Page 186 of I Will Break You

He sighs. “I’m not saying he’s a figment of your imagination. He could be a ghost from the past.”

“Like Mr. Lawson?”

He nods, his face tightening.

The implication of his words hits like a punch to the gut. Tears sting my eyes, and I gulp. “Don’t you think I’d know if my own father was dead?”

When his brows lift, I can tell exactly what he’s thinking. “It’s not the same with you. Your execution was scheduled. It was in the news. And someone showed me a video of it happening. By the way, you never explained how you’re still alive.”

“My brother,” he says.

“What about him?”

“He was in Alderney State at the same time, under the name John Doe.”

“But wasn’t he…” I circle my finger at my temple.

“Do you remember the subway rapist who was all over the news a few years ago?”

I shudder. “People kept filming his attacks instead of stopping him.”

“There was so much outrage about him in the press that the public wouldn’t have accepted a verdict of insanity. It was an election year, and the governor wanted to appear as if he was doing his job.”

“So he got life imprisonment?” I whisper.

He nods. “The day before my execution, I arranged for four men to focus their attacks on his face. The next day, I started a mini riot, where I got punched in the eye?—”

“So he could take your place on the electric chair?” I ask.

“Clever little ghost,” he replies with a smirk.

I stare at his profile, my breath quickening. “Wasn’t that risky? What if something went wrong?”

“There were enough of my people stationed in the prison to intervene,” he says. “My entire organization is invested in taking down my father and his operations.”

Heavy footsteps echo through the hallway, making me stiffen. “Who’s there?”

“One of my people. This part of the catacombs is completely secure,” Xero says, but pulls me into his side.

A tall man emerges from around the corner, dressed in a black hoodie and matching jeans. He looks to be in his late twenties with olive skin, deep mahogany hair, and classically handsome bone structure.

“There you are,” the stranger says, his gaze drifting to mine. “And you’ve brought a guest.”

Xero’s grip around my shoulders doesn’t loosen. “Speak of the devil. This is Jynxson, who masterminded my prison break.”

He gives me a wink and a jaunty salute. “Nice to finally meet you in the flesh, Amethyst.”

My jaw tightens at the innuendo in his words and the way he smirks at Xero. I can already tell Jynxson is trying to make some kind of point. A muscle in Xero’s jaw flexes, and he steps forward, leaving me standing behind him, but he doesn’t openly react to Jynxson’s attempt to flirt.

“You’re supposed to be tailing the recruiter,” Xero growls.

Jynxson waves him away. “He still hasn’t left that house. I’m beginning to think that’s his home.”

“Then why are you here?”

He reaches into his pocket and extracts his phone. “The studio released this.”

Xero stares at the screen for several seconds before turning to glance at me with a concerned frown.

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