Page 69 of Shadows Within
Amid the dark sky, the moon lights the path to a place I’ve grown to hate. It has never felt welcoming to pull into The Society. I have no doubt that once I’m no longer useful, they will dispose of me.
There aren’t many cars in the lot. I scan the area for Deluca’s Lincoln. I don’t see it. He usually parks near the entrance or in the garage—of course being a Higher comes with its perks. Next to getting away with murder, you get the best parking spots.These men and their control.I shake my head. I can’t stop thinking about her as I make my way inside. She’s in everything I do.
I try not to draw attention to myself as I enter the house. There’s a security room on the main floor, near the back exit. Only Highers are allowed in.
I need to get there.
I already know that the cameras are following me, but I pull a knife out of my pocket and pick the lock anyway. I shake my head at how easy it is—you’d think some of the most powerful men in the town would protect their surveillance a little better.
Inside the dark room, I’m met with the shine of computer screens. Filing cabinets line each wall. I pull my leather gloves out from my jacket pocket and slide them onto my hands.
I’ll do anything to watch this place fucking crumble.
I stare at the wall of screens.I don’t have much time.I open the drawer closest to me and examine its filing, tryingto pinpoint what I’m looking for. Files are organized by alphabetical order, each with a pledges’ last name listed. I search for ‘M.’
I think about how a Higher’s mind would work.Would they put her in my file since I’m the one who interrupted the initiation?No. I should look for his name instead. I flip back through the files, closer to the beginning rows, and pull out the manila folder with his name on it. His stupid fucking picture looks back at me as I open it—I can’t stand it. I sift through the pages, looking for something, anything—I don’t find it.
There must be more. I know there’s record of it. They are proud of these kinds of things—they fucking gloat about them.I know it’s in here. I look toward the other clusters of cabinets and open the first drawer on the left. Instead, I find her: “BLACK, E.”
Emily.
I open the file. There are no pictures, but Jasper’s name appears on a page with the date of the party when she died. The file also holds all the newspaper clippings about her death, the receipts from her funeral, her dad’s car payment… wait. I flip back.The Society pays for her dad’s car?My eyes fall to the date at the top of the reciept—it’s from six months ago, after Emily was killed. There must be more to this.
But this isn’t what I came for. I can’t do anything about Emily. I’m here forher.
I move to the last row of cabinets and open it quickly.
VOSS, S.
There was a brief moment where I thought I’d never find this, but now that I have, it changes everything. The leather of my glove carefully opens the folder. It has the same layout as Emily’s. There’s no picture of Scarlett, but there is one of her mom. I flip through her rent receipts, car payment loans, and cell phone bills.Fuck, Vanessa. She’s in so deep.
A small yellow sticky note falls out onto the floor. I spot what I’ve been dreading to find.
His name is on it, next to the written words,Initiation disrupted by pledge—Callum Mercer.
My name is next to his. There’s a specific curve to the M in my last name.No.
Bile builds in my stomach and rage erupts in my veins.
He won’t get away with this.
I take the entire file and stuff it under my vintage Valentino coat—one that has been passed down for generations. My grandfather saw it as a symbol for our family’s determination and will. Right now, it conceals a monster.
I look around and make sure that nothing is out of place. On the computer, I delete all video evidence of my entering. I also set a timer on the cameras, so they won’t turn back on until I’m out of here discreetly.
I hear a voice coming down the hall as I pull the door shut.Leo.
I scurry toward the basement stairs—my personal haven, but everyone’s hell. It’s not out of character for me to be there. Especially with everything happening, Leo knows I try to spend as little time as possible around the other pledges.
“Callum.”
I roll my neck to the side and attempt to mask my rage.
Get it together.
I turn to face Leo with the second years beside him. He tilts his head at me.
“Just tidying up some loose ends,” I say. He stops before heading up the stairs and looks suspiciously at me. I feel the tension in the air.
