"If you hang up you'll never see your family again."
"The police are already on the case. I don't have to participate in these stupid games to get what I want. I'm not getting involved in whatever you have to offer."
A dark chuckle made my...
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"Have you guys seen Jacklynn?" I asked Henry and Mike, who were unloading chairs from the attic.
"No, why?" Henry huffed as he set down a stack of foldable chairs.
"She ran off earlier. I think meeting one of the kids freaked her out. I haven't seen her in the past ten minutes."
"Oh god. If you can't find Jacklynn in the next ten minutes, let us know so we can find her." Henry requested.
"Sure thing." I nodded as I ran down a hall.
"For the love of Lady Lilith, where is that problematic redhead?"
I turned a corner where I heard some crying and saw her curled up n the floor.
"Jacklynn? There you are! What's wrong?" I asked as I crouched next to her. I noticed that her phone was on the other side of the hall.
"It's nothing." She quickly dried her tears and straightened up.
"Something is wrong. I'm a good listener if you want to talk about it." I offered as I sat next to her.
"I feel like I'm not supposed to be here. My entire family died because of me. Every resident in this complex has endured a horrendous violation of their bodily autonomy. Why am I still here?"
"Ah, the good ol' survivor's guilt."
"Jacklynn, none of this is your fault-"
"Yes, it is. If Ray had given me to Peter like he said he would, he wouldn't be dead right now."
"Who is Ray?"
"The man Dottie hired to keep me safe and alive when she picked up my new identity. He put up this front that he would willingly give me to Peter, but we took Peter and his men down. Or at least, I thought we did." Jacklynn sniffled.
"How do you know Ray is dead?"
Jacklynn pointed to her phone. When I picked it up, I saw a shattered screen portraying an image of a skinned man hanging from a tree.
"That's all my fault. I should have stayed and made sure Ray could handle them. I should have made sure the men were out."
"How is this your fault?"
"I didn't stay. I didn't help Ray."
"But are you the one that hurt Ray?"
"No, but I'm just as guilty. I should have been smarter. I could have saved Ray."
I sat back next to her and sat the phone down.
"Do you need anything from me? A hug or a glass of water? Would you like to go somewhere more private?"
