Page 69 of The Sinner: James

His admission he’s never been in love and doesn’t believe in it? Or what he’s said about the other men?

Is my father one of them? Is Eve’s father?

I think James is wrong.

They are not like that. They are good people.

Half an hour later, we exit the road and roll onto an open field.

“Here,” James says.

I bring the car to a stop on a patch of dirt. Not far from us rises a wall of trees.

They clamber out of the car and swagger away with James leading the way. He talks to them, gesturing and pointing to the land before they fist bump and cheer.

It must be about something good.

A sober moon casts a cold glow over the field as I turn off the engine and step out of the car as well.

“What’s this place?” I ask, inching closer to them.

“This is Sexton International. The Casino and Entertainment Resort,” Ed says. “Red’s on steroids,” he adds, and images play in my head.

Gambling, women, sex. More sex. The deal James talked about.

Another place––a bigger place––where powerful men like him do what they do best.

Cut onerous deals and feast on forbidden pleasure while feeding the beast roaring inside them.

The conversation we just had comes back to me, haunting me.

How is this place going to make things better?

If he is jaded and convinced the world is an inhospitable place, why would he add more crap to that pile of crap?

Why would he make it easy for these people to live their filthy lives away from their families?

And why does he enjoy it so much?

Is it the money?

He has money.

He’s also young.

He can make money in other ways.

Why this?

Why tap into this well of lust and greed only to crush more innocent hearts and souls?

A strange sensation swirls inside me, making me physically sick.

I take a few steps backward, my heels sinking into the water-soaked ground before I quietly spin around, making a beeline to the car.

When footsteps trail behind me, I start to run.

“Hey, hey... Where are you going, sweetheart?” James barks, rushing after me.

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