Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114419 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 572(@200wpm)___ 458(@250wpm)___ 381(@300wpm)
Mirabelle’s head lowered, her shoulders drooping for a moment before she looked back up at Danny. “Of course I wondered. Of course I wept,” she said, a tear tracking down her cheek. “Danny . . .” He stood and walked from one window opening to the next, where he flicked on a light and put his palms on the sill, leaning forward. His hands are empty. He’s not holding a weapon . . . for now. Mirabelle stepped farther into the room, her head still raised as she followed him from below. “I can only imagine what you survived and how,” Mirabelle said. “There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t think about you and wonder where you were. When I didn’t say good morning to you and then good night. You’ve been here”—she tapped her heart—“every moment since that day. Please know. Each time someone asked me how many children I had, I acknowledged you, even if only in my mind. I didn’t forget you, Danny. Never, not for one day.”
He stood there for a moment, looking down at them, and though he was still and silent, he appeared unmoved by Mirabelle’s words. “It doesn’t matter, though, Violet. Because what’s done is done. You caused it, and because of that, I paid, and now they have to too. And you’ll be here to watch it happen.”
“You’re angry at me, Danny. Don’t punish them,” Mirabelle pleaded.
“It’s always about them, isn’t it, Violet?” The inflection in his words was strange, as though he was expressing ten emotions all at once, and they blended together, jerky and unclear, all while his expression remained neutral. A shiver crept down Sienna’s spine.
This man had planned this elaborate game, over many, many months. Maybe even years. He’d held on to his anger, his twisted misery. He’d killed in self-defense, and he’d murdered innocent people. Who are you really?
“Let’s walk out of here, you and me,” Mirabelle said, still attempting to appeal to him. “You’re not all bad, baby. You tried; I know you did. I’m your mother. And I see that part of you is still there. I see that.”
Danny just smiled, though. And Sienna realized that, yes, he was still that scared little boy hiding in a cupboard, abandoned and terrified. He’s Danny, the horribly abused and neglected child who cared for the homeless mutt he called Jaxon, and he’s the lonely teenager who raised himself. He’s also Ollie, the reserved janitor who fed the little boy named Trevor he knew had been left alone, because otherwise the child would have starved. But he was also Mother, wasn’t he? His own version of an unflappable protector. Cool and calm. Ruthless and murderous, yet sweet and loyal. And now he was channeling Father. Cruel and sadistic. He was each identity. The killer. The caretaker. The monster. The victim. A mixture of them all.
He’d become whoever he needed to be.
“Walk out of here?” he asked. “So you can visit me in prison? No, I don’t think so.” He leaned casually against the edge of the window, looking directly at Sienna once more. “I set up all kinds of paths, different clues you might have followed. It was fun to see which ones you discovered first and which ones you did not. I was prepared for every move. But they all led here. This was always the final game.” He scratched his chin. “So many options. So many veering roadways. Do you think life is like that? Do you think God himself sets us up to watch us fall because we’re so stupid and fallible? How much fun he must have. The ultimate game master. Don’t give them an inch, he must think. Not one single inch.” He smiled and clicked his tongue. “There’s little time for philosophy, though. Time is ticking.” And Sienna suddenly knew they were not getting out of here if they played by his rules, because he was trying his best to play his version of God, and he, too, had set them up to watch them fall.
Danny stood straight, then pushed off the ledge and turned away. A few more lights blinked on overhead when he flicked a switch, illuminating the room below, and then he turned and walked out of sight.
“Danny, no. Come back,” Mirabelle sobbed, her agony obvious. “Please, please come back.” But Danny was gone, at least for now, and once again, they only had each other.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Gavin gave the room a quick once-over before tipping his head back again and walking to the far wall so he could see more of the top floor where Danny had just been. It appeared empty, though. Wherever he’d gone, he was no longer watching them from above. Where was he? Off to set up another room? No. No, this had all been done far in advance.