I sit and he sits across from me. “So? What do you want, Jack?”
“It’s not what I want, Cooper. It’s what everyone wants.”
“And that is?”
“To make sure the right people get invited into our inner circle.”
“O-Kay.”
He leans forward and props his elbows on his knees. Then he folds his hands together and rests his chin on them. He smiles at me and a chill runs up my spine. “We’re not convinced that you’re one of those people.”
“Me?” I point to myself. “I’m your brother. I’m the Chairman’s son. I was literally born into this fucking shit.”
“Yeah. Kinda. But… it’s a process, Cooper. You really fucked up the summer rush. We only need six people and you stuck us with ten.”
“Is that a problem? I mean, the dorm seems to have plenty of rooms.”
“It is a problem because Maddie and Natasha weren’t supposed to make it.”
“Just them? What about Roland and Jamie?”
“They don’t really matter. But two extra girls… well, that’s an issue.”
“What kind of issue?”
“They’re not going to be invited in. It was always supposed to be Mona, Sophie, and Elexa.”
“Elexa wasn’t on the list Father gave me.”
“No, we always need a wild card. But Elexa was clearly the most motivated. None of that matters. What matters is that Maddie and Natasha need to be taken care of.”
“Taken care of how?”
“That’s not the point, either. Because that’s not your job. Someone else will handle it. The point is, you’ve made things difficult, Cooper. That stunt you pulled at graduation last spring was just the beginning. It wasn’t the first time you helped a girl escape, was it?”
I try to laugh that off. “I mean, come on, Jack. Escape is kind of a strong word.”
He cocks his head at me. “Is it?”
“She was eighteen, she wanted a ride to the far side of the lake, and I helped her out. So what?”
“She was inner circle. She had seen too much. Do you have any idea where she is now, Cooper?”
I get a sinking feeling in my gut. “No.”
“No. You don’t.”
“Where is she?”
“Right where she belongs.”
Yeah. OK. I let that sink in.
“That’s just one of many mistakes you’ve made over the years. I could go on all night if I had to list them all, but the clincher was… you failed your Capstone.”
“How do you figure that? It’s not my fault that whatever you guys were looking for wasn’t at the tomb.”
“Well…” He bobs his head a little. “It kinda is your fault. We had high expectations of you and you haven’t come through. But let me get to the point so we don’t waste each other’s time. We’re going to need some insurance, Cooper.”
I suck in a deep breath. “What kind of insurance?”
“This is what we were looking for that night you fucked Cadee on the dorm bridge. I guess I didn’t realize you were such a lightweight when it comes to drugs. You passed out, Cooper. We didn’t get enough. It’s just…” Jack smiles at me and pans his hand towards the monitors. “Not going to be enough.”
I glance over at the monitors. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Take a good look at camera four.”
I search the screen until I find the view labeled ‘four’. Then I lean in and squint. “What the fuck? Is that… me?”
“Yep. That’s you, brother.”
“But I’m not down there. I’m here. And I wasn’t in the woods tonight.”
“Keep watching.”
It is me, but it’s the wrong me. And I only realize why it’s wrong when I see Ax and Lars come on the screen.
It’s us. Four years ago. This isn’t a live feed, it’s a vid.
Cadee appears. She’s laughing. We’re all laughing. Lars dances with her, their feet kicking up snow. They kiss a little. Ax joins in from behind, kissing her neck. I lean against a tree, always willing to watch.
I look back at Jack. “And? Is this supposed to be a threat? We didn’t do anything wrong that night. I mean, we drank a little, but who cares. I’m not sure why this is meaningful to you, but I tell you what, the level of spying this implies is disturbing.”
Jack chuckles. “Come on, Cooper. Why do you have to be so dumb? Think. What happened four years ago on New Year’s Eve?”
I lose time when this sinks in. I get lost somewhere in the past. I see it from another set of eyes. A set of eyes watching things play out from inside this room.
“That’s right, Cooper. That night wasn’t about you, but this one is.” He juts his chin at the monitors again and when I glance over and recognize what he’s pointing to, I suddenly understand what kind of insurance he’s talking about.
Because the screen I’m now looking at shows Cadee and Dane in a dark hallway. He pushes her into a room and throws her down on the floor.
I reach over and turn the monitor off. Then I look at Jack. “What the fuck do you want?”
“That was Dane’s insurance.” He pauses and his smile drops. “Look, I lied a little. You’re not any more of a disappointment than anyone else. This is just how it’s done, Cooper. We need insurance. Everyone has to do it.”
“Do what, Jack? What, exactly, are you telling me to do?”
He nods to the monitors again. And when I look I see a new group of boys out in the woods and realize this is a live feed. They are acting very much like we were four years ago.
They have a girl too. And their hands are all over her.
“She lives in the attic apartment now. Her parents died tragically last summer. She’s been staying with one of the lower families. But tonight is the first night in her new attic apartment in the inn. And next summer she will be the Fugling. She will be the offering. She will be Cadee. And you’re going to help her get there, Coop. You’re going to help her rise. Just like Dane helped Cadee get there.”
Blood is rushing through my head. It’s so loud, his words almost get lost.
I wish they would get lost.
But I hear them very clearly.
“You are going to rape her, Cooper.”
I’m already shaking my head.
“You are going to rape her and I’m going to record it. And if you do this, Isabella and Cadee are yours. Forever. You will walk out of the tomb tonight and take them with you. But if you refuse, you’re out. And they stay.”
“It wasn’t a secret, was it?”
Jack chuckles. “Only the kids have secrets around here, Coop. The grown-ups know exactly what’s going on.”
I am suddenly hot with rage. I grab Jack by the throat and push him backwards until he hits the wall. He’s laughing at me. Not even bothering to fight back. I lean in to him and seethe. “Who. Sent him.”
Jack coughs a little. But doesn’t answer me.
I slam his head against the wall. He winces from the pain, but he doesn’t stop laughing.
“It was you, wasn’t it? It was you. You sent Dane in there to rape Cadee three years ago. Did you know I picked up her pieces? Did you plan it? Was my entire life a set up?”