The Circle A Novel Novels & Stories

I touched the frame. It shifted. Jake came beside me. Behind the painting was a safe. My father stared at it. “That is it.” He entered a combination. The safe opened. Inside were files. Photographs. Documents. And a small black book. My mother picked it up. Her hands started shaking. “What is it?” She opened it. Names were written across the pages. People. Companies. Officials. Everything The Circle had controlled. Then she stopped. “Michael.” He took the book. His face hardened.

My daughters, If you are reading this together, then someone succeeded in keeping both of you alive. My vision blurred. Lydia grabbed my hand. I continued. You have been told the Circle is an inheritance. It is not. It is a prison built by men who believed blood gave them ownership over women, children, fortunes, marriages and futures. Nicholas’s hand tightened at my back. I will not give that prison to you. I will give you the means to destroy it. Tears slid down Lydia’s face. Mine too. I kept reading. But destruction requires two daughters and one protector who does not want the throne.

And slowly the form of a huge book was created. Larger than any building in the city. Smooth. Living. Old. Very old. There was no title on the cover. No writing. Just a symbol. A circle. The same circle Mara had already seen on the map. The same circle engraved on the gully lid. The same circle that has always been shown since its arrival. “What does the symbol mean?” she asked. The boy answered immediately. “It means end.” Mara felt a goose skin. “A circle means an end?”

"I've been surviving." "Barely." He stood up and walked to the window, his back to me. "You have no idea what you're dealing with, Debbie. The Circle isn't something you can just investigate your way out of. They've been operating for decades because they're smart, because they're ruthless, and because they have no problem killing anyone who gets in their way." "I know." "No, you don't. If you knew, you'd be on a plane to somewhere they couldn't find you. You'd be hiding, not digging."

Because I have something worth holding. Dax. Micah. Luna Rose. The Circle. Tomorrow, we keep building. The Circle is strong. And nothing cannot stand against everything.

“I guess.” I feel claustrophobic. I need out of here. But I need to finish the list. “Do you know anything about the Old Man or The Circle?” He tilts his head. “You asked me that before. Is it related to all of this?” I sigh, rubbing my thumb along the edge of my notepad. Even saying it feels ridiculous. “I’m not even sure what this Circle is myself. Mel explained it a little, but a secret cabal running the world? Sounds like a bedtime story for paranoid billionaires.”