Only Shadows

Chapter 18

Brie

"Cult? Devil worshippers? Or run-of-the-mill sociopaths?" Ren asked. "'Cause this is some dark shit."

Izzy rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous. When I said I think they summoned the monsters, I didn't mean literally. My dad is a businessman."

"Even worse," Ren muttered, crossing her arms and leaning against the double TVs.

Izzy ignored her. "He owns a large finance company and several other businesses, mostly inherited from his father and grandfather. The main company is called Clarity Incorporated, and it's over 100 years old."

"Generational wealth," Dara said, dropping into the only empty chair. "Must be nice."

Izzy shrugged. "Honestly, I don't even know everything my family owns." She paused and folded her arms across her body, resting her chin on her wrist. "That's why I had no idea my grandfather owned the Morristown mental hospital."

"Bruh," Ren said, covering her mouth with her hand. "Be real."

"Damn," Leo said at the same time, leaning back into the lumpy couch. "That-"

"Feels like an insane coincidence," Brie said. A little pearl of fear rolled around in her stomach. There was no such thing as fate. They had control over their lives. They had to.

"I know, I know," Izzy said. "But maybe it's karma, if that's a real thing. That's what I meant when I said this might be my family's fault."

"Shadow demons are real. Ghosts are probably real. Why not karma?" Ren said, pushing off the TV and pacing around.

If karma was real, then everyone got what was coming to them eventually. Comforting, but also troubling. Brie tapped her left index finger against the couch and began categorizing all of the things she'd done in her life that were even remotely bad. She started with the time she accidentally ruined one of her mother's catering jobs when she tried to sneak a taste of the brownie batter to that time she kissed one of her friend's crushes at a middle school birthday party. Did it count if no one ever found out?

"All of it?" Caleb was saying. He scoffed. "You want to tell me you believe in vampires and werewolves? Alien abductions and El Chupacabra? The Loch Ness Monster exists, but not the Easter Bunny because that would be absurd?"

"It sounds crazy when you put it that way," Dara said. "But maybe there's a scientific explanation for some of it?"

"Hold on to that for a sec," Leo said. "Let's hear the rest before speculating."

Izzy crossed her ankles and shifted against the arm of the chair. "So the other reason we didn't know this is because my grandfather owned the hospital under a separate name: Mountain Rejuvenation. He also owned some other treatment and wellness facilities under that name."

"This used to be a well-known area for wellness hospitals and retreats," Caleb added. "People thought the mountains and fresh air healed people. Also, after the stock market crash and the Depression, these treatment facilities still made money. Investing in them made sense."

"A lot of people still come here for that," Izzy said.

"Not to be locked up," Ren pointed out. "That why he used a different name?"

"Health and wellness is a completely different industry than the businesses he owned under Clarity, which was mainly invested in utilities and finance," Caleb said.

"But it also looked like he didn't want anyone to know he was involved with those facilities. Caleb really had to do some digging to help me find the connection," Izzy said, glancing at him.