Page 22 of Cup of Lies

“No,” Theo says softly. “We created this version of Olivia from nothing to something spectacular. Her life, when she graduates from our program, will change forever. She’ll never have to endure harsh elements or beg for food again. The cravings of her addictions are truly a forgotten memory. We’re saving the world one person at a time, Caius.”

The last sentence, again, sounds rehearsed as if he’s been programmed to say it. It makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

“Does she have the Stem Lock tech?”

“No. She won’t need it,” he explains. “Olivia is receptive to our techniques. However, there are others who need a little push in the right direction.”

“Are any of our, uh,clients, fitted with the tech?”

He shifts and shrugs, completely ignoring my question. “Once we finish with Olivia, she’ll be shipped off to New York.” He pushes away from the desk and stands. “Why don’t you browse through her Rebirth file and familiarize yourself with it since that’s your job? I need to run upstairs and check with Olivia’s handlers. Try not to break anything. I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

I wait until he exits the hotbox of a room and then I move into his chair. Immediately, I scan through all the rebirth files, eyeing them closely. To a trained eye—which apparently I have—they’re all obviously fakes. The photoshop attempt is pathetic in my opinion.

I’m not here to review Theo’s work, though.

I’m here to find answers.

After locating the search menu, I search the name Romy Langston.

Nothing.

My fingers drum on the desk as I wonder how else to search for her. I type in New York next. This yields more results, all of which are associated with a Bastian L.

Langston?

There are two contracts associated with his name. When I open up the first one, Bastian L is the purchaser of a woman named Megan, a student from California. Their last names seem to be purposefully left out. I feel like I should know what all this means.

The other contract with his name is for Olivia.

I open a secure browser—something that appears to be an automatic skill for me—and search out Bastian Langston just to see what pops up.

Goldmine.

There are thousands of pictures, articles, and social media accounts, but the first picture I see is a man with a charming grin who stands beside the President of the United States. Clearly, this guy is well-connected. Does the leader of our country know his friend is purchasing a made-to-order human?

Disgusting.

Bastian Langston exists, no doubt. It can’t be a coincidence that he shares the same last name as Romy. Could he be her brother? They certainly don’t look alike. What if it’s her husband? She could be married since our time together. At least I’m pretty sure we were together. Again, though, nothing associated with her name pops up. I don’t have the newly created program on this computer to deep dive like I did on my phone before.

I close my search and delete the browsing history in case Theo looks later. Then I go back to my search.

Out of curiosity, I search for Calista.

Nothing.

Next, I go on a limb and type in Caius.

I find a file called Johnny C. McElroy.

I’m hesitant to open it for fear of what I’ll find. The first picture I see is of a young, teenage boy, pain haunting his dark eyes.

It’s me.

And then, like a dam bursting, a flood of memories comes rushing in.

Boys homes. Fights. A mental institution. Nurses who took joy in poking me with needles. A cruel doctor, hell-bent on warping my mind. Endless hours, days, weeks of torturevia sounds, videos, sensations, and more—all in the name of rehabilitating my mind. Then there’s Dad—my new one. Orion Crowne. With him comes a new set of torture that includes being locked in windowless rooms and forced to come to terms with my new gilded prison.

Finally, I remember Calista, my sister.

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