Page 188 of Chosen Beta

“A personal project?” I ask. “Like as in he was brainwashing someone to use personally?”

“Yeah,” Damian confirms. “I’m not totally sure, but I’d say that’s what it is.”

“Can you do anything to try and make sure?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow. I’m wiped and I need to take Rob home.”

“Okay, sure,” I tell him.

“The ninth one is a Beta,” Rob says suddenly.

“How do you know that?” I ask.

“If he’s brainwashing someone to use personally, then he’s using staff, not an Omega who would eventually leave.”

“Oh my God,” I murmur, trying to think.

“I bet anything it’s Melvin,” Pete mutters.

It could be. He has a two-syllable name.

No, don’t jump to conclusions, Lana.

Plenty of people on staff have two-syllable names.

“We need to check the phone records,” Pete says. “Incoming calls. He uses words to trigger the people he brainwashes, right?”

“I’m the one who’s been answering most of the calls,” I remind him. “I haven’t taken any from prison.”

“Right,” he murmurs. “He probably wouldn’t call here directly.”

“Everyone has a cell phone,” Brooke adds. “He’d use that.”

“He probably got someone to install that camera,” I realize.

Pete nods. “That would make sense. You’ve been so sure no one who works here would hurt you. It would make sense for him to use that against you.”

It makes me shiver. “We can figure this out in the morning. It’s late. We all need rest.”

Everyone agrees.

Damian and Rob sign out with the guest book, and they leave the premises, promising to return in the morning, to continue helping decode the files. I make the call to alert the guard on the gates that they’re leaving. After I hang up the call, I switch the phone back to answering machine mode, and I turn off my PC.

Brooke gets to her feet. “Well, I think we have enough info to call the cops. Should we do that now, or do we wait for the final name?”

She’s right. We have information. It’s probably enough to give the cops a starting point for an investigation. I let out a sigh. The thought of dealing with cops tonight makes me wearier than I already am.

“I think we can do that tomorrow. Give Damian a bit more time before they potentially take the work out of his hands. He’s done well with this stuff.”

“Rob too,” she says, shaking her head. “I had no idea Zeta’s were real.”

“I think a lot of people would say that.”

It was kind of crazy how detailed he got. He definitely nailed every last client and their motives, and he was able to do it from seeing them through their intended victim’s eyes.

The craziest part was how much better it made everyone feel to know the truth.

I’m not sure it would make me feel better to know why some creep decided he wanted to buy me, but I guess at least knowing who he was would make it a little less scary.

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