Page 163 of The Killer’s Mark

‘You don’t want to adopt me,’ she said. ‘You want me to be your daughter.’

‘We do.’

‘Even Poe? What’s he want a brat in the house for?’

‘It was Poe’s idea.’

Esmerée turned back to the birth certificate. ‘So I’m Esmerée Poe-Doyle now?’

‘No.’

‘No? What is this sick shit?’

‘You’re not Esmerée Poe-Doyle until you decide you want to be. And if you decide you don’t want to be, then we’ll find another way to make you officially exist. But whatever you decide, you can stay here for as long as you want. You can use our name and disappear, or you can stay here until you’re older than Uncle Bertie. It’s entirely up to you.’

‘But how would that even work? Who’s gonna believe this bullshit?’

‘Poe and I have known each other a long time, Esmerée, and I’m from the class that sent their unwed pregnant daughters abroad to have their babies. In other words, everyone will believe this.’

‘I don’t want to besmirch your good name, though. Isn’t there a family code or something?’

‘My family name could do with a bit of scandal.’

‘And I come from a long line of besmirched,’ Poe added.

Esmerée offered them a tight, thin smile. ‘How long do I get to decide? What do I have to do?’

Poe said, ‘Tilly, show Esmerée where the button is.’

‘What button?’

‘The button you press to make all this happen.’

‘There’s a button?’

‘Of course there’s a button. There’s always a button. And you’re the only one who can press it.’

‘Obviously it’s a symbolic button,’ Bradshaw said, frowning. ‘The complexities of creating an identity from scratch don’t boil down to a single keystroke. It’s taken me days to get it all set up. But if you press the symbolic button, Esmerée, I will make a start. You will be Esmerée Doyle-Poe in thirty-six hours and there isn’t a person alive who will be able to prove anything different.’

‘My mom could.’

‘No,’ Bradshaw said, ‘she couldn’t.’

‘For real?’

‘For real,’ she confirmed.

‘Before I do anything crazy like even think about this, I have one request.’

‘What is it?’ Poe said.

‘Kids work hard on their exams,’ Esmerée said. ‘I don’t feel it’s fair that Tilly gave me good grades because we’re buddies. I think I should do some remedial classes or some shit. Earn those suckers.’

‘There’s no need, Esmerée,’ Bradshaw said. ‘They’re an accurate reflection of your capabilities. I’ve been measuring your IQ since we met.’

‘You have?’

‘I have. I measure everyone’s IQ. It’s how I know they have good brain health. I am the most intelligent person in the room. You and Estelle are very similar, so that’s good news for you as she is very intelligent too. So please don’t feel as though you have cheated. If you took the exams, you would get comparable results.’