his fingers in a gesture that reminded Jasmine of villains in movies. "Kian asked me to check whether your father and your stepmother were legally married since your father couldn't prove your mother's death. Turns out that your father provided the court with notarized divorce papers that had been sent from Iran."

The implications hit Jasmine like a physical blow. "But... that would mean..."

Roni nodded. "Either the papers were forged, or your mother was alive to sign them—in Iran."

Ell-rom's grip on Jasmine's hand tightened. "Can you tell which?"

"That's where it gets complicated." Roni spun his chair toward another screen. "From what I can see, the documents appear authentic, with the proper notary seals and the required official language. If they're forgeries, they weren't cheap. The interesting part is the timing. The papers were filed several years after your mother's supposed death."

Jasmine's mind raced. "So, either my father somehow obtained forged documents that could pass scrutiny..."

"Or your mother was alive to sign them," Roni finished. "And given that the papers came from Iran..."

"She might have returned there." Jasmine struggled to keep her voice steady. "To Kurdistan, maybe? Like in Syssi's vision?"

Roni shrugged. "It's possible."

"Do you have her signature from before?" Ell-rom said. "We could compare them to see if the divorce papers were a forgery."

Roni gave him an indignant look. "Of course, I compared it to the one on the marriage certificate, and they seem close enough, but I'm not an expert. You will need a forensic document examiner, and given that we can only print out photos of the originals, I assume that comparing the signatures will be difficult."

"Can you print out the copies for me?" Jasmine asked.

"Sure thing." Roni punched a few keys, and the printer on his desk revved to life. "I can dig up some more, but it will have to wait. I'm in the middle of a huge project." He handed her the printouts.

"Thank you." Jasmine clutched them, new hope blooming in her chest. "When you have the time, let me know if you find anything more."

"I will." Roni saluted her with two fingers. "Good luck." He swiveled his chair and went back to work as if they weren't there.

Walking back through the lab, Jasmine's mind whirled with possibilities. Her mother might be alive. She might have chosen to leave them for some reason, but why would she do that?

The idea that her mother had chosen to abandon her should have hurt, but if Kyra had sacrificed her family and her own happiness to fight for her people, perhaps she could forgive her.

"Are you okay?" Ell-rom asked.

Jasmine nodded. "Roni has given me hope that Kyra is still alive, and if Syssi's vision was about her, she is fighting for her people, and I'm proud of her."

"You're not angry at her for leaving you and your father?"

Jasmine took a deep breath. "I cannot judge her until I know all the details. I bet she had a very good reason for what she did, and she either had no choice or thought to protect us." She turned to look into Ell-rom's big blue eyes. "My father holds the answers to at least some of these questions. We need to pay him a visit."