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An uneasy feeling tickles my spine. I’ve learned over the last year that everything about Anex is a well well-designed façade. But Margaret… even in her darker moments she always seemed so true.

“When I was sixteen, I started running wild. Staying out all night. Going to parties. Drinking, smoking, nothing big, you know,” she winks at Rex knowingly, “but my father was at his wits end. He was a single father—my mother had been gone for years—and he just had no idea what to do with me. Then Anex came by the restaurant one day with a delivery, and my father told him all about it. I guess Anex suggested that I could come live at Serendee, that he’d straighten me out with fresh air and a wholesome environment. When I was better, he’d send me back.”

“Were you angry?” I ask, rocking my hip a little when the baby lets out a yawn.

“God, yes. Furious. I felt betrayed that my father would just send me away and to some stupid, boring commune. I wanted my internet and TV. My cell phone, weed and my boyfriend who was a drummer in a band. Twice I tried to jump out of the car. Once, I succeeded, but he chased me down and dragged me back. By the time we got to Serendee we were both dirty and worn out. He’d also convinced me to give it a shot. He’s amazing at that, you know, convincing people into things they’re skeptical about. It didn’t hurt that he was so good looking. Charming and charismatic. I was half in love with him the first day we met. By the time we got to Serendee I was head-over-heels. The all-consuming kind that threatens to swallow you whole.”

She tells this story in a faraway voice, like she’s a million years away from being that girl. In truth, that’s exactly what she is. The woman in front of me is the aftermath of a man like Timothy Wray.

“I don’t remember you being in Serendee when you were sixteen.” Rex regards her with suspicion—like this is just another game.

“That’s because your father didn’t allow me to join the regular population,” she says. “Not at first. He put me in an empty house on the edge of town, this was before the Main House was finished, and kept me there.”

“How long?” he asks.

“A few years.”

My throat threatens to close off, but I manage to ask, “He locked you in a house for years? Alone?”

“Heeducatedme in that house. I didn’t have the privilege of growing up in Serendee, like you two did. There were a lot of things I needed to learn before I would be worthy of living among the other residents. Of being worthy of him.”

My fingers tighten around Rex’s, a chill settling in my spine. “You were one of the Fallen.”

“I was thefirst.” She says this with pride. “A success too. It took a lot of work. A lot of Corrections. One step forward and one back, all of that. He trained me, just like you. I was broken down and built back up. It was my own journey. My path to understanding The Way.” She smiles warmly at me. “It’s why I had such an affinity for you, Imogene. I understood your spirit, and he felt the same connection to you that he had to me all those years ago.”

Bile rises in my throat, bitter and overwhelming. Panicked, I hand the baby to Rex, pushing her into his chest, before bending over, fighting off a gag.

“I’m sorry my father did that to you,” Rex says, a tremor in his voice. I take a deep breath, willing my stomach to settle. Looking up, I see that the bundle is so small against his broad chest. “You were a child and deserved better. I’m sure if you tell the DA your story, they’ll reconsider, and possibly allow you to testify for the prosecution.”

“You misunderstand.” Her eyes widen. “Your father saved my life. He introduced me to the philosophies of The Way. He chose me and I will eternally choose him. I will never speak out against him.Ever.”

Rex and I look at one another, neither sure of what to say. “Then why did you call us here? Just to see the baby?”

“I want you to take her.”

I blink. “Excuse me?”

“I can’t raise a child in jail, Imogene. And the judge isn’t giving me bail. I believe Anex and I will ultimately be proven innocent, but someone needs to care for her while we’re fighting for our freedom.”

“You can’t be serious,” he says.

“Dead.” She levels an intense look at Rex. “You’re her family. She needs to be with you. Her big brother. Not tied up in some foster system with strangers.”

The nausea of finding out the truth of Margaret’s past is overwhelmed by the request she’s making. I’m finding it hard to breathe. To think. “Please. Just consider it.”

Before there’s a chance to reply, the guard opens the door, allowing a nurse inside. “I need a few minutes with the new mommy.” She takes the bundle from Rex and says, “How about you push this sweet angel down to the nursery?”

We step outside, the square bed on wheels in front of us. The guard points down a hall to the nursery.

“That…” Rex says, voice so low I almost can’t hear him, “that was fucked up. Every day I think my father can’t be worse than I already think he is and sure enough, I’m proven wrong.”

“I know.”

“And a baby? We can barely function ourselves much less take care of an infant.”

“Life is chaotic,” I agree. “We’ve just gotten on our feet.”

Rex stops, pressing his back to the wall and dropping his head to his hands. “Why is this so fucking hard, Imogene? When does it stop being hard?”