Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 96065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“It was benign messaging on a group already primed to believe it since these are friends and colleagues of the president, but it was a test.” I dart my gaze down the hallway to see people still milling about without a care in the world. “It could be something they’re gearing up to try on the masses.”
And here’s where our families collide.
“So, essentially, influential people like your father and the CUP organization could get these messages out to their followers,” Romy says, eyebrows scrunching. “Like a trickle-down effect. A pyramid of ideas to be introduced in a non-intrusive way.”
“Exactly,” I say with a nod. “If the president wants a bill to pass, instead of blabbing on camera about why it’s needed, he could just plant the desire for the need to have such bill with Congress at an event like this.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “That’s…that’s just plain evil. Smart, but really, really evil.”
“Huxley wrote that particular book with—”
“Major Nicolas Cameron.”
“You remember. Of course you do.”
She beams at me, proud to add her own piece to the puzzle.
“So,” she says, tapping a finger to her chin. “We know how your father ties in, but how does mine enter the equation?”
This one, I know the answer to. I wait for her to piece it together.
“The news.” She gasps, placing a palm on her chest above her breasts that look enticing in her dress. “Oh no.”
She gets it.
Her family is just as flawed as mine.
“But why?” she asks, her nose scrunching. “Why would Dad want to do that?”
“Power.” I shrug. “That’s what most old men want after they’ve had everything else in life. Power is like the ultimate thing to have. I’m guessing it’s the prized hard-on they’ve been unable to get in their old age.”
I don’t crave power. I crave knowledge.
I want to find Calista and that’s it.
Well, that’s not only it. Not now. Not that you’ve royally complicated everything.
“It would be subtle,” Romy says, eyes darting all over me. “It would suck you right in.”
She staggers back, shaking her head. Her face sours like she’s eaten something horrible.
She gets it.
Unfortunately, she understands.
“Those videos. From earlier…” She widens her eyes. “You knew or had some sort of intuition. It’s why you took my phone.”
I’d seen how quickly obsessed she’d become over the videos.
“But Bastian sent me those. He wouldn’t…”
Oh, love, he certainly would.
“I wanted to blow something up,” she chokes out. “It made me so angry.”
“Worked like a charm,” I say softly. “You were primed because you were already someone who cared about the person delivering the news to you.”
Her eyes water, betrayal shining bright in them. “I trusted him.”
I take her hands and kiss the tops of each one. Sharing this knowledge with her feels right. It’s nice not to be alone with all this madness.
“You should probably stop doing that, love,” I say to her with a grim smile. “I’m the only one you can trust now.”
Romy
Why would Bastian do that to me?
The more I learn of my brother, the more I wonder if I ever truly knew him. He’s not the guy I’d built him up to be in my head. He’s a liar. At least you know where you stand with Dad because he’s a prick to your face. Bastian will lie straight to your face while giving you puppy dog eyes.
The manipulation I’ve endured my entire life is a weight clamped around my ankle. No matter how hard I try to fight against it so I can break the surface and breathe, their tactics threaten to pull me back under.
Is Caius my lifeline?
He just proposed, and while I get that the timing was to rescue us from the strange music and to alert others, he still bought the ring in advance.
Why?
Could he have known this moment would happen or was he saving it for a rainy day?
I’d be delusional to think that he wants to get hitched after a few romps in the bed with me. It was good sex, don’t get me wrong, but it wasn’t life changing.
There was a reason he bought that ring.
Something to further his agenda.
I can’t forget he was a part of a family who kidnapped me, screwed with my mind, drugged me, and assaulted me.
Being in his arms makes it difficult to think of anything other than him. His scent clings to me, a constant reminder of this man’s effect on me.
Besides all that, though, I also have to remember he’s saved me a lot. Tonight alone he’s come to my rescue several times. It’s possible the lines truly are blurred for him like they are for me.
Good.
At least I’m not alone.
“He’s not a hero,” Caius says, pity in his words. “Did you see he was wearing earplugs?”
What?
I gape at Caius. “No. That would mean…”
Bastian knows about the music.
He’s in on it.