“An ambulance couldn’t save your parents—so no, you wouldn’t trust it to get there in time. I gambled that you’d inject him with the compound—just like you did—and put him in the BioVIVE.” She smilessmugly. “Then it’s a win-win for me: If he dies, I have the backup AISS footage showing that you conducted an unauthorized experiment on a human, who did not come out of the pod alive. The board would immediately terminate the project, declassifying the protocol in-house for full review, and I would get access to the Compound Y structure.OrLuca is successfully resurrected, proving the protocol works, and I’m able to negotiate for far more money. Especially now that the US government wants in on the game.” She spreads her arms. “And voilà. I’m thrilled with how this has turned out. Well, at least for me.”
I look over at Luca, who is staring at me with wild eyes. They’re filled with such terror that it hits me as if he’s said it out loud: She’s told us too much.
46LUCA
They say hindsight is 20/20, and now when I look back over my life with Emery, it’s like having a light turned on, a prescription filled, everything coming into focus.
The first time I realized she was lying to me was when she missed a dinner reservation. It was about six months ago, and Crash had managed to date someone longer than it takes milk to expire; he wanted us to meet for a double date. I made sure Emery would be free and gave her plenty of notice, putting the dinner in our shared calendar. I left Post-it notes on every surface and called her at work that day to remind her of the place and time.
She didn’t show.
When she got home that night, she was apologetic. She explained that her team was presenting a new Lasik technique that week and there’d been a supply chain issue with a part used to create the corneal flap.
It wasn’t that I suspected she was lying about where she was, it was that I somehow knew her absence had nothing to do with supply chains and everything to do with priorities. Whatever had kept Emery at the office hours longer than she had planned was more important to her than keeping her word to me.
After that, it wasn’t that I was keeping score, it was that I couldn’tnotsee the excuses and late nights and every distracted conversation when she would rather be working. That’s just who Emery was. She was everything to me, but Emery’s everything was her job.
The thing is, it took a long time for me to realize that it wasn’t okay, and it wasn’t normal. My parents’ commitment to us—their kids—was sporadic at best, but I saw enough of Crash’s family life to know that mine was strange, and that not all teenagers were balancing going to school, working at a local pizza joint, and raising their younger siblings. Even so, after three years of marriage to Emery, I couldn’t deny that the way I was raised undoubtedly contributed to my willingness to put up with my wife’s nonexistent work-life balance. I knew it wasn’t fair and that there were things she wasn’t telling me, but rather than confront it like an adult, I swallowed it down and let resentment build until I decided to walk away.
When someone ends a relationship, it’s natural to assume they’ve already grieved and moved on. But from the day I realized I would never come first, to the appointment with the attorney, it hurt. I knew I needed to leave, I knew it was the best thing for me, but my heart didn’t care. It never, not for one second, got easier.
And then I forgot it all.
Until tonight, when I recognized the woman who let me into the warehouse as the same person who’d been driving the car, who is apparently also my wife’s assistant, and it all came back so fast it felt like a physical shove. The lack of headlights meant that I had seen her face through the windshield, and she hadn’t even flinched before she hit me, not a moment of hesitation. Then she stepped aside and the guy from the white car—the one I’d talked to on my walk—was there. He’d introduced himself as Frank that night, and now I understood the strange demeanor, his fascination when I said my name was Luca and that I lived in a house on the street.
Of course he was fascinated: I was living proof that Emery’s compound worked, and he knew that because he was working with the person who’d killed me.
The rush of memories left me so disoriented that I didn’t see thesyringe until it was being emptied into my neck. When I came to, I was tied up, and she—Claire—was on the phone, promising someone she’d have everything soon enough, and no, there wouldn’t be any more complications.
I try to shout to Emery to run, that no one confesses everything if they plan on letting their hostages go, but all that comes out is a muffled garble of words. I pull against the zip ties holding my hands behind my back, but there’s no give.
“You’ve got what you asked for,” Emery says to Claire. “The compound, my notes, all of it. Now let him go. He has no short-term memory. In five minutes, he won’t even remember we had this conversation. He won’t be able to tell anyone anything.”
Her face is bright with panic, and with their eyes on my wife, I nod, encouraging her.Yes. Lie. Tell any lie that gets you out of here safely.
“That’s convenient,” Claire tells her. “Though according to Vince, you were very clear to the board that his memory was correcting itself. Isn’t that what you said?”
“I was lying.” Emery’s voice breaks on the last word and her eyes flash quickly to mine. I pull against the ties again, and still, there’s zero give. “Please let him go.”
Claire shakes her head, glancing at me. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Why go to all this trouble? You could have just broken into the secure cryo somehow and taken the compound. Why not just sell it and disappear to spend your bags of money?”
“Because it’s worth a lot on its own, but even more if it works.” Claire glances to me and back to Emery. “I’ll be honest, I thought it would take a lot longer to figure out a plan, but then you were running late for your anniversary dinner and wanted to take the compound out of the lab. I’d heard you mention your husband’s tendency to run when he’s upset, that he usually sticks to the same route, and I figured why not? If you want a job done right, do it yourself. Besides, when wouldI have this chance again? I mean, you had the compound with you!” Claire leans in with a smile, gun still pointed at Emery. “You and Dr. Rodriguez really should close your office door when you talk. Vince was more than happy to tell me all about it.”
Emery’s eyes widen.
“Don’t look at me like that. Is it my fault you were late? Or is ityourfault for disappointing your husband?”
“Fuck you!” I shout through the tape, though it comes out a jumbled mess.
“Itismy fault,” Emery says. “But you could have left him out of this, both of you. He could have died.”
“But he didn’t! Or he did, but you brought him back! Just like I thought you would. Isn’t that amazing? Resurrection through science. You were so insistent you could do it, and I knew that if I gave you the opportunity to prove it, you would. Really, you should be thanking me.” She gives Emery a condescending smile. “You’re more like me than you know, Emery.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
“Really? Totally disregarding the rules for your own personal gain? Saved my buyer quite a bit of work. I was already going to be paid a lot of money for the compound, but having documentation that it already worked?” She holds up Emery’s notes. “That certainly upped the price. Thanks for that.”
