Page 100 of Science Project

“Not without pushback,” she growled. “Never without pushback.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mom said, stopping right in front of me. “You only don’t push back if the job I give you will benefit you or Nicole.”

When Nicole’s name left her mouth, my body jerked forward, and the binds seemed to tighten around my wrists and ankles. Why was she throwing Nicole’s name around like it was nothing? Why had she stopped me from killing Nicole’s father when I had the chance?!

“There it is …” A smile twisted her lips. “You love her, don’t you?”

I gritted my teeth and glared at her. “Let me out.”

“My sweet boy,” she taunted. “If you had only found out about Nicole and her father sooner …”

My stomach dropped. “You knew about what he was doing to her?”

“Knew about it?” Mom chuckled dryly. “Our family runs this whole town.”

Seconds suddenly felt like hours as the reality of her words set in. She’d had a hand in the sex trafficking ring happening with Principal Vaughn. And worst of all … Mom had known that Nicole’s father had been raping her this entire time.

Mind whirling, I sank my nails into my palms. “I’m going to kill you. I’m going to fucking?—”

“Come on, Akio,” Mom said with a smirk. “I thought you were smart.”

“How fucking long have you known?!” I shouted, jerking the chair back and forth in an attempt to break free. “How long have you known he rapes her?! What have you done this all for? For power? Control?! Let me fucking out so I can kill you!”

She stepped closer to me, her moves deliberate and calculated. “He’s touched her since she was five years old, maybe younger. Her sister, Hannah, too—that is, until he killed her. The feeble are trampled in this town, and Nicole’s father has a weak spot for her, which leaves us as the strong?—”

My body moved on its own. Shaking. Trembling. Pushing. Shoving. I hobbled in the chair, trying to get closer to her, trying to break free, trying to get my hands around her throat and kill her. She didn’t deserve an easy death.

I would make her fucking pay!

Mom reached out her hand toward my face, and I bit her pinkie clean off her body. She shrieked and pulled her hand back, slapping me straight across the face with her unwounded hand. Then, she kicked me in the balls.

“Akio, I’m giving you one last choice. Join me and save her.”

“Save her?!” I scoffed, spitting out her finger. My heart pounded so loudly that I could hear it in my ears. I tasted her blood on my tongue, and I rejoiced in it. “As if you would save her after what you’ve done!”

“Join me, Akio,” Mom said again, the darkness within her words sending shivers down my spine. “It’s the only way you’ll survive tonight. The only way Nicole here might have a chance.”

Here? What the hell did she mean … here?!

“Let me out!” I roared.

If she had Nicole here … then I had no doubt in my mind that she’d kill her tonight.

“Oh, my dear boy, don’t you see? There’s no going back now. You either stand by my side”—her smirk widened, and she let out a menacing cackle—“or I have the most joyous of surprises for you. I think you’ll love it!”

My throat closed up, and I balled my hands into tight fists because I couldn’t do anything. I … I tried and I tried and I tried, and I couldn’t fucking do anything. Tears burned my eyes. I needed to get the fuck out of here.

“Please,” I tried to reason, “you don’t have to do anything to anyone.”

“Yes, I do.” Mom straightened her shoulders. “There’s no other way to win in Redwood.”

The door creaked open, and cries echoed through the room from the hallway. My entire body stiffened, bile rising in my throat. Someone dragged a girl down the hallway toward our room. And it wasn’t just any girl.

It was my girl.

CHAPTER

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