by L V Chase
“No,” I say.
His gaze slowly shifts down to the tablet. As he reads over it, I look at Sadie. Her fingers are twisted together. I can tell from the way her cheek is sucked in that she’s chewing on it. We’re too far in to change our path, but her nerves are enough that if I thought killing my father would calm her, I would.
My father puts the tablet down. “You didn’t change anything.”
“I’m aware,” I say. “It’s the exact same contract that was issued by the clerk of court, and the contract you had written up.”
“If you believe that you can backtrack out of this by trying to convince everyone that Sadie doesn’t need a conservator, you’re mistaken. All of the psychologists in my hospitals will also back up my claim of her mental incapacity.”
Sadie makes a small squeaking noise in the back of her throat. I should have prepared her for my father’s threats.
“I know that you wouldn’t ever leave anything to chance,” I say. “I was raised by you. You made damn sure I was punished for every oversight and miscalculation. I know you don’t accept errors in your household, your practice, or yourself. I wouldn’t try to pull something over on you. That would just be another error.”
“I am elated that one of my lessons managed to break through your defiant inclinations.” He picks up the tablet again and signs it with his finger. He taps on the screen. He turns it around to face Sadie and me.
“It’s been sent to the Maxwell’s clerk friend to sign. But Sadie, you just need to sign this document. It’s not part of the Letters of Conservatorship. It’s a contract stating that you suffer from schizophrenia, cocaine addiction, and clinical depression, exacerbated by your parents’ deaths, which makes you incapable of taking care of yourself. You are stating that you are cognizant now, but understand that in many circumstances, you are incapable of making decisions that are beneficial to you. It also states that you consider me to be a trustworthy and effective conservator. Just press your finger on the screen and sign as close to your real signature as possible.”
Sadie looks over at me. I’d warned her about the contents of the contract, but as she takes the tablet from my father—careful to not touch him—her hand is still trembling. Her other hand hovers over the line she’s meant to sign.
I reach across, touching her hip. She glances back at me. I nod. She signs the tablet. My father takes it from her as soon as she’s done. He taps on the screen a few times before setting it down. He’s grinning wider than I’ve ever seen him smile.
“Excellent,” he says, clapping his hands. “We must celebrate. Sadie, baby doll, pour me a drink. Rum on the rocks. It’s my drink of choice, so you should become accustomed to having it prepared for me.”
He turns toward me, the animosity in his eyes contrasting with the triumph growing in them. He’d kill us if the Society would pat him on the head for it. He’s always told my brothers and me that the Society chose him for his ability to lead, but he’s a good little follower.
Sadie prepares and sets his drink down on the coffee table in front of my father.
My father beckons to her, his finger curling up like a fishhook. “Hand it to me, baby doll.”
Sadie plucks it off the table, the cocktail napkin sticking to the bottom of it. She hands it to him.
“Thank you, baby doll,” he says.
He brings it up to his mouth, letting the glass rim touch his bottom lip. His eyes narrow at the two of us. He holds the glass up for Sadie.
“Sadie, take a gulp of this,” he says. “I’m not saying that I don’t trust you two, but you’ve both tried to play me for a fool before.”
She takes the glass from him. She sips from it and tries to hand it back to him. He shakes his head.
“Drink more of it,” he says. “Two big gulps.”
“I’m not used to alcohol,” she says.
“I don’t care.”
She takes the two big gulps, making a face after each one. He gestures for her to give the glass back to him. She hands it back to him. I keep my hands interlocked, resisting the urge to put him back in his place.
“I’ll just wait to see if anything happens to you,” he says. “If you’re still sitting up and not dead in the next ten minutes, I might need another glass.”
She forces a smile. “I understand.”
“Call me Dr. Harrington when you talk to me,” he says. “Considering your position, it’s good for you to remind yourself that I’m the one in control.”
“Just get on with it,” I say, standing up. “I’m going to get out of here.”
“No,” my father says, pointing to me and then at the couch. “Sit. I’m not going to let either of you out of my sight until everything is completed by the clerk. Besides, we’re celebrating. Don’t spoil it by being a brat.”
He swirls his drink.
“Baby doll, grab the bottle and pour me a little more liquor. You drank like a fish.”
Sadie stands back up, getting him the bottle. She pours him more until the glass is full. After she puts the bottle back, he grabs her arm as she passes by.
“Come sit with me, now,” he says to her, but he’s looking at me. “We should get better acquainted.”
She sits down on the armrest. He wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her down onto his lap.
I can’t kill him. The Society’s retaliation would be merciless.
He tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“So, Sadie, baby doll,” he says. “Let me tell you what I’ll expect out of you, and then you can tell me all those little things about yourself I’d love to know. First, I’m going to put you in an apartment in town. It’s a studio apartment, but we’ll make it nice for you. You’ll spend most of your time there. I’ll arrange for someone to bring your necessities to you. You won’t leave there. We wouldn’t want you to have a meltdown in the middle of a grocery store like your grandmother. Second, you won’t talk to anybody. You’ll have a cell phone, but I’ll be the only number in it. You’ll tell your grandmother that you’re cutting off contact with her because you can’t stand to be known as the girl with the psychotic grandmother. Third, you—”
“I can’t do that to my grandmother,” she says. “It would kill her.”
“That scenario could also be arranged,” he says. “This decision is an act of kindness. Back to the subject at hand, you’ll be expected to abide by an exercise regimen I assign you. An exercise routine is good for any person to maintain good mental health, but it’s also beneficial for a young woman like you to remain lithe.”
“No,” she says quietly. “I mean, no, Dr. Harrington.”
He takes a smug sip of his rum. “The fourth rule is that if you break any of these rules or act disrespectful toward me, I’ll be less inclined to let you make other choices. You’ll earn privileges like groceries and takeout and access to a computer or a TV, but I can just as easily take it away.”
“So, you’re a prison warden,” I interject.
My fists are clenched closed. I try to relax them, but my fingers feel like they’re locked into place.
“A warden is someone who merely supervises a group of people. I’m the warden of one person, who is known to put herself in dangerous positions,” he says.
“You know you can’t stop me from talking to her,” I say.
He takes another sip of his drink. “Actually, I can,” he says. “The Society will be flying you to Cambridge, Massachusetts to prepare you for Harvard.”
“I haven’t applied to Harvard.”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s been arranged.” He rests his head on Sadie’s arm. “You’re very soft.”
I run my tongue over my teeth. I can’t lose my temper. I need to remain calm for a few more minutes.
“So, I’m certain you’re worried about boredom,” my father says to Sadie, raising his head again. It almost lolls backward. “But I’ll find ways to keep you busy. We could have you doing research. The Society might find work for you to d
o. You’ll certainly be busy with your exercise regimen. Why am I suffering from fatigue?”
“I’ve heard liquor has that effect,” Sadie says.
“Not for me,” he growls. He glances between the two of us. “If the whiskey was drugged, she’d be passing out long before I would.”
“You’re paranoid,” I say. “If I’d wanted to kill you by poisoning your whiskey, I would have done it years ago.”
He holds up the glass, trying to look at the rim of the glass, but he can barely hold it up.
“You did something,” he slurs. “What was it?”
“You’re a clever man,” I say, standing up.
I offer my hand to Sadie. She takes it, standing up and stepping around the coffee table to be beside me. My father tries to reach after her, but his reflexes are too slow, and he’s slowly sliding down the armchair. He lets out a puff of air in an effort to laugh. One side of his mouth curves up.
“The ice,” he says. “The ice was drugged, and it hadn’t melted when she drank it. Just like that riddle I told you…that I told you when you were a kid.”
“You didn’t just teach me not to leave anything to chance,” I say. “You also taught me never to be predictable—like always having the same drink—and never to get sloppy by getting too proud. You got too proud.”
He continues to smile as his eyes close.
“Good boy,” he says. The rest of his body goes limp.
30
Klay
My rubber gloves and scrubs are piled into the sink in the kitchen. It’s been nearly half an hour, and I know I should be washing them out to eliminate as much evidence as possible but my hands are tired, my brain is running on empty, and at this point, I’d prefer to just burn it all.
I hear footsteps approaching. I turn as Vince and Sadie step across the threshold into the kitchen. I’d told Vince to bring Sadie back after four hours had passed, so it must be a little past six. Sadie’s skin is paler than usual, and her eyes are wide, the irises resembling two pools of dark rum.
“It’s done?” Vince asks, his voice trembling slightly.
“Yes,” I say. “Did you both get something to eat?”
“We went to the place on Umbenhower. Sadie didn’t eat much.” Vince nervously taps on the kitchen island. “Are you sure about this, Klay? His hospitals will ask questions.”
“It’s too late to backtrack. I’ve already called his assistant. I told her that he’d been overwhelmed by the acquisition of the newest hospital and my mother’s addiction, so he’d opted to travel the country on a road trip. We’ll tell the Society the same thing if they come around. The lie won’t last, but we’ll find another explanation by then.”
“We could fake a car accident,” Vince says. “It would get rid of—”
“No,” I say firmly. “If my intention was to kill him, I would have done that. While he’s still alive, he still has legal control over Sadie. But since the surgery incapacitates him, I have control over him. As long as I have control over him, Sadie is free from his control.”
“When is he going to wake up from the anesthesia?” Sadie asks quietly.
“About forty minutes ago,” I say. “He was already starting to wake up when I was almost finished. I applied a weaker anesthesia to avoid complications from that. By the time I was closing him up, it wouldn’t have mattered. He shouldn’t be able to feel anything below his neck.”
Sadie tugs on the collar of her turtleneck. “Are you going to explain everything to him?”
“I could,” I say. “Or I could let him suffer for a day or two. During that time, he would only need water to survive, and he has an IV of saline hydrating him.”
“You should talk to him, Klay,” she says. “It’s one thing to do this to protect everyone. It’s another to do it to torture him.”
“I’m not torturing him,” I say, but from the expression on her face, we both know I’m lying.
I walk over to her, wrapping my arms around her. Her vanilla scent brings a wave of calm through me. She’s better than any of us will ever be. I pull away from her.
“I’ve prepared your bag,” I say. “It’s in my room. You should check it and ensure you have everything you need.”
She gives me a sad smile, her fingertips brushing against my arm as I walk away from her. Vince stiffly nods at me. It’s a shame that I won’t be able to keep an eye on him. He wouldn’t betray me, but keeping a secret that defies the Society will wear him down.
When I step into our personal gym, the copper scent of blood prickles my nose. My father is still on the dining table I’d covered with a white sheet. The fact that it hasn’t moved at all indicates the surgery was a success.
I should be prouder, but all I know is that the road ahead of me is a dead end. I said all of the right things to Sadie and Vince, but in reality, I know the Society will find out what I did to my father sooner than later. They didn’t become apex predators by not seeing threats to their ecosystem.
My father turns his head as I pull a stool over to the table. I sit down a couple of feet away from his head.
“You did the surgery,” he says, his words falling lazily out of his mouth, no hint of the rage and helplessness I might have expected.
He must have cotton mouth. If I cared about what he had to say, I’d get a glass of water for him. I don’t move.
“But not on the girl,” he says. “Who helped you? Did you use the straight or angled forceps?”
“It’s irrelevant,” I say. “I’m just here to tell you what’s going to happen. Your control over Sadie is over. I’m the one in control now. If you do anything wrong, you could spend days without eating here. I could leave you in an empty room with no stimulation and let you suffer. I’m open to Chinese water torture.”
“Big threats from a boy who couldn’t hurt—”
“Be quiet,” I say. “First, your company has been informed that you are on a break. Once that time is over, we’ll create a new excuse. Your time there is over. We’ll do the same for the Society. They—”
“It won’t work,” he says. “They’re some of the most intelligent people on the planet. You’re arrogant to think you could get away with this. I only need to convince one person to tell everybody what you did to me. This is poorly planned even by your standards.”
“I considered that,” I say. “I’m certain you’d find a way to get a message out to someone. But I also know you, and you’re far too proud to admit that you were tricked by your son. And, on some level, this is always the type of person you wanted me to become. Congratulations.”
“Perhaps,” he says. “I didn’t think you had it in you to be ruthless. But the Society is more ruthless, and they’ll find out what you did and annihilate your life for interfering with their games. I’m the only one that can keep our family safe.”
“You never kept our family safe,” I say, trying to keep my voice level but the venom is injected in every word. “Every decision you made—giving yourself over to the Society, giving your sons to the Society, allowing Mom’s addiction to worsen just so you didn’t have to answer to her reservations, pushing to put Sadie in the Hunt to get back at me. You didn’t do anything for us. And now I’m going to return the favor.”
I stand up, heading toward the door.
“Klay,” he says.
I turn enough to see him out of the corner of my eye.
“I wasn’t perfect,” he says. “I have regrets. But if the Society finds out what you did, they’ll massacre our family. They’ll kill Sadie, seeing her as the catalyst for this unholy mess. You’re pointing a finger at me, but you’ve put our family in far more danger.”
“You have regrets?” I ask coldly.
“Of course.”
“So do I,” I say. “I regret keeping you alive.”
I step out of the room. Vince waits down the hallway. I walk over to him.
“Start your car and wait in the driveway. I just need to say goodbye to Sadie,” I say.
&nb
sp; He nods, turns around and hustles down the stairs. I follow him down before turning in the opposite direction. Sadie is still in the kitchen. She’s staring down at the rubber gloves and scrubs in the sink. I walk up to her, placing my hand over hers.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
She blinks at me. “For what?” she asks. “You saved me from being your father’s slave. I should be apologizing to you.”
I shake my head. “No, you shouldn’t be. It’s my fault that you were involved in any of this.”
“I don’t blame you at all, Klay,” she says, “I meant it when I said I would have gone through with the contract. You’re the most important person in my life. I wasn’t going to give you up.”
I look away from her. “You’ll need to go to that hiding place now.”
“You should come with me.”
I shake my head. “The Society will be suspicious if they haven’t heard from my father in a while. They’ll come around to investigate what’s going on. I can stall them. They may also have people watching me, especially. I’ll wait until I’m certain nobody is watching me. Just go to the first location, wait until night time, and then start the walk to the second location. Understood?”
“I get it. I don’t like it, but I’ll do it. Just…you’ll make sure my grandma gets out soon?” she asks.
I nod. She wraps her arms around me and kisses me. It’s short and simple, but it’s loaded with all of the certainty I don’t feel right now.
“I love you,” I say.
“I love you, too.”
I kiss her, taking in the way her mouth softens under mine, the way her hips sway forward when I put my hands on them, and the way she looks at me with complete adoration after the kiss.
“I’ll see you soon,” she says, grabbing the duffle bag I’d packed for her and pulling it over her shoulder.
“I’ll join you as soon as I can,” I promise.
“But that might be a long time,” she says.