Page 102 of House of Deceit

“Did you make it?” I ask, my fingers holding my phone so tightly I’m afraid it’ll crack.

The sun is starting to set on the mansion, turning everything to gold like Midas’s touch. My green sequin dress glints in the dying light. I try to keep my fidgeting hands away from my 1940s soft waves, much like Molly would wear hers. I feel the heaviness of the eyes of the cameras covering me from every angle. As it’s the finale, there are numerous visible cameras set up around us.

Alec’s voice comes into my mind and I can almost feel his fingers caressing my cheek.

“Just you and me,” he says, the memory of his voice making my heart break all over again.

But I put on the persona he crafted for me. The woman standing here looks calm and poised and not at all like the one of twelve weeks ago who stood in front of this mansion, probably looking nervous and a little nauseated.

But now, I know I can do this.

Jacob Jacobson stands at the host podium beside a giant board with various categories and dollar values. A makeup crew touches up his face with powder in the summer heat.

“We are live in thirty seconds!” a member of production announces over the house’s PA system.

Jayden, Parker, and I wait to be called down to our podiums to begin the final trivia competition.

“How are you both feeling?” Parker asks.

His suit is perfectly tailored. The deep blue is beautiful against the crisp white shirt. His hair sits in surfer boy waves.

“I’m ready. This should be easy,” Jayden says, smiling at us. The confident man before us is so unlike the one we’ve spent the last twelve weeks with, I feel like I’m participating in the finale with a stranger.

“I’m excited,” I say, but I know he can see the pain in my eyes.

Reaching out, he squeezes my hand as the voice starts counting down the last ten seconds. We get set up, prepped in advance for what to expect tonight.

Lights that were strategically placed around the yard flip on and Jacob is talking into a camera welcoming the audience to the final competition of season ten.

“Charlie Price, welcome to the finale of House of Deceit,” Jacob Jacobson says over the speakers in the house.

With a deep breath, I plaster a smile on my face and walk down the red carpet to my podium in the middle.

“Thank you, Jacob. It’s great to be here.”

“It’s been a long road for you.”

“It’s been a long road for all of us. As much as I’ve loved my time here, I’m ready to see my family.”

Turning his attention back to the camera, he calls down Parker and then Jayden in succession.

“Charlie, you won the poll from the audience this week, so you will go first. Please choose a category.”

Our final game begins.

I tap my matte black nails on the edges of the podium, take a centering breath, and call out the first category.

“Winners of the Week for two thousand,” I say.

“From the team of privilege winners in week two, who said ‘If I was them, I would suck whatever I needed to avoid that punishment’?” Jacob reads out.

Parker buzzes first, but Jayden and I are fast on his heels. “Angelica,” he says.

I can picture the page of my journal this exchange was written on, while the first points of the game flash under Parker’s name.

“Vices for one thousand,” he says, calling the next category.

“Which contestant was notorious for putting gum on the underside of things?”

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