Page 97 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

“Because…” Seth trails off. In front of Dawn Taylor, Seth no longer seems menacing. He looks deflated, like a corporate lackey getting a bad performance review. His shoulders are slumped, and he’s looking down at his square-toed boat shoes, which are weathered from overuse. Seeing him like this, I almost feel sorry for Seth.

Dawn Taylor turns to Daniel. “What, did he fuck Alice or something?”

Daniel’s eyes turn steely. “Don’t talk about Alice like that,” he says, his voice cold.

“I wasn’t the contestant Seth was sleeping with,” I say. “That would be Mikayla.”

“You’re hooking up with Mikayla?” Leah asks, incredulous.

“No! No, that’s bullshit,” Seth says, sputtering. “Yeah, I’m with Mikayla all the time, but I’m her producer—”

I slide over the photo we found in the labyrinth, and Seth trails off. Dawn Taylor snatches it up, eyebrows shooting up as she pores over it.

Dawn Taylor snaps a finger at Leah. “Go get Mikayla. Now.”

“On it,” Leah says, heading to the door.

“Wait, Dawn, we don’t need to get her involved—” Seth protests.

“Seth, for once in your pathetic life, please shut up,” Dawn Taylor says. She turns back to me. “So, is that why Seth and Daniel were fighting?”

“Not exactly, no.” I look at Daniel, a silent question in my eyes. When he nods, I continue, “I set him off. I accused him of murder. I don’t believe Anton’s death was an accident.”

Peter Dixon whistles. “Wow. You really do belong on reality TV, Alice. Any particular reason for this accusation?”

“I overheard him admitting that he poisoned the contestants during the Gluttony Challenge,” I say. Peter Dixon shoots a startled look atSeth. “And as you see in the photo, we know that he’s been sleeping with Mikayla. I think he punched Anton to keep him quiet about his relationship with Mikayla.”

“But I didn’t kill anyone—” Seth insists.

“All I’m saying is that you punched him. Anton had a black eye, and you have an injured hand. I think we can do the math. And it’s clear that you had cause to be angry with him. The question is, were you angry enough to kill him?”

Just then, the door slams open. Trevor bursts in, trailed by Leah and Mikayla.

“What’s going on? Is Mikayla in trouble?” Trevor demands.

“We’re asking Seth a few questions. Alice here thinks he killed Anton,” Dawn Taylor summarizes.

“Okay, I didn’t say that I was a hundred percent on that,” I interject. “It’s just a theory.”

Mikayla’s hands fly to her mouth. “Seth? No, he wouldn’t do that.”

Trevor casts a scornful look at Seth. “You know, I had a feeling that there was something off about him.”

Mikayla’s eyes land on the paper Dawn Taylor is holding, and I can see the moment she recognizes what it is. Her expression shutters as she drops her hands from her face. Taking a deep breath, she steps away from Trevor and says, “Seth didn’t kill Anton, I’m sure of it. He told me that he only punched him, and I believe him. He did it for me.”

“Sweetie pie,” Trevor says. He reaches out a hand, but Mikayla brushes him off. “What are you talking about?”

“You should probably see this,” Dawn Taylor says, showing the photo to Trevor. She looks a little bit too happy to be breaking the bad news. Trevor’s eyes widen, and he stumbles back like he’s just taken a blow to the chest.

“You—” Trevor shakes his head. “You were cheating on me?”

“Trevie. Trevor. I’m sorry,” Mikayla chokes out. “I didn’t mean to. It’s just, after we got in that argument on the first night, I didn’t know who else to talk to.”

Trevor jabs a finger at the photo. “That’s a lot more than talking, Mikayla!”

“Let’s get back to the part where Seth decided to punch everyone on my set,” Dawn Taylor cuts in. “Care to explain yourself?”

“Anton caught me with Mikayla the other night. He said he’d tell Trevor, hell, the whole cast. Then he started blackmailing us,” Seth says. “At first, Anton just asked me for dumb stuff. Like making me do his grunt work for him, so he could kick back. That kind of thing.”

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