“That’s not better.”
“It is,” he replies. “Ascension happens with or without me. But without me? It’s people likethemwho decide who lives.”
My jaw tightens. I fucking hate that he’s starting to make sense.
What if Reese really is the bad guy after all?
“Wow.” I drag a hand down my face and shake my head. “That was almost convincing. Ten out of ten, really. You almost had me. Next you’re gonna tell me you’re doing all of this for my own good and I should thank you.”
There’s only silence from the other end of the line, and that does the trick, snapping something back into place. Because Iknowhim. I know the way he talks when he’s spinning something, when he’s dressing up control as necessity.
“You don’t get to rewrite this like you’re the good guy, Malcolm. I saw it. I saw what you’re doing. You created your own Ascended so they could either recruit more or kill the ones who refused. You’re building a fucking army thatyoucontrol.”
“They’re containment protocols,” he corrects.
“They’re people.”
“They’re risks.”
“They’re fucking human beings!”
“They’re unpredictable,” he counters, keeping his voice much more calm than I’m keeping mine. “And unpredictability on that scale gets people killed.”
I close my eyes and take a steadying breath. “You don’t control chaos by becoming worse than it.”
“I haven’t become worse. Just…necessary.”
Like God.
I want to reach through the damn phone and fucking strangle him.
“Don’t let Reese get his claws in you, Cason.”
Too late.
“He’s one of the worst ones,” Malcolm continues. “As I told you before, I respect him, but that doesn’t change the fact that I made a mistake when I chose him. He’s dangerous, and I don’t want you near him. It’s time to stop digging and walk away. Live your life.”
I glance at my computer again, at all the data on the screens. The proof. The damage.
“Can’t do that,” I say, the words coming out as a whisper.
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
“You used me,” I shoot back. “I’m not going to let you convince me that you suddenly care.”
There’s a pause, and the next time my uncle speaks, his voice is colder than I’ve ever heard it.
“Be careful, Cason.”
The line goes dead.
I stare at my phone for a second before tossing it onto the desk and dropping into my chair, my heart racing. I look at the screens, at everything I just uncovered, everything I helped make worse. Then I take off my glasses and rub my eyes.
“Good news,” I tell Felix, who is curled up on the couch like he pays rent. “We’re officially in way over our heads.”
He blinks at me.
“Bad news?” I let out a tired breath as I spin my chair around to face the camera. The crease between my brows deepens. “I don’t think I can walk away from this.”
