Page 63 of Lust & Lies

NOELANI

I DIDN’T KNOW MY CODE. Where did I get a code from? Come on, brain, what could my code be? I sat there staring at the screen, my mind completely blank. I had nothing. I should just leave and get on the damn four-wheelers before Aiden woke up and caught me.

Aiden! I stared up at the security panel to ensure he was still sleeping. He was. Movement from a different screen caught my attention. I caught sight of activity on the Hatfield monitor.

Wait!

Gertrude.

She’d given me a code the day Aiden reintroduced me to the staff. Looking away from the monitor, I typed in the numbers she told me to remember. 0310. Holding my breath, I waited to see if it would work.

Welcome back, Mist. It’s been forty-two days since you last logged in. You have twenty new text messages, three encrypted files to review and submit, and two video messages to review. Click to continue.

Forty-two days? So, forty-two days ago, I logged into this very computer. Wow! I clicked continue. It took me to another screen. I stared at all the messages waiting to be opened. Words typed across the screen on their own.

Mist, you’re late reviewing your encrypted files. Please review and submit now.

Um... okay. I clicked review. I nearly threw up at the image that appeared on the screen. The first one was a photograph of a man, slumped over in a chair. Blood soaked his shirt. His eyes were open, but vacant.

At the bottom of the screen, a flashing icon read: Target Neutralized. Click to Submit to the Watchdog database.

My stomach twisted. Was this... one of my kills? I backed out of the photo quickly, clicking the little X in the corner. But the next image popped up automatically. Another body. This one was sprawled across a marble floor.

Blood was smeared down the wall behind him. His mouth was open like he’d tried to scream for help. Wait.... He had screamed for help. Memories of his blood-curdling screams echoed in my head, making it ache as the memory assaulted me.

Why now, mind? Why force me to remember this?

Why force me to remember how he’d screamed for help, but no one came because I’d already killed the guards who were supposed to be protecting his mansion? Images of blood splattering and bodies dropping flashed through my mind.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and clicked out of the picture, heart racing. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. These weren’t stills from a horror movie. These were real. These were people. People I’d... I’d...killed. Oh, no.

The next picture popped up on the screen. It was an older man. He was on the toilet, pants down, with a hole in his head, blood running down his face. I had no idea what was going on between his legs.

His privates looked mangled, like someone had attacked them with a meat grinder. I heaved, almost throwing up. That was exactly what I’d used on him. A meat grinder. He’d been alive as I’d twisted the handle, grinding his junk, then tossing his ground junk into his lap.

And then I put a bullet in his head and wrote the word pedophile on his chest in red lipstick. His wife’s lipstick. I remembered this night, this kill. Oh. My. God. I’d tortured this man while his wife and son had been away at her mother’s place.

I squeezed my eyes shut, head aching again as the memory assaulted me. What kind of person had I been? Mist? More like Menace! No wonder Aiden had chosen the good twin, the safe twin, the sane twin.

Though Ellie was cruel, at least she’d never brutally murdered anyone. I slowly opened my eyes and exited out of that file. I couldn’t look at those photos any longer. I didn’t want to remember this part of my life.

There had to be more to me than just this. At the very bottom of the screen, there were two video messages. Damn it. Please don’t tell me I also recorded my kills.

One thumbnail read: Urgent. Mist, Please Watch.

The other read: This Is Gertrude, Sweetie. Watch This As Soon As You Remember Me.

Gertrude!

I pressed play on the video. Gertrude appeared on the screen, seated in a room almost like this one.

“Hey, sweetie,” she started with a smile.

“If you’ve remembered everything and are in a rush to do something, don’t worry about watching this video.

Do whatever it is you want to do. And if you need help, call me.

And if you need weapons, look over at the left wall.

See that light switch? Flip the switch up and hold it for ten seconds, then release it.

The wall will slide aside, and you’ll see your weapons room. I helped you design it.”

I looked at the light switch. A plain switch, yet it held so many secrets, like me. The recording of Gertrude continued. She was talking so fast that I could hardly keep up with what she was saying.

“Now, if you’ve entered this room by mistake, or remember this room, but not much else, then continue watching this video.

Hi, sweetie. My name is Gertrude Hatfield.

My husband is Sam Hatfield. And we’re your honorary aunt and uncle.

If you’ve entered this room and opened your computer, which, clearly, you have, then you’ve already alerted the Watchdogs to your location and revealed to them that you’re alive. ”

Alive. Did they think I was dead? Did they want me dead? Why? My father had been one. I’d been raised to be one. Why would they want me dead?

“Don’t panic,” Gertrude continued. “You’ve also alerted me by signing in to your computer.

Together, you and I can take them on if need be.

And old Sammy still got some fight in him.

I had a plan in place in case you opened this email.

My plan was to go out and stare into the camera at my front gate so we could talk in real time and you could see me. ”

What?

“I’m probably on your surveillance screen trying to get your attention right now since you’ve opened this video and alerted me to you being in your dungeon.”

I looked up at the screens and found the one of Hatfield Orchards. And there was Gertrude, waving at the camera. Her husband, Sam, stood beside her, and he was holding a gun. My heart leapt. She was serious about my being in danger.

“You were in a car accident and... you lost your memory,” the video continued.

“At least, that’s what Aiden told us. Sweetie.

..” Gertrude paused. “Don’t be angry with us.

We went along with this plan to bring you to the country estate because by the time we realized what was happening, the plan was already underway.

But I told Aiden that if you didn’t get your memory back in one month, I was going to take you away.

Dear, don’t panic, but he is not your husband.

He won’t hurt you. But this is all a lie.

He’s trying to keep you safe, but the way he’s going about it is all wrong. ”

I swallowed. I already knew he wasn’t my husband. He was married to my sister. And right now, all of this was starting to feel like a bit too much. I was overwhelmed. And if my heart kept racing, I would probably have a heart attack. Or a stroke. Maybe both.

“Now, sweetie, if you see me on the surveillance, go over to the screen, click the speaker button twice, and talk to me before continuing this video. I’ll wait for a full minute before speaking again and telling you about your past. If I’m not on the screen, just fast forward the video, Noelani.”

Noelani. That was me. My name. The name of the baby whose death was faked to protect her and the Parks. I got up and rushed to do Gertrude’s bidding. I hit the speaker button twice. Hands shaking, I waited for her voice to come through.

“Oh, good,” Gertrude said, getting closer to the camera. “Noe, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” I said.

But she didn’t say anything.

“I hear you, Gertrude,” I said louder.

“Noe, press and hold the speaker to talk to me. Hurry, sweetie. We don’t have much time.”

Oh. Right. I pressed the speaker button and held it.

“Can you hear me?” I asked, realizing she couldn’t see me the way I could see her.

Her eyes widened, and she smiled. But her next words were no laughing matter.

“Noe, you’ve alerted the Watchdogs to your location.

My sources tell me they’re on their way and they’re not far.

They had to have been holed up somewhere close by, waiting for you to activate your code.

Which meant they knew you were in this area.

Aiden should’ve moved you days ago when they were spotted not far from here. ”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but it didn't sound good. It was all too much, too fast.

“What should I do?” I asked, holding the speaker button.

“First, don’t panic. Remember who you are.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of a problem right now.”

“You’re Mist. You’re fearless. You’re...”

“I can’t possibly be fearless,” I said, talking over her. “If I were, I never would have given in to my sister for so many years. I wouldn’t have let her walk all over me. And I wouldn’t have...”

“Mist!” Gertrude yelled, making me jump. “Stop acting like a weak bitch right now.”

Wow. Feelings hurt.

“You gave in to your sister because that was how they raised you. But when she married Aiden, which you must’ve remembered by now.

That broke the already fragile sisterly bond you all had.

So stop whining and being upset about a man and about Ellie.

I’ll explain the past to you more when you get here.

But you have to get here. Now, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and remember who you are. Embrace who you are.”

“Who am I?” I whispered, knowing I was still whining, but damn it, I didn’t feel like I could handle this.

“You’re Mist. The eldest daughter of Elani and Noel Cartwright. The honorary niece of Samuel and Gertrude Hatfield. You’ve been training and mastering how to fight and kill all your life.”

“Being a murderer isn’t really something I should be proud of.”