Page 13 of Cup of Lies

I can’t fully see his face, but I know I belong to him.

I have to find Caius.

Caius

I’m missing something.

I’ve known this for months, but now that I’m truly looking, I can practically feel the deception hanging thick in the air. Dad watches me with narrowed eyes, studying me intently, while Theo can’t meet my gaze.Guilt.

What does my brother have to feel guilty about?

Maybe he feels badly about withholding the truth from me. I’ve asked on multiple occasions about things I can’t seem to remember. His answers always sound rehearsed. Like a practiced lie. It’s unsettling.

But he’s my brother.

If I can’t trust him, who can I trust?

Calista.

“Is there a reason why you didn’t bring your sister?” Dad asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m worried about her staying cooped up in your house all day, every day.”

“Period,” I say with a grimace. “Girls have cramps and can be totally bitchy during that time.”

It’s not a total lie.

It’s not the truth either.

I chose to leave Calista at home. With my memory patchy and my suspicions raised, I don’t like bringing her into an environment I don’t have complete control over. She’s clearly afraid of my father and brother. We’re just now regaining our closeness, so I’ll be damned if I throw away our progress by forcing her to come to the lodge.

“I see,” Dad says and then visibly relaxes. “I brought you boys in today to discuss the future of CUP.”

Theo frowns. My eyebrows twitch, but I have the urge to keep my expression impassive. Instinctually, I know that Dad will use my emotions against me if I show them. Another thing I don’t remember but somehow know on a gut level.

“Theo,” Dad says, turning to my brother, “we have a new subject for the CUP program. An influential man from New York is looking for a wife.”

His words prickle at the back of my mind.

“I can help him,” I blurt out, unable to keep my words from spilling out. “I need to get back to work.”

Because of my “strange memory loss,” Dad has allowed me into meetings but not to do actual work within the CUP program. I’m curious what this work entails. I know the essence of it, but I need to see it for my own two eyes. Again. Since I clearly have forgotten. Maybe my memories will flood back at that point.

Dad tears his gaze from my brother to scrutinize my intentions. I give him my best, most earnest look, hoping to convince him. Whatever he sees must confirm that I’m up to the task because he nods once.

“Theo will run point,” Dad says, “but I think you’re right. It’s time you come back into the fold. If things can get back to the way they used to be, we’ll make our mark on this world as it should be.”

His words are chilling and ominous. Again, I remain stiff and emotionless so as not to give away the unease trickling through me.

Dad’s phone rings and he excuses himself from the conference room where we have our meetings. Theo is quiet for a few seconds after the door closes behind him. Then he turns his penetrating stare on me.

“You really don’t remember anything, do you?”

I arch an eyebrow at him. “What is it that I seem to be forgetting?”

Another flash of guilt in his gaze. “Nothing of value.”

The lie strikes me like a bolt of lightning. There is something I’m forgetting and he knows exactly what it is. It’s important to me. That’s why he feels guilty.

“I’m sure every detail, no matter how minute, could help piece together the holes in my head. What aren’t you telling me, Theo?”

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