The rest of us didn’t hesitate to follow. Whatever it was, we’d never let her face it alone.
With unnecessary force, she yanked out one of the five empty chairs waiting for us, and wheeled it over to the interior wall of glass, where she parked her ass in it. Her message was clear: she wanted to be as far away from our schemingparentsas possible. The four of us did the same, lining up our chairs next to hers. Then we waited.
“Very well,” Magnum said, but Monica-who-wasn’t-really-Monica stood and brought a hand to her chest.
She wagged her head in artful regret, real tears welling in her eyes. “We’re so glad to see you all doing well. We were so terribly worried …”
I blinked at her theatrics, my jaw only clenching harder. Griffin spun his chair slightly in my direction, though I wasn’t sure he even realized he constantly did these things to show me silent support.
“Sit down, Lynne,” Magnum ordered, and I felt my eyes widen despite my resolve not to reveal precisely how upsetting this entire situation was.
Griffin, Brady, Layla, and Hunt glanced at me. I pretended not to notice while I schooled my features into impassivity. Right then, in front of all these people—all strangers in the end—I didn’t want anyone to notice how much this revelation was rocking my world like a magnitude 8.0 earthquake. I was feelingshookto my foundations.
“You’re not here for that and you know it,” Magnum continued, stern in a way that suggested disobedience was a grave offense. “You’ll sit back down and remain quiet unless called on, or you’ll leave.”
“But Magnum,”Lynneprotested. “These are ourchildren. We worried they might actually be dead—”
“They arenotyour children.”
“We raised them! They’re as much our children as if—”
Magnum leaned forward andLynne—fuckingLynne—trailed off. “What’s it gonna be, Lynne? Will you and your traitorous cohort be part of this meeting to discuss their futures or not? Nothing says you have to be a part of their futures at all.”
The liar, who’d droned on over the years about the importance of integrity and honesty, stared back at the man while her throat bobbed. But finally she sat, immediately pointing her chair so she could direct that stare at us.
Great, just freaking fabulous. I pinned my attention on Magnum just to avoid hers.
“As you can see,” he told us, “the men and women who pretended to be your parents after stealing my research have agreed to join us again, under strict conditions of course.”
I waited for him to share what those conditions were. He didn’t.
“Those present whom you have not yet met will be your instructors.”
“Should we choose to stay,” Hunt inserted.
Magnum leaned back in his chair to smile magnanimously. “Of course. I was hoping you’d already decided to make your new home here.”
“It’s not too late,” my faux dad said, his eyes blazing intently as he took in the five of us. “You can still come home.”
Magnum frowned, but before he could intervene again, I said, “Where you, whatever your real name is, andLynnelive isn’t my home. Apparently, it never was. Pretty sure my friends feel the same about their ‘homes.’ So drop it and let us focus on a real path forward. ’Cause it ain’t with any of you.”
“That’s right,” Layla added.
Brady said, “For sure.”
Griffin and Hunt looked ready to murder a faux parent or two and didn’t need to say a word.
Magnum narrowed his eyes at his former researchers. “Keep your mouths shut or you’ll be removed. You know I mean it.”
Apparently, they did. They sat back in their seats like obedient boys and girls.
What a total mindfuck.
Magnum turned his full attention toward us, anyone in the way ducking to one side or adjusting their chairs to give him a better view.
“You’ve indicated that you’d like to know exactly what’s expected of you before you agree to remain here on campus and participate in what I have lined up for you. So here’s what you need to know.
“There will be three main components to your time here, beyond your rest and relaxation time of course, during which you can do almost whatever you want. You’re adults, and I never intended to ‘parent’ you.
