Page 145 of Inferno

“Daddy wouldn’t hurt me. This is just a game. You’re going to ruin it for us!” She stomps like a toddler.

I ignore her.

Then one of the girls from the last room steps forward—dark-haired, eyes downcast.

“My husband sent me. If I won, he’d get more money and power. I thought if I got the money, I could run and never look back.”

A sad shrug. “But clearly, I didn’t read the contract properly.”

I nod. Makes sense.

“What’s your name?”

“Emma.”

I pause, remembering the cameras. “Ebony,” I say with a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes.

I turn to the rest of them.

“Jess,” the redhead says.

“Rebecca,” the blonde adds.

“Okay. So you all read what happens to the losers, right?”

Jess chews her lip and nods.

“That’s illegal. Daddy would never do that to me!” Tara whines.

Perfect. Delusion makes her dangerous.

“Well, news flash. He did. And now we deal with it. Your daddy is a power-hungry monster who sacrificed his own daughter. Get your head out of the clouds.”

Her face twists. “What? Your daddy didn’t love you?”

Rage blinds me.

I lunge.

My hand wraps around her throat as I slam her against the wall. The others gasp.

“Keep talking, and I’ll end you before they get the chance.”

She gasps, clawing at my hand. I squeeze harder.

“Now sit down. Shut up. And do what I say.”

I release her, letting her crumple. She whines, hands to her neck like a child.

Before I speak, the door bursts open.

A masked man stands there. Different from the others.

“You.” His deep voice makes my heart stutter.

“Who, me?” I ask, all innocence.

The games didn’t work.

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