Taylor swallows. “Asacrifice? Are you sure?”
He whistles and then nods. “These weird rich dudes. It’s like a movie. You can’t make this shit up.”
Once Sam leaves, Taylor promptly crumples onto her barstool. He has no idea of the seriousness of the tea he just spilled. There’s a sickening thought that’s taken hold of her, one too horrible to voice.
Therehasto be a reason the Knox is keeping Vivian captive, instead of just killing her—if her inheritance is that much of a threat.
I’ll only be helping her for a few more days,Tara had written.
Taylor knows that tonight begins the three nights of preparation, followed by the initiation—the “sacrifice” Oliver mentioned.
The timeline matches, though she wishes more than anything in the world it did not.
Nausea trickles up her throat as she turns to her laptop. Her fingers shake as she types into the search bar two phrases: “secret societies” and “sacrifice.” To her horror, result after result pops up, flooding her screen.
Human sacrifice, it seems, has been used by secret societies throughout time.
The Knox Society Handbook of Practice and Procedures
v. 1817.1030(d)(2)(ii)(C)
Section 6.
Initiation Night
Purpose. This section serves to detail the procedure for Initiation Night.
Scope and Application. This section applies to all living current Knox Members as defined by paragraph (a) of section 1.22 and to Prospective Members as defined by section 1.89(a–c, ii) and again in section 336.4(i–x).
Current Knox Members shall dress in Initiation Night attire consisting of a black robe and black face mask to represent the solemnity of the evening and the uncertainty of Membership being offered to Prospective Members.
Current Members shall gather in the parlor for a period of no less than two hours to reflect and become spiritually inclined.[*1]
Membership shall split into three entities to position themselves at each of the three scrolls: the Bowels, the Heart, the Brains.
The scrolls shall be carefully opened by a designated Knox Member.
Prospective Members shall be allowed to enter the premises. They shall be given attire to don, a white robe only, to reflect their openness to and hope of joining Membership.
