Page 54 of Ruthless Riches
The disembodied voice continued a moment later. “You’re probably wondering why I’m not with you today, and why I’ve chosen to communicate like this instead. The truth is… I’m sick of going down there every day and playing these pointless games with you, Alexis. You aren’t giving me the answers I need, and I don’t think you ever will without a strong motive,” it said. “So I’ve decided to play one last game with you. Hopefully, it will make you see things from my point of view.”
There was a long pause before the voice elaborated. “In case you hadn’t noticed yet, your sister Sascha is locked in the opposite cell,” it said. “In twelve hours, one of you can go free, and the other will remain with me. Forever. You must make the choice, Alexis. Save her or yourself.”
My stomach plummeted.
“You should know that I’ve been carefully studying your physical and mental responses to everything that’s happened over the last week,” the voice went on. “Because of that, I think I’ve managed to figure out the correct doses of all the different drugs. If I administer them at the same time, I’m certain they’ll work. Not on long-term memories that have already been created, but on short-term ones that are still yet to be firmly cemented in your brain.”
“What the fuck is he talking about?” Sascha hissed from her side of the tunnel.
I waved a hand at her to shush her as the voice kept going.
“If I use it on you, Alexis, it will erase the last couple of weeks from your memories. Maybe a little more. That should be long enough to keep you off my trail while I find a new hiding place for myself and Sascha,” it said. “If I use it on Sascha instead, she’ll lose the last couple of weeks too. She probably won’t remember that you’re missing until someone else tells her, and she definitely won’t remember her time down here. So there won’t be anything she can say or do to help anyone find you.” There was another brief pause before the voice went on. “You have twelve hours to make your choice. If you don’t give me a name when I return, both of you will die down here.”
There was a slight crackling sound as the recording stopped playing. Then everything fell horribly silent.
I stared into space as a distinct feeling of defeat washed over me. Sascha dropped to the floor of her cell. A moment later, she started crying again, so hard her whole body shook.
“I knew something like this would happen,” she said between wrenching sobs. “That’s why I asked you to stay out of everything after you got stabbed. I was so fucking scared.”
“I know,” I muttered. “It’s my fault I’m here, and it’s my fault you’re here too. That’s why you should be the one to go home.”
I heard a sharp intake of breath from the opposite cell. “No, Lex. I didn’t mean it like that,” Sascha said. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I just… I’m scared. But I won’t go. I can’t leave you down here.”
“You heard what he said. If I don’t make a choice, we both die. I’m choosing you.”
“No. I can’t leave you!”
“You have to. I got you into this situation. Now I’m getting you out.”
“No. Just listen to me,” she said, raising her palms. “I think that stuff he said about the drugs was total bullshit. He can’t just wipe our memories like that. So it should be you who goes.”
“Why?”
“Because you know way more about this guy than me, so if I’m right about those memory drugs being bullshit, then you can help me,” she said. “You can get out of here and help the police figure out how to find me. I don’t think I’d be able to do the same for you. I’m not as smart as you, and I don’t know anything about the Butcher.”
I let out a heavy sigh. I understood what she was saying, but she was wrong. “I don’t know anything about him either.”
She looked confused. “But... you have to. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here. Right?”
I shook my head. “I really don’t know anything about him. He just thinks I do for some reason.”
“Oh. Shit.” She slowly slumped to the floor. Then she looked up at me again. “You’re still smarter than me and better at figuring stuff out, so I still think you should go. I know you’ll come back and find me.”
“Sascha… I can’t. It’s my fault we’re in this situation. There’s no way I’m going to leave you down here.”
“Lexie, come on! You know I’m right,” she said. Her voice had gone up an octave. “It should be you who goes home. Not me. You have a way better chance of helping the police.”
I gritted my teeth and breathed in deeply through my nose. “What if the Butcher wasn’t lying before?” I said. “What if his new combination of drugs does work? What if it totally fries my brain, and I can’t think straight at all? I’d never be able to find you. You’d just be left down here to rot.” I paused and shook my head. “I can’t do it. I can’t leave you here.”
She looked down. “I can’t leave you either,” she mumbled.
“You have to.” I let out a heavy sigh. “If it makes you feel any better, you can try to help me.”
She glanced up at me again. “How?”
“If you’re still awake when he comes to take you, pretend to be asleep so he doesn’t get suspicious, and while he’s carrying you out, peek around and try to memorize as much as you can of everything you see,” I said. “Even if the drugs are effective at wiping out recent memories, you can still try your best to fight through them. You might remember just enough to help the police figure out how to find one of the entrances to this place.”
“What if he drugs me before he takes me out? I won’t be able to look for anything then.”
