Chapter Eleven
Romy
T he monster is…small.
I don’t remember her being like that. The woman from my nightmarish past that was surgically removed from my mind is less terrifying in the flesh. If anything, my anger toward her feels like the abdominal force here.
If she’s afraid, she doesn’t let on.
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Vivienne says, voice soft, reminding me of a gentle, kindergarten teacher.
A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
The red, pointy fingernails are the claws of a predator.
I harness my anger and disgust toward this woman, straddling it like a wild bronco. I’m not going to get bucked off this time. This ain’t my first rodeo. I’m a veteran now, and things change when you have a child and a baby relying on you.
“Spill it,” I snip, words slapping at her. “No games. This isn’t your journal and I’m not your reader. Get to the point or get out.”
Her eyebrows furl, the first crack in her sweet facade. “You’re just like him, aren’t you?”
“Who?”
“Your father.” Her nostrils flare. “Cruel.”
Thankfully, Eva steps in before I clobber this woman.
“You promised,” Eva hisses. “You have much to atone for. You said that yourself. Don’t make me regret inviting you here.”
Vivienne’s face crumples into a childlike pout as though she might burst into tears. I don’t fall for it. Eva withers a bit but remains strong for me.
“Go on,” Eva urges. “Tell her the truth. All of it.”
“She’s not your mom,” Vivienne says with a huff of disgust, jabbing a red fingernail in Eva’s direction. “Your real mom took you from a terrible place. I never got the thanks I deserved for that.”
I’ve known all along.
I just need to hear her say it.
“The theatrics are boring,” I state. “Continue.”
Vivienne scowls. “I’m your mother. Your birth mother. Everyone lied to you, Ro-La.”
I shudder at the nickname. “Do not ever call me that again.”
Her shoulders hunch. “Despite what I did when I was unwell, I loved you. We had good times together.”
Unfortunately, I remember the good times. She was more of a mother than a nanny when I was young. I’d been told otherwise, though, so I never truly believed she was my mom.
“Unwell,” I say with a scoff. “That’s what we’re calling molestation these days. Got it.”
If Vivienne is hurt about being called out for what she is—a child predator—she doesn’t let on. Not a flinch or even the sense to take her gaze from mine. This woman isn’t remorseful, that much is certain.
“According to what I remember from your journal entries, you left a facility and my dad took you in. You’re saying…” I trail off, wanting her to finish that painful statement for me.
“He’s not your real father. Dr. Huxley is.”
The greasy bacon roils violently in my gut. Despite the acid burning at my throat, I wave at her to continue.
“I was his patient. I thought he loved me. Looking back, it was rape. Or, at the very least, taking advantage of his position of power.”
It’s rich for her to play the victim now, especially after what she did to her own daughter and Kaitlyn.
“Doc Junior is my half-brother?”
Vivienne nods. “You two look exactly alike. You both share that wicked man’s smile.”
My heart races. Slowly, like a dripping of a faucet, memories are being fed to me. I remember “meeting” Doc Junior and Seth for the first time at the president’s event. Back then, I’d had no clue Huxley was my biological father.
Everything in my life has been a huge lie from the get-go.
Dad was never really my dad. Bastian wasn’t my brother. I’ve been a captive in this world of pretend since I was yanked out of this monster’s womb.
Will I ever be free?
You felt the most free with Caius…
My eyes burn with the threat of tears, but I quickly blink back the emotion. Now’s not the time to let pain into the driver’s seat. Anger is in charge and needs to stay that way if I have any intention of getting through this.
“You don’t seem surprised by any of this,” Vivienne states, a flare of disappointment in her words. “It’s a lot of shocking news to take in.”
Knowing she’s unhappy by the fact I’m not crying and losing my shit has satisfaction racing through me.
“Honestly, I don’t care about any of this,” I bite out, the truth a harsh blow to the monster from my past.
She flinches and opens her mouth like she wants to argue why I should care. I don’t give her the chance.
“All I care about is finding out specifically what you know about the lab, the people who work there, and getting Kaitlyn back.”
Her eyes narrow. “What do I get in return?”
Eva stiffens, a flash of anger passing over her sweet features. “You said you wanted to help her because she was your daughter.”
“I do,” Vivienne says, flicking her wicked fingers in Eva’s direction. “But I need help with something too.”
“Unbelievable,” Eva hisses. “You have a lot of nerve—”
“It’s fine,” I assure her. “I know what we’re dealing with here. A selfish, vile monster. We can hear her out. Kaitlyn is worth it.”
Eva purses her lips and nods. I turn and look at Vivienne again, arching a brow to let her know I’m waiting.
“I want her ,” Vivienne snarls, spittle leaving her mouth and spraying the air in front of her.
Protective fury swells up inside me like a massive tidal wave. “You will never lay another finger on Kaitlyn.”
Vivienne shakes her head, eyes gleaming with unmasked hatred. “Not the girl. The woman who stole your real father from me. She ruined everything.”
I exchange a confused look with Eva.
“Ava Herring,” Vivienne says, venom dripping from her words. “She’s slippery. I’ve been hunting her for over a decade.”
“Red hair? That Ava?”
She nods, lip curling up in disgust. “The media spins her as some sort of harmless philanthropist. But I know the truth. She’s a homewrecker.”
Memories of Ava on the yacht come flooding in. She’s nothing more than a wicked witch who finds young women and serves them up to the evil men of this world.
“I don’t know a lot about her or even where she lives,” I admit with defeat.
“You’re connected with the Crownes, though. I’ve done my research. Caius would know these things. You can ask him. It’s why I embedded myself with them in the first place.”
Kaitlyn was another casualty in Vivienne’s war.
I’m not sure how I’ll get this information for her from a man whom I still have to find, but I give her the answer she wants to hear.
“You help us get Kaitlyn first,” I say firmly. “She’s the priority. You owe us both that in the very least. We’ll see about the rest after.”
“I want Ava,” Vivienne says stubbornly. “Or no deal.”
It’s in this moment I really look at her. Her eyes are manic despite her matronly appearance. Though older and sporting some wrinkles, there’s a childlike naivety in her expression.
If she ran away from Huxley and his mental head games, there’s no telling what sort of psychological state she was in to begin with. Like me, she could have been traumatized and was being used as an experiment.
Unlike me, she turned into a monster because of it.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to make demands on Romy,” Eva says, voice icy. “You’ve done enough to her. When we spoke, you expressed you only wanted to help her.”
“I told you want you wanted to hear,” Vivienne bites back.
“It’s fine,” I blurt out. “We’ll help you get Ava. The woman is evil and deserves everything coming to her.”
Eva’s manicured eyebrows fly up. I give her a subtle nod, letting her know it’s fine. I can handle this woman now that I realize she’s batshit crazy.
I’m well versed on the subject of insanity.
“I’m glad you understand,” Vivienne says calmly.
Eva sighs, resigned. “Okay, so what’s the plan? We’re just three women. How are we going to get inside? They’ll stop us if we try. Maybe we should call the police.”
“No,” me and Vivienne say at once.
“Doc Junior runs that place now,” Vivienne explains.
“He’s the president’s son,” Eva says, catching on. “They’re not going to side with us, are they?”
“No,” I agree. “We have to be smart about gaining access.”
“I know that place like the back of my hand,” Vivienne says.
“You could draw me a map?” I ask, an idea formulating in my head. “Detailed and showing all the exits?”
My mind is clearing, but I certainly don’t know my way around that place. I’ll need whatever knowledge Vivienne remembers.
“I can,” she says, “but the nurses and doctors there are strong. They could easily overpower us. We can’t sneak in and steal Kaitlyn.”
I hate hearing her name on this serpent’s tongue. A shudder ripples through me. Rather than snapping out what’s in my head, I keep my cool.
“We’re not going to sneak in.” I rub at my stomach, fearful of what my plan involves. “I’m going back.”
Both women go silent, waiting for me to continue.
“If I willingly go back, pretending to be ashamed or remorseful of my actions, I’m sure I can convince Seth to bring me back home without any sort of retaliation. I just have to make sure he believes me. If not, he’s going to want to ‘fix’ me. I can’t let that happen.”
Eva hugs me tight. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. You’d be walking back into the lion’s den. I’m afraid you won’t come back out.”
“Kaitlyn is in that lion’s den. The only way to get her out is to go in,” I say softly. “I can do this. You just have to help get us out of there.”
“Will Seth be suspicious?” Eva asks. “That you’re suddenly compliant after running away?”
I consider her words and nod. “He will be. That’s why I need a few days to regain his trust. Three days. Give me three days and then come back for me.”
I’m going to have to become one heck of an actress to make Seth believe me, but it’s a challenge I’m up for. Anything to save Kaitlyn.
“There’s a house behind the facility. On the third day, after it gets dark, drive with no headlights and park. I’ll get Kaitlyn out of the house. We’ll make a run for it.”
Eva runs her fingers through my tangled hair. “I don’t like this plan. It terrifies me.”
Truthfully, I’m scared too. There’s so much that could go wrong. The worst that could happen is for Seth to get me into the lab, mess with my mind, and reset me back to the happy housewife I’d been transformed into.
“If I don’t come,” I say softly, “then he’s messed with my head.” I tap on my temple. “At that point, hire someone to extract us. And when I come back to you, help me remember.”
Vivienne clears her throat and speaks up. “How were you able to escape the mental stuff before? You act as if you were able to turn it off and that he might turn it back on. When I was there, it was a lot more thorough. Torturous, endless therapies. Something changed?”
Stem Lock.
Their shortcut to forced complacency.
“I think the storms had something to do with it. Maybe it’s with the Wi-Fi. I don’t know if it’s his phone app or whatever they planted in us, but without internet, it doesn’t seem to work as effectively.”
There’s so much about this that I don’t know.
Too much left up to chance.
And yet I know I have to do this. I have to go back for her.
“Wrap your head in aluminum foil,” Vivienne says.
I bark out a laugh, but she’s not joking. “What?”
“Everyone laughs at the conspiracy theorists, but they’re always right. Ever heard of a faraday cage? You need one for your head.”
She’s serious.
But maybe she’s on to something.
“If it comes to it,” I mumble, “I’ll try that out.”
I hope to God it doesn’t come to that.