Page 108 of Behind the Shadows

Rage.

Cold, coiled.

“He wants someone as twisted as him?” I hissed. “Fine. Let him see what his daughter grew into.”

Dope looked at me, startled.

“I’ll find him,” I said, teeth clenched. “And when I do—I’ll bury him in the shadows he fucking built.”

And that’s when he clicked open another folder. One buried at the bottom.

“What the hell?” he said. “I got something weird.”

47

KIP

“What do you mean?” I asked, craving more answers as he continued.

“You were never meant to know what was going on, but your mother caught you listening in on us meeting with the buyer. Samantha and Ally were in the room next to where we were all talking. You were supposed to have been with Pendleton’s son, but for whatever reason, you found your way to the basement and the extra rooms we had there to hold girls and conduct our business without prying ears.” He sipped his water before he continued.

“By the time we realized how much you’d heard, you were barging in and trying to help Samantha. Vinny took his gun and knocked you out.”

My forehead creased. “No, there has to be more to it.”

“There’s not. You were knocked out. But you heard enough to put us all away for several lifetimes. We couldn’t have that. Your mother was beside herself, desperate not to lose the entire operation. That’s when I called Jameson. I not only trusted him, but he had also helped me deal with other risky situations.”

“What did he do to me?”

The Pied Piper stretched his legs out in front of him. “He worked with your mother and uncle to brainwash you, and then he planted new fragments. As I said, you never killed a girl, but Jameson made you think you did.”

My insides shook with rage and confusion. How had I believed I’d killed Samantha for years, but those images were a fraud? What else was a lie? Did I have any moments that were my own? That were real?

I choked on my words before I finally asked, “Areallmy memories fake?”

He waved me off as if it was the silliest question he’d ever heard. “Oh no. I wouldn’t let Jameson mess with anything else except that night.”

“What part did my mother play?”

“Her job was to get you addicted to heroin. She shot you up often, then Jameson would put you in front of a movie projector and play a scene where a young man murdered a girl. It was messy and bloody, and straight out of a horror movie. But as you watched, his voice told you that it was you. You’d killed her.”

I rolled my shoulders in a poor attempt to gather my thoughts. “My mother carved my back up, locked me in the basement, chained and sometimes naked. She did it for weeks at a time. If I never killed anyone, then why … why did she do that?”

“To control you and ensure that you never told a soul what happened that night. If Jameson’s plan didn’t work, we had to control you another way. It was insurance, if you will.”

My body trembled at the confession. I’d never killed anyone. I’d lived my entire life in hell, scarred, and in darkness because I’d caught them trying to sell Samantha and Ally that night. My hands fisted and un-fisted.

“We had big plans for you. Everything that you endured was for the bigger picture, Kip. It shaped you. I did that. I createdyou. I forged you into the man you are today. Your bloodlust was planted years ago. Your desire to help Death kill and clean was embedded even then. I orchestrated this from the beginning, and over time, I’ve enjoyed seeing my plans unfold.”

“How do I know this meeting with you is real if my mind was tampered with?”

“It’s real, Kip. I promise you that.”

“Fine.” Spittle flew from my mouth. “I have another question.”

“Let me have it.” Pied Piper motioned for me to continue.

“I have blackouts. I don’t remember shit, but I wake up in old churches, basements of abandoned buildings. Is that from the brainwashing?”