Page 54 of The Psychopaths

Watching...my mother, I realize, who stands at the edge of the frame holding what looks like medical papers.

The timeline assembles itself in my mind:

The Hayes family acquires Northstar Facilities.

Children of business rivals begin showing “symptoms” requiring treatment.

Arson starts asking questions.

The boathouse incident, whatever that was, provides the perfect cover.

One twin disappears, while the other is groomed for succession.

And now, ten years later, Arson has returned, wearing his brother’s face and using the very facility they imprisoned him in to exact his revenge.

But why take Aries? Why not expose the whole operation?

Unless...

My hand flies to my neck where his fingers and teeth left their marks. He’s not just seeking revenge—he’s recreating what they did to him. Making Aries experience the imprisonment he endured. Using me to twist the knife deeper. My lungs tighten as I force air into them. I’m probably the only person alive who knows the full truth.

The only question now is: what do I do with this information?

Expose the family and risk becoming their next victim? Help Arson and become complicit in his revenge? Try to save Aries and potentially make everything worse?

I think on it for another second, and consider another option—one that requires playing a role I’ve perfected over years of being underestimated.

Arson did it, so why can’t I? Perhaps it’s time for the perfect Hayes daughter to become as dangerous as they always feared she might be now. My heart condition is real—the surgeries, the medications, the occasional episodes. The asthma—also real, but they’ve twisted the medical narratives into something else entirely.

A leash. A threat. A ready-made excuse to commit me the moment I become inconvenient.

Like Arson became inconvenient. Without a doubt, I know they would do the same to Aries. To anyone who becomes a problem. I gather the documents with trembling hands, taking photos of everything with my phone. The birth certificates, the payment records, the letter aboutmanagingmy independence.

Evidence of decades of systematic abuse hidden behind medical terminology and family concern. This is what I wanted, right? Evidence. But now that I have it, what do I do with it? Who do I go to?

The police?That’s a joke. They’re in the Hayes family pockets—I recognize the police commissioner’s daughter among the “treated” teens.

The media?Richard owns half the local papers, and the other half won’t risk getting involved with the Hayes family lawyers.Arson?The thought stops me cold in my tracks. He already knows most of this, and has lived through the worst of their abuse.

He wants revenge, that much is obvious, but is there a way to change his perspective, to direct his anger away from Aries and toward the people who matter most? The monsters who did this? Would knowing that there were others change his mind? Or would it be added fuel to his rage? And Aries...my stomach twists, thinking of him in that cell.

Did he know about any of this?The documents suggest he was kept deliberately ignorant, trained to look away, rewarded for his silence. Just like they’ve trained me.

I put everything back as it was, except for the birth certificate. I fold it nicely and place it in my pocket for safekeeping. All this new information has my head spinning and my emotions all over the place. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but what I do know is that I’m done playing the part theywrote for me. Done being their perfect, fragile daughter. Done watching them destroy lives while pretending it’s for the greater good.

I descend the stairs quickly, as if I’m running from the secrets I discovered. I close the attic door behind me, lock it, and then place the key back where I found it. A heaviness presses down on me while I walk back to my bedroom. If I’m not going to play the role they want me to play any longer, then what is my new role?

Do I help Arson expose everything, knowing his revenge might hurt innocent people?

Do I try to save Aries, potentially becoming Mother’s nextpatientin the process?

Or is there another option—one that requires me to become something far more dangerous than any of them expect. A smile pulls at my lips. It’s time to show them exactly what their perfect daughter has become.

Arson

Ihate to admit it, but Lilian is becoming an obsession.

When I’m not working on the next step in my plan for revenge, I’m thinking about her intoxicating scent and the way her body felt pressed against mine.Fuck.I should just fuck her and move on. Maybe if I stick my dick in her, that will end this maddening infatuation.

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