Page 104 of Psyop Kings

The guilt makes my skin crawl.

Four bundled-up people disembark, meeting him. The taller of the four, with red hair blowing from under a beanie, motions at the three smaller figures. Then the man turns on his heel, the four of them following after him. They all disappear into an office.

Now what?

It’s clear Ava has taken three of the girls with her.

Where’s the fourth?

Is LuLu still on this boat?

Of course she is. They’re not done with her yet.

“What happened to Emma?” I ask, not looking at Gareth.

He’s quiet for several seconds before muttering, “She drowned.”

“Oh.”

“She was playing at the lodge and…”

A twisting in my gut has me clutching my stomach as I wait to hear the full story.

“Well, you know that chute you stumbled upon?” Gareth asks, regret in his tone. “She found it too, except she went downheadfirst. We found her at the bottom hours later. The fucked-up part was that she didn’t die from the impact. It knocked her out, and then she drowned.”

Hot tears track down my cheeks. It makes sense why he was behaving so strangely when he carried me out of the pool room after my incident there. Sniffling, I swipe at them with my fists. “I’m so sorry.”

He moves to stand so close his shirt brushes over my bare arm. “It was hard. I loved that kid with my whole heart.”

I believe him.

The man is devastated.

They may all be monsters, but there’s no denying his pain.

Maybe I could use it to my advantage.

“Gareth,” I say softly, turning to look at him. “You saved her and Kaitlyn. Like you and your brothers were saved.” I point at the shipping containers. “Why don’t you try to save those girls too?”

His eyebrows furl together. “What do you mean?”

“You saw the blood,” I say to him. “Solomon beat on that girl and…”

He winces at my unspoken words. “It’s not my business.”

“But it is, isn’t it? Those girls were CUP failures.”

“That’s more of Dad and Caius’s area,” Gareth rushes out. “I just do tech and shit. I don’t know about all the logistics.”

Is he telling the truth?

“It’s always been the two of them doing all the dirty work, huh?”

He frowns. “They help people be their better selves.”

A laugh bubbles out of me. “I read the brochure. It’s bullshit and we both know it. What I heard while hiding in that cabinet, well, let’s just say it’s a terrible cover for what you all truly do.”

He has the sense to grimace, shame covering his features.

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