CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR #3
‘A plan? For what?’ I shook my head. I couldn’t go home knowing what they’d done. I couldn’t go back to mandatory dinners and press appearances. ‘I’ve been trying to escape their shadow for so long, maybe part of me knew –’
‘Don’t say that. You didn’t know. You couldn’t have known.’ She took my hands in hers. ‘Maybe your grandfather knew you were different. You aren’t like them.’
But they were my family. I should’ve seen it.
I felt gross, like something rotten clung to my skin.
I wanted it off me, gone. I couldn’t stand it.
The picture of that woman screaming resurfaced in my thoughts, tangled with memories of Nova and every hellflare she lied through.
She didn’t need to have helical disease –
I straightened. Nova didn’t need to have helical disease. ‘I know what to do.’
There was a cure. A cure that was discovered and tested in Dominion headquarters, in their labs. We had Dr Anand’s notes. Grandfather’s too.
‘What do you mean?’
Everything became clear. I recognized the lab in the photos.
I couldn’t remember exactly where it was in the building, but I could find it again.
I could get the passcodes, and I knew where Grandfather stashed his extra keycard.
I just needed time – a few days, a week.
I could pull this off. I couldn’t help my family, but I could help Nova.
‘I’ll have to act like everything is normal.
Continue with the AB Cup. It’s on the eve of the solar flare anniversary, and then the election is the following day.
The next week or so is nothing but galas and dinners, schmoozing and press tours.
I’ll be at the center of it. My family’s focus will be split between my image and Grandfather hosting Mayor Whit’s election party.
That’ll buy us the time while we plan our next heist.’
My mind was spinning, my thoughts going faster than I could speak.
We’d sneak into Dominion’s headquarters, and we wouldn’t leave until Nova was cured.
We’d follow the procedure from the test files.
I’d have to look at the guard schedules to figure out which day.
The right one at the front desk would make this possible.
‘Cas, slow down. Our next heist?’
‘We have the files and access to Dominion’s labs through me. We break in, we follow Dr Anand’s notes, and we cure you.’
‘That’s … Cas, I …’ Her eyes watered. ‘Are you sure? I mean – yes, I want that. But so much could go wrong. What if the disease returns to you?’
‘I told you – I don’t care. Either you walk away cured, or I take back my pain. You’re always doing things for others. Let me do this for you. We can iron out the plan over the next couple of days.’
‘And what about everyone else? Slow down and think. Once you cure me, Dominion will know. They monitor Pain Carrier chips to make sure they haven’t been removed.
We can’t cure me without also taking steps to bring Dominion down.
We can’t – I can’t – let them hide this any more.
But it’s a lot for me to ask of you. I don’t expect you to be a part of the next step. I know this has to hurt.’
I paused. Hurt felt like an understatement.
This tore into me. The adrenaline in my veins was the only thing keeping me from screaming.
What was I supposed to do with a betrayal like this?
Grandfather wasn’t the man I thought he was – or the man he raised me to be.
The corruption lived inside my home. But could I expose it?
Could I bring my house down? I wiped at my eyes before the tears could fall. I wanted my answer to be yes.
‘I know it’s easier for me to say it than to do it,’ I said quietly. ‘But after everything we’ve learned, it’s so wrong, Nova. Everyone deserves the cure, and there’s only one way –’ I still couldn’t bring myself to say it.
Maybe if I talked to them first – but what would that change?
It wouldn’t alter what was right in front of us.
We had to share this with the world. And if the cure failed, we still needed to expose the truth about the false positives.
Dominion was exploiting Black and Brown communities, keeping them vulnerable and desperate.
‘My family is hurting your community, Nova.’ My voice trembled.
‘It’s your community too.’ She weaved her fingers through mine and kissed my fingertips. There was nothing romantic in it – this was her being here for me because she knew I couldn’t say yes.
A tear fell from her eye. ‘Go home, Cas.’
I yelled at myself in my thoughts. Your family is hurting others! They aren’t the people you thought they were!
But they were my family.
I squeezed Nova’s hand. ‘Give me time. I can do this with you. I’m not leaving you to do this alone. I’m curing you. Dominion will fall.’ I hesitated. They will fall.
She rested her forehead against mine. ‘Don’t make promises you can’t keep. Go. Home.’
I couldn’t go home without knowing I’d do the right thing.
I sucked in a breath. ‘I promise to destroy the Fox legacy.’