EUNOIA ━ diego hargreeves

55

CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
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FREYA WATCHED them writhe—eyes squinted shut, fingers turning white at the tips, desperately clutching the arms of the chairs they were all strapped to. She shared another nervous look with Lila, then with Five, unsure whether they should continue to stand back and let it happen. What if Reginald was harming them somehow? If her fear was truthful?

Finally, after what it felt like hours, they gasped back to life, spitting out the mouth-pieces, and she immediately noticed the horror on their faces, the newly bestowed facts revealed to them.

Allison struggled with her restraints, a choked sob sounding from her as she stood to her feet. Freya rushed to Diego's side, quickly undoing his bindings, fingers gently brushing his skin. He said nothing as he shook his wrists free, but his face was dark, angry.

Whatever they had seen—it wasn't good. And Allison took the liberty of elaborating, pointing a finger at Reginald. "You murdered our brother!"

Freya's head whipped around at the accusation, watching the claim register in Reginald's expression.

"And Jennifer," Viktor added, panting.

Diego stared ahead, a slow rise to his feet that sent chills down her spine. "Son of a bitch," he sneered.

"Children," Reginald held his hands out, almost in a surrender. "Whatever anger you may feel towards me is misdirected. May I remind you that it was the other Sir Reginald Hargreeves who committed this horrible act?"

"What are you going on about?" Lila asked, gaze darting between them.

"When we were kids, the other Hargreeves killed Ben and Jennifer," Luther explained, and Freya gaped.

"And he had a perfectly valid reason for doing so," Reginald stated.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing—killing a child you raised, whether for your own benefit or not, it was a new level of evil. Freya felt terrible enough telling Grace 'no' to a new toy.

"They were two innocent kids!" Viktor shrieked.

"Who if left to their own devices, would have set off a cataclysmic chain of events, leading to the extinction of all humanity."

"You are no different than the other Hargreeves," Luther glowered.

"You're both fucking psychopaths!" Diego yelled.

"It's not his fault," Abigail interrupted, stepping forward. "Reg is not responsible for what happened to your brother and that poor girl. I am."

The room fell silent, Freya shot a weary look in the direction of the others, but they all seemed as awestruck as she felt. Abigail had seemed nice enough, Freya should have known she wasn't as innocent as she appeared, she'd married Reginald, after all.

"Years ago, I synthesized a new element," Abigail went on. "The very essence of the universe."

"The particle we know as marigold," Reginald chimed in.

"And at the same moment, unbeknownst to me, a second particle was created. Durango. When marigold and durango interact, they cause.. a reaction. A physical reaction. Unstoppable. Irrevocable. The extinction of everything we know."

"The Cleanse," Five murmured.

"By the time I realized what was happening... it was too late for our world."

"You couldn't have known, darling," Reginald told her.

"And I'm sure killing two kids was definitely the only solution to this," Freya said, grimly. "Because that makes the most sense."