Page 79 of Make Them Cry
River snorts. “No one who wears that much MAC lipstick is a pawn.”
That gets a reluctant smile out of me. I lean back, letting my body soak into the couch cushions. “So, do we bait Tasha? Dangle the affair somehow and see how she reacts?”
River’s brow furrows. “Or maybe she already knows. I mean, she works in HR, right? She probably processed Helena’s transfer.”
I nod. “She could’ve facilitated it. If she’s in this as deep as we think, that wouldn’t be a coincidence.”
“But then…” River hesitates, chewing her bottom lip. “Why leak all the stuff about me? If she’s just trying to protect Helena, why go after me?”
I look at her. Really look at her. She’s sitting cross-legged on the couch, hair a little mussed, cheeks flushed from the wind outside, hoodie sleeves pushed up to her elbows.
She’s beautiful.
She’s brilliant.
And she has no idea how easily she gets under my skin.
“I don’t think this is about Helena,” I say finally. “It’s about you. Always has been.”
Before she can ask what I mean, my phone buzzes again.
ARROW:You need to see this.
A link follows.
I open it.
And the second I do, my heart slams against my ribs.
River’s voice.
My voice.
Moaning. Whispering. Saying things we’ve never said.
And then the visual kicks in.
A deepfake. Of us. In a bed. Together.
It’s so well done I have to watch for thirty seconds just to spot the render artifact in her left eye.
I close the tab before she sees it.
Too late.
She’s already grabbed her phone. Her hand’s trembling.
“I—” she chokes out.
“River, it’s not real.”
“But itlooksreal.”
“I know.”
She looks up at me. “It has to be Tasha. She’s the only one who sort of knows. Could we have been?—?”
“No. This isn’t real.” I take her phone gently. “This was made. Crafted.”
