Page 243 of I Will Break You

“Anyone else?” I ask.

She shakes her head.

“And if we searched through all your burner phones, what would we find?”

She shivers. “There was one more. He never gave his name, but he was from X-Cite Media. He’d ask about you. What you were doing. Who you were speaking to. The names of people you were communicating with on the outside.”

My heart pounds. Who else from that firm would be so invested in my activities but the man whose life I tried to destroy?

“Tell me more.”

She shakes her head. “I never met him. Never knew his name. He sounded cultured. Older. He’s the one who suggested I stop your letters. He wanted you isolated.”

“What else?” I snarl.

She whimpers. “That’s it.”

“You’re lying,” I yell, making her flinch.

“He asked me to sabotage your conjugal visit,” she cries.

Fury heats my blood, making every fine hair bristle with rage. All those weeks I spent punishing Amethyst for something McMurphy did under Father’s orders. This unworthy bitch drove a wedge between me and the other half of my soul.

“When did you last speak?”

“I called him the night of your execution. He wanted to know if I was sure you were dead.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That I watched you get beaten up, then dragged to the infirmary. I was there for the execution and even showed him the photos.”

The pressure of my thumb on her eye intensifies until she screams.

“That’s everything,” she sobs. “I swear, I don’t know anything else.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, frustration pounding through my veins. If she had been working with anybody else, that confession would have earned her a painful death. But she’s just admitted to having contact with Father.

“You know what this means?” I whisper.

She shivers, her breath coming in shallow pants. “I’m going to die?”

“That’s entirely up to you. Will you help me find him?”

“I’ll do anything.”

“Good girl.” I smile as she visibly relaxes. “But first, I need to punish you for being a peeping Tom.”

I poke my thumb into her socket until her screams ring through my ears with the sweet sound of retribution. The eyeball beneath my digit collapses, leaking blood and fluid down her face.

Retracting my thumb, I wipe the liquid on my tuxedo pants and straighten. Tonight has been jam-packed with revelations. Making a mental note to get Jynxson to examine the phone McMurphy used to communicate with Father, I walk to the door.

There’s so much I need to tell Amethyst.

ONE HUNDRED

AMETHYST

Hours later, I wake up with Xero’s arms wrapped around my waist and his chest flush against my back.

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