Chapter 48
FORTY-EIGHT
I have to leave before the guard goes looking for Megan. I locked the door. She can’t escape by herself.
I hate thinking I might have killed someone. But after what she did to my daughter—and perhaps to other kids—she deserves whatever happens.
I shove the syringe into my pocket and race down the hall, not looking back to check if anyone is following me. The place is strangely empty, just like before.
I avoid the kitchen entrance, taking the one Megan and I used during the tour, the one that ended with me finding out my daughter is alive.
Thinking of Sadie out there with Gabriel, alive, sends a rush of adrenaline through me. I run faster, legs aching, lungs burning, my throat raw from gulping air.
I almost run into a staff member as I turn a corner. She looks surprised, but not worried. She doesn’t stop me or say anything. It would not be a good idea to ask her for help; I have no idea who is on Megan’s secret payroll.
All I want now is to get back to my room and lock the door. I need a moment to think, to figure out how I’m going to get out of this place without getting caught.
I can’t just sprint for the gate. Not when I don’t know who to trust. For all I know, the corrupt guard is there as well.
I push through a door that leads into the garden and step into the bright sunlight, which hurts my eyes after being in the dark for too long.
Staff are scattered across the lawn, reading, stretching, and sipping tea, none of them aware of what’s really going on behind their backs. I force myself to slow down, to breathe evenly, and walk instead of run. I can’t risk drawing attention.
I walk calmly across the yard, even though my heart is racing. As soon as I’m inside the hallway, my body takes over, and I sprint.
I don’t know where this energy is coming from. I haven’t eaten or had any water. Not long ago, I was barely conscious. But right now, my body only cares about surviving.
At my door, I reach for the key card in my back pocket, but it’s not there.
Panic rises in my throat, but then I check my other pocket. There it is, right next to the empty syringe.
I yank the card out, scan it on the reader, and shove the door open, slamming it shut behind me.
I lean against the door, close my eyes, and try to steady my breathing.
When I open my eyes, I jump, and my back hits the door. Blood rushes to my head.
Alice is sitting on my bed.
Her cheeks are flushed, and her eyes are swollen and red from crying. But what stands out most is the anger on her face that activates a vein on her forehead.
And in an instant, I see it. Alice knows.
There must be cameras in the room. She must have seen everything. She saw Sadie giving me the syringe. She knows I injected her mother, possibly killed her.