Page 71 of Twisted Liars

“Wow. You guys have really planned this out perfectly,” I said softly.

“It was all Jensen’s idea. You can thank him later,” she said, brows rising. “I get the impression that guy would walk straight into hell for you.”

My cheeks warmed. “I think you might be right about that.”

“You’re literally all he talks about.” Piper sniffed. “It’s actually kind of annoying.”

I frowned. “So… are you really only helping us because you don’t want to get in trouble?”

She lowered her gaze to the floor. “I don’t know. I guess I just…” She paused for a beat and bit her lip before going on. “Honestly, Jensen scared the shit out of me when he tried to rope me into all of this, but he convinced me it was the right thing to do in the end. And it is, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Definitely. But you know your parents will end up in prison, right?”

Her lips flattened. “I’m not stupid, Amerie. Of course I know that.”

“Are you okay with it?”

“Honestly, yes and no,” she said, shoulders dropping slightly. “I mean, they’re my parents. Part of me still loves them even though another part of me despises them.”

“That makes sense.”

“Yeah, I know. Anyway, right now I’m leaning more toward the ‘yes, they deserve to be in prison’ angle, thanks to Jensen’s little campaign of terror against me.”

I raised a brow. “He scared some sense into you, huh?”

“I guess so.”

“Well… thanks,” I murmured. “For helping me.”

“You’re welcome.” She rose to her feet. “For now, we need to organize these files so it looks like we’re actually doing what I said we’d be doing.”

We worked in silence for the next two hours, arranging the loose files by date on the closest available shelves.

Piper finally checked the time on her phone and took a deep breath. “It’s go time,” she said, looking over at me. “As soon as I turn on the camera, Jensen will be able to see everything we’re seeing and hear everything we’re hearing. But you have to stay cool, okay? Don’t wave at the brooch and say hi, or anything like that.”

“I know.” I swallowed hard, heart racing with excitement at the thought of being reunited with Jensen by the end of the day. “I’m ready.”

She nodded and opened the door to the file room. As we stepped out into the hall, she clicked something on her phone and coughed to clear her throat. “Is it working?” she muttered.

She was silent for a moment, staring at her screen. Then she looked over at me. “He just texted,” she whispered, showing me her phone. “It’s working.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

“I guess it’s time for your full tour of the Playground,” she said loudly, gesturing down the hall. “Let’s throw ourselves in the deep end and start with the birthing center.”

We spent the next thirty minutes wandering all over the mansion before heading outside to film the cottages. We managed to get at least twenty heavily-pregnant women on camera, along with some footage of Dr. Carmichael examining another woman in the medical center.

Piper finally checked the time on her phone and glanced at me. “Time to find my mom,” she said, giving me a tight smile. “Remember—play along.”

We headed back into the mansion and turned down a hallway that led to the Playground’s main administrative center. Zara was sitting at a large oak pedestal desk, tapping away at a computer keyboard. When we stepped inside, she looked up at us with a smile. “Hi, girls. How’s your day been?”

“Good,” Piper said. “We sorted out a lot of stuff in the file room, and I just gave Amerie a full tour of the place. We might get some food soon, if she’s feeling up to it.”

“Great.” Zara’s brows rose, and she cocked her head. “You didn’t change.”

“I forgot,” Piper said, shrugging nonchalantly. “I’m comfy, though, so it doesn’t matter.”

“All right. As long as you’re comfortable.”

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