Page 160 of Their Little Ghost

“Why are we wasting time talking?” Lex snaps impatiently.

I agree with him. This is a waste of time. Anyone can see he’s irredeemable.

“Give her more time,” Aiden says. “She needs this.”

“You don’t know what she needs,” Dad hisses. “I tried to save you, Erin.” His voice breaks. “I wanted to bring you back. Can’t you see I did it all for you?”

“If you love me, you’ll do the right thing,” Erin says. “Turn yourself in and close Sunnycrest for good. It won’t erase the pain you’ve caused, but it’s the first step. Will you do that for me?”

“Pain?” Dad snorts. “No one cares about the patients here or what happens to them.” He looks coldly around the room. “They’re disturbed!”

I can’t watch anymore.

“Goodbye forever, Dad,” Erin says sadly.

I feel her pain and resignation as she retreats. She wanted to persuade him to do the right thing, but he’s beyond saving. She always sees the best in people, but there’s not an ounce of good left in our father. You can’t reason with evil. This isn’t a story where the villain has a sudden change of heart. He’s rotten to the core.

“Erin!” Dad struggles, arching his back to sit up, but his binds are too tight. “Please?—”

“Erin’s gone,” I snarl, reclaiming my place and channeling my inner strength. “And the only reason they are ‘disturbed’ is because you made them that way.”

“It’s ready,” Doctor Warner says, holding up a vial. “Do you remember what to do, Eli?”

Eli nods. “Of course.”

“I’ll destroy you, Warner,” Dad threatens. “If you want to take my memories?—”

“Take your memories?” Aiden laughs. “Is that why you think we’re here?”

Dad hesitates, and his forehead wrinkles in confusion.

“As much as we’d like to put you through every twisted experiment you inflicted on us, we have bigger plans,” Lex says.

“We’re not going stop your reign of terror,” Eli says, taking a remote control with a red button out of his jacket pocket. “You are.”

Fear flickers across Dad’s face. “No!”

Aiden and Lex hold him down while he struggles like a flailing fish, and Doctor Warner approaches.

“Hold his arm still,” Doctor Warner says. “Pull his sleeve up.”

Their backs are turned, so I can’t see exactly what they’re doing, but when Doctor Warner withdraws, a small patch of blood stains my father’s white shirt.

“Let’s see if this works,” Eli says with a twisted grin. He clicks the button on the remote. “Tell us how Alfred died.”

Dad’s face reddens. He bites the insides of his cheeks to stop himself from talking. Eli clicks the button again. The urge to speak is too strong to overcome.

I watch in fascination as words burst from Dad’s mouth in a breathy gasp. “He was electrocuted!”

“How do you like having to do what I say?” Eli smirks. “Not fun, is it?”

“Can I g-go?” Doctor Warner stammers.

Aiden looks like he’s having second thoughts, but I step in.

“Let him leave,” I say. “We got what we wanted.”

Aiden clenches his fists, but nods reluctantly. “Go, before I change my mind.”