Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Nah, man.” He meets my gaze with a sad one. “Do you really like her? Because if you don’t, you should just break it off. Fake or not—”
And then, nothing.
Fake or not?
What does that even mean?
I get the sense I may have gone through a nasty breakup with someone I deeply cared about. So why can’t I remember? Did Dad put me through the CUP program? Is that why he’s hesitant about me working in the trenches of it for fear of discovering the truth?
One thing’s for certain. I cannot let on that I’m remembering things. The two of them are doing their damnedest to make sure I don’t recall my past.
Was the blonde from Calista’s art the woman we were arguing about?
Is that why I had such a visceral reaction to seeing her face?
“You know,” Theo says after a ragged sigh, “we really thought once you got your sister back, you’d go back to normal. Is having Calista not good enough for you? Do you always have to be so suspicious about everything?”
“Where was my sister?” I demand in a low growl. “Where did we get her from? What happened to her when she was away from me?”
Theo’s eyes widen as if he just now remembers something he shouldn’t have said. The fog is beginning to lift in my mind. Fucking finally. I’ve been drifting for months, satisfied I have Calista back. Not once did I question how I got her back, and worse, from whom.
“Does it matter?” Theo scrubs his palm over his face. “She’s back. Just accept it. Otherwise, who knows what Dad will do.”
His words are clearly a threat. And it’s one I don’t take lightly. He’s right. Calista’s safety could be at stake. I won’t jeopardize that.
“Fine,” I grumble, “but I’m ready to be shown the ropes again. Dad’s getting old. One day it’ll be up to us to take over this empire.”
Theo grins, though the smile doesn’t reach his eyes. “There’s the Caius we all know and love.”
For the first time in months, I do feel like my usual self.
Something dark and sinister lurks beneath my family. It’s about damn time I dig it up.
Blue eyes haunt me. Ever since Calista showed me her drawing earlier, I’ve been obsessing over it. Now that I’ve been dismissed from Dad’s meeting, I’m eager to get back to my computer. Not to work. Far from it. I need answers. The artwork rattles locked doors in my mind. I’m itching to find out more.
Calista’s door is closed when I get back home. I leave her to her privacy. Once I give the cooks a quick suggestion about dinner, I snatch my laptop from my office and head for my bedroom. My office feels cold and lonely. At least in my bedroom, the chaise lounge is comfortable and her scent lingers there.
I had a girlfriend. Someone whom I was clearly possessive over based on my memory with Theo at our meeting. Who was she? I could have asked Theo right then, but I know he’d have evaded the answer. This is something I’m going to have to discover on my own. In my gut, I hope it’s the woman from Calista’s drawing.
As soon as I get situated on the chaise, I smell a distinct feminine vanilla scent. It’s as if her ghost sits here with me. Did we break up or did she die? My gut twists at the idea of losing her permanently.
You don’t even know who she is, dumbass.
I flip open my laptop, type in the password, and go straight to one of the programs I created. It’s unnerving to me that I can do all this by muscle memory, but I can’t remember so much. Once in the program, I airdrop the picture Calista sent me to run through it. While it analyzes the image, I do my best to determine when my memory loss happened.
Dad and Theo both claim I hit my head during the Christmas holidays on our family trip to New York, which resulted in a hospital stay. There was some damage done to the part of my brain that stores memories. Considering Dad specializes in therapies and treatments that are meant to brainwash a human, I’m obviously concerned I’ve been an unwilling victim.
Why would Dad choose to put me through the CUP program if that’s what happened? Did I do something to anger him or did I ask him to? Am I trying to get over this mysterious woman?
There are more questions than answers, which is frustrating.
While I wait for the AI to tell me something about Calista’s drawing, I decide to see what I can find out about my sister. It feels stupid doing this behind her back, but she’s not exactly forthcoming with information. Sometimes it even feels as if she sees me as an enemy—someone to be feared. I know that’s ridiculous because she’s the only true family I have left, but I still get a doubtful pit in my gut about it.