Page 121 of Make Them Cry
Oh God.
“You killed them?” I breathe.
She shrugs. “Cathedral has… rules. They thought they could sell code to a competing gaming company. Delve Gaming has been after our code for years. Video games are a multi-billion dollar industry. But I don’t have to tell you that.”
I shiver. “So you killed them?”
Her gaze sharpens. “I won’t have everything I’ve started come crashing down.”
“But you’re a silly HR rep.”
Helena laughs even louder. “Oh, honey, not even close. I use the disguise of HR to learn everything I can about my employees. We noticed last year some of our code leaked, and at first we thought it was you. Or Mason. We even thought it might have been Gage.”
“It was Shawn?”
She nods. “Yes, I confronted him. I tried to be nice at first, but Shawn was an idiot. He tried to undermine everything I had worked so hard to achieve.”
“So, instead of firing him… you had him killed.”
Helena stares at her nails before she shrugs. “Cost of doing business.”
“Why target me?”
She laughs. “Your the face of the company. Of the designs. What a better story than a war between developers, and with all the bullying… you snapped. Murdered. Nobody would even really blame you. The deepfakes all lead back to Benny, Ryan, and Alan.”
“You bitch.”
She laughs louder. “The one thing I didn’t expect was Gage. But he’s in jail now, and once you’re gone we can just pin the whole thing on him. Sometimes you have to learn to pivot.”
She leans in again, her breath hot near my ear. “Gage will look so good in an orange jumpsuit.”
“Leave him alone.”
Tasha comes strolling in, a look of pure satisfaction crossing her features. She stands next to Helena and smiles at her. “Everything’s set.”
Helena smiles back at me. “Great. We’re ready then. Soon the world will know about everything that happened here at NovaPlay.”
“How could you?” I ask Tasha. “You were my friend.”
Tasha’s stare turns hot in an instant. “Are you kidding? Everything is always, oh, woe is me. Sorry I no longer want to be part of the River pony show. You’re not the main character in this story.” She giggles. “Shame about Gage though. I sure wouldhave liked to have a little fun with him before he gets locked up for good.”
I jerk against the restraints, fury flooding my system. “You won’t touch him.”
Helena straightens, her smile returning. “It’s too late for threats, River. We already have everything we need.”
She steps back toward the door. Tasha follows like a lost puppy.
Helena glances over her shoulder at me. “You should try to sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be… illuminating.”
The metal door slams shut behind them.
And I’m alone again.
But not broken.
No.
Not yet.
