“I sound like a bit of a know-it-all brat if you ask me,” Morgan said, allowing herself to smirk.
Charles laughed. “Yeah, you kind of were. But ever since that day, I have known you are going to do incredible things, Morgan. Career, motherhood, whatever you choose to do, you are going to be amazing at all of it.”
Charles cupped her face in his hands. “I would happily run headfirst into the asylum a hundred times over if it meant my baby sister got to have the life she deserves.”
“Maybe you don’t have to turn yourself in at all,” Morgan said. There had to be some way to change her brother’s mind. “Maybe we can convince Bren to admit he was switching results. Then the Council can retest the asylum patients and once John passes he’ll be released. No one ever has to know the failed test was originally yours.”
Charles shook his head. “There’s no way the Council is going to retest the whole asylum. And if we tell the Council his results were switched with someone else’s, then we need to be able to tell them who’s actually guilty. This is the only way to get John out of there, Morgan. Please, let me do this for you and your family.”
“If I had known any of this was going to happen, I never would have—”
“You can’t blame yourself, Morgan. I’m glad we found out. I can’t imagine making John take my place just so I can spend the rest of my life hiding in my room while I wither away like Henry Bell. At least now I can set it right while I still have a chance.”
Morgan wrapped her arms around her brother’s shoulders. “I don’t know what to say.”
“This is what big brothers do,” Charles said, hugging her back. “We look after our little sisters. I will always look out for you, Morgan. And, if you don’t like it, too bad, ‘cause there’s not a lot you can do to stop me.”
Morgan wanted to laugh at his joke but instead it came out as a stifled sob.
“Please don’t be sad, Morgan.” He kissed her on the forehead. “This is good news. You’re going to get your husband back. I’m not dying. This isn’t goodbye. Just sort of a ‘see you in a couple of months.’” He pulled her close. “I need you and John to keep an eye on Katherine while I’m away, make sure the Bells don’t try to screw her over again.”
“Of course,” Morgan nodded, wiping her eyes. “What are you going to tell her?”
“Nothing.”
“You can’t just leave without saying goodbye.”
“Even if I wanted to, I don’t think I could bring myself to do it. Not again. We already said goodbye two years ago. It seems silly to go through all of that again when we were never actually back together. I guess she made the right choice not to marry me after all.”
“That’s not true and you know it, Charlie.”
The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed from out in the foyer, followed by heavy footsteps steadily drawing closer.
“Someone’s here,” Charles whispered.
“What do we do?”
“In here,” Charles said, pushing Morgan towards the wardrobe in the corner. “Stay there until they’re gone.” Coats draped on either side of her as Charles softly shut the wardrobe doors seconds before the study door opened. Light from the hallway flooded into the study through the gaps between the wardrobe doors, illuminating Loughlin as he stood in the open doorway.
Loughlin blinked in surprise. “Charles, what are you doing in here?”
“Sorry, Father. I was just looking for something,” Charles responded.
“And did you find it?” Loughlin asked as he scanned his ransacked study. Loughlin walked towards his desk, then stopped. Morgan’s coat was still draped across the armchair. He picked up the coat, holding it up for Charles. “Your sister has been here, I see.” Morgan’s heart jumped, cursing herself for being so sloppy. Charles smiled uncomfortably, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to seem aloof.
“She must have left it the last time she was here.”
“You never were a good liar. Is anyone else home?” Loughlin asked.
“No, just me.”
Loughlin’s eyes rested on the packed bag in the corner. “Are you going somewhere?”
Charles inhaled deeply. “I’m leaving.”
“Where exactly are you going?” Loughlin said, his voice oddly calm.
“I’m staying at Morgan’s tonight.”
“Really.” Loughlin folded his arms and leaned against the desk. “And why is that?”
Charles didn’t respond right away.
Loughlin lifted his chin and looked down on his son. “This wouldn’t have anything to do with your little visit with Bren this afternoon, would it?”
Charles froze. “How did you know?”
“Where are you going, Charles?”
“I’m going to the Council,” Charles confessed. “I’m going to turn myself in for being unfit.”
Loughlin stiffened, and his chest began to heave with each breath. “What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. More importantly, I know exactly what you did.”
“And what is it you think I did, exactly?” Loughlin leaned against his desk again in an awkwardly obvious attempt to seem calm.
“I’ve seen the records, Father. I know you switched my results with John’s. And I know that’s not the only time you’ve tampered with results either. Tell me, how many people have been wrongfully sterilized because of you?”
“I don’t know what it is you think you know, but you have it all wrong.”
“Stop lying!” Charles shouted. “I already know everything. What was the plan? Were you ever even going to tell me I’m sick? Or were you just going to lock me away in your mansion and watch me wither away like Henry Bell?”
“How many times have I bent laws to help you?” Loughlin said disdainfully. “You had no problem with it when it was to help your own ambitions. Grow up.”
Beads of sweat formed on Charles’s brow as his knee shook violently. “It’s just going to keep getting worse, isn’t it?” he asked. In that moment, Charles’s confident demeanor crumbled as pain and fear took its place.
Loughlin took a deep breath, his expression softening from anger to sadness. “Yes,” Loughlin said. “The pain is going to keep spreading until your body eventually begins to shut down.”
“All the more reason to turn myself in, then,” Charles said, grabbing his bag and throwing it over his shoulder. “If my life is over, I don’t want every agonizing moment to remind me of the cost of dying quietly. I refuse to spend the rest of my life in hiding just so you can cling to your reputation.”
“Do you honestly think I care at all about my reputation? I would throw it all away in a heartbeat if it meant keeping my family safe. That’s all any of this has ever been about, Charles. If you walk into the Council room and tell them you’re unfit, if you tell anyone you’re unfit, then you will be putting this entire family at risk. And I doubt your righteous indignation will comfort you when they come for us and you’re forced to watch them drag your brothers and sisters out into the street.”
“Are you even listening to yourself?” Charles said, his grip tightening around the strap on his shoulder. “You sound completely paranoid. All of Haven is not out to get us.”
“Do you honestly believe our lives will continue to go about as usual if you go public with this? We will all be ruined.”
“That’s not fair,” Charles shouted. “You have no right to put that on me!”
“Of course it isn’t fair!” bellowed Loughlin, slamming his fists against the desk. “We were supposed to save the world. But the second those rich, fat bastards had to sacrifice anything themselves, they came running to me to fix the problem. So I fixed it. I fixed it for every one of those frauds. Forget the laws, forget the consequences, forget what would happen if the Elders or anyone else ever found out. They didn’t care anymore, so why should I?”
“Because it’s your responsibility!”
“I refuse to condemn my ow
n son,” Loughlin shouted, ripping the bag from Charles’s hands and throwing it against the wall behind him. “I had to switch your results, Charles. Don’t you see? John, Bren, they were necessary sacrifices.”
“Bren?” Charles asked, his entire body trembling now. “What did you do to Bren?”
Loughlin hesitated. “I stopped him from bringing hell down on all of us just so he could appease his conscience.”
Charles stepped back, horror etched in his features.
Loughlin continued, “I would undo all of this in a heartbeat if I could. The lies, the tampering—all of it. But I can’t. All I can do is keep my family safe. Let me keep you safe.”
“You can’t keep me safe from this, Father. I won’t keep this secret for you. This, all of this, it’s madness, and I’m going to put a stop to it right now.”
“Suffering doesn’t make you a hero.”
“Saving an innocent man does.” Charles started towards the door, but Loughlin stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
“I can’t let you do this,” Loughlin said.
“Then you are no better than them,” Charles spat.
“You’re right. I’m not.” Loughlin shook his head. “I’m a hypocrite and a fraud, but I have always had the best of intentions.”
“What good does that do? It doesn’t fix anything. If you really want to make it right, then come with me. You said you wished you could undo it, this is your chance.”
Loughlin laughed. “Make it right,” he scoffed, “What good will that do?”
“It can’t be worse than this. You can’t keep this hidden forever, Father. This is your chance to be the better man. Do what all those hypocrites couldn’t and let me go. Let me make this right.”
“I won’t be able to change your mind, will I?”
“No,” Charles confirmed.
Loughlin looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers in his black, leather gloves. Slowly, he removed them one finger at a time, first from his right hand and then from his left and set them down on his desk.
“Then I guess we were all wrong after all. The apple can fall far from the tree.” Loughlin pulled Charles into a hug. “You have grown into a fine man, Charles. I’m so sorry I let you down. I’m sorry for what I did to you and Morgan. Turns out he was right all along. We created a world our own children can’t live in.”
“What are you talking about, Father?”
“And you’re right, too,” Loughlin said, ignoring Charles’s question. “Letting you go is the only way to fix this. I just hope you can forgive me.”
Loughlin wrapped his arms tighter around Charles and held him there, one hand resting on the back of his neck. Pulling Charles away from him one last time, Loughlin gazed into the eyes of his son, as if memorizing every feature. His countenance was heavy and defeated, as if he was mentally working through a problem that had no clear solution.
Then Loughlin wrapped his hands around Charles’s neck and squeezed.
Charles froze for a moment, his eyes bulging as Loughlin’s grip tightened. He reached up with one hand, trying to pry Loughlin’s fingers from around his neck and, with the other hand, reached out desperately to push against his attacker. Catching the side of Loughlin’s face with a wild blow, Charles managed to wrench himself free.
Morgan pushed against the wardrobe door, unsure of what to do. But just as the wardrobe door began to swing open, Charles lunged to the desk and pushed it against the door, slamming it firmly shut as the force of it knocked Morgan back.
“Don’t!” Charles shouted hoarsely, but he wasn’t looking at Loughlin, he was shouting towards the wardrobe where Morgan still hid, as if pleading with her not to come out. Before Charles had a chance to turn back around, Loughlin caught him around the waist and tackled him to the ground. He rolled Charles onto his back, pinning him into place, and wrapped his hands around his son’s neck once again. Charles pushed against Loughlin’s hands and let out a muffled gag as he struggled for air, his face turning a bright, sickening red.
Morgan threw herself at the doors, her shoulder colliding with the solid wood, again and again, desperately trying to make it budge, but the small confines of the wardrobe made it impossible for her to build any momentum or get any sort of leverage. The desk held the doors firmly shut. If Loughlin could hear the crashes coming from the wardrobe, he didn’t show it.
“I’m sorry,” Loughlin sobbed as Charles pushed and clawed at his hands and face, fighting to break free. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry”
The next few seconds felt like hours. Morgan continued beating against the door as she heard her brother desperately gag for air, his thrashing slowing as his body lost strength. The sound of his chokes grew farther and farther apart, the space in between filled with unbearable silence until there was no sound at all. No breath. Just silence.
Morgan covered her mouth to suppress her instinct to scream as she watched her brother go limp. Loughlin released Charles’s neck and put his head down against his son’s still chest. He stayed there, his shoulders trembling until he suddenly let out a terrible cry. Pulling his son’s lifeless body against him, Loughlin sobbed uncontrollably, muttering, “I’m sorry,” over and over again.
Morgan leaned further back into the wardrobe, willing it to swallow her up and carry her away from this terrible scene. But as she shifted, the boards groaned beneath her feet. The sound seemed to knock Loughlin back to reality.
He carefully set Charles’s head back on the floor, stood, and walked towards the wardrobe. He stopped short of the doors, and Morgan held her breath. Perhaps there was a chance he hadn’t heard her before, but as Loughlin stood there, she didn’t believe that was true. Even now, he seemed to be watching her through the tiny gap between the doors, his eyes fixed on hers. In one strained motion, he pulled the desk away from the wardrobe.
Morgan’s heart pounded in her ears and her lungs screamed in protest as she fought to control her breathing, her hands trembling as she tightened then into fists, prepared to fight for her life.
But then, Loughlin simply left. He didn’t even open the wardrobe. He just turned around and walked out of the study, carefully stepping over Charles’s body on his way. A second later, Morgan heard the front door open and then slam shut.
Morgan waited. This had to be a trap. She half expected to open the closet doors and step out into the study only to find her father waiting for her out in the foyer, ready to strike. But as she slowly pushed the door open, she saw that the house was indeed empty. Her brother’s lifeless body was her only company now.
“No,” she whimpered as she ran to Charles and wrapped her arms around him. “No, please,” she said again. “Please, Charlie. Please get up.”
Cradling his head in her arms, she buried her face in his chest, hot tears flowing uncontrollably now. It didn’t feel real. Nothing felt real as she knelt beside her brother.
His eyes were still open and staring up at the ceiling as if in a silent scream. Softly, she ran her hand over his eyes and slid the eyelids closed. She tried to tell herself he was just sleeping now, but the muscles in his face were still tense, forever frozen in the last terrible minutes of his life.
She didn’t know how much time she had before Loughlin returned, but she couldn’t stand the idea of leaving Charles like this. Of leaving him forever. Morgan brushed the hair away from his face and gently kissed her big brother on the forehead, her tears falling like raindrops on his face as she held him. She felt hollow as she summoned all of her strength and whispered a final goodbye to the man who had been her best friend and only ally for as long as she could remember, her hands quivering as she laid his body down.
Morgan stumbled through the empty foyer and out the front entryway onto the lawn, the freezing night air rushing against her face. Hot tears still rolling freely down her cheeks, she ran as fast as she could.
Southend passed in a blur as Morgan ran across the bridge and through the streets. Her legs ached, but she kept running until she
reached John’s apartment.
Katherine jumped in her chair as Morgan ran into the apartment and slammed the door shut behind her.
“What happened?” Katherine asked.
“Grab whatever you can carry,” Morgan said between gasps, “we’re leaving. Tonight.” Morgan ran to the dresser and threw clothes out of the drawers and onto the bed.
“What is going on? What happened at the lab? And where’s Charles?” Katherine asked, but Morgan ignored her and continued frantically packing. Katherine grabbed the clothes out of Morgan’s hands. “Stop for a second and talk to me.”
“We have to leave,” Morgan replied, pushing her way past Katherine. “I need you to come with me to the asylum and see if you can talk to your uncle.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I have to get John out of the asylum right now.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“I don’t know,” Morgan said. “I’ll figure it out when we get there.”
“But what about the plan?”
“There is no plan!” Morgan cried. “The plan doesn’t exist anymore! I did everything I could think of, but I can’t help you, Katherine. I can’t help anyone. If you want to keep your baby, we need to leave right now.”
“Where’s Charles?” Katherine asked, her arms still full of the clothes she had taken from Morgan just moments earlier.
The question stopped Morgan in her tracks. She didn’t know how to answer. She didn’t want to answer. Instead, she just stood there, unable to look Katherine in the eye.
“All right,” Katherine finally said, her voice trembling and her eyes misty. “What do you need me to do?”
“Grab anything valuable and pack all the essentials. Once we get John out of the asylum, we won’t be coming back.”
Within a matter of minutes, the two were packed and on the streets of Southend, heading towards the asylum. Morgan had no idea what they would do once they got there, but she knew she had to try. They would get John, and then the three of them would head to the breach. They would just have to figure out the rest as they went.
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