She lifted her chin, not backing down one bit.
“We’re asking for fairness.”
“No,” Henry said, and the softness in his voice dropped away completely. “You’re asking me to eliminate Eighteen based on nothing more than your suspicions, suspicions likely driven by what you would do if you were in Eighteen’s shoes. There’s a difference.”
He looked down the table, making deliberate eye contact with each face he passed before moving on to the next.
“You all signed the same document,” he said. “It clearly states: any intentional attempt to sabotage, disqualify, or otherwise interfere with another guest’s ability to participate in the Game will result in an immediate elimination for you and for your partner.”
My fork hovered halfway to my mouth.
Oh God.
“For clarity,” Henry added, “Jacob’s status is as follows: he is permitted to act as Eighteen’s partner for the duration of the Game. He is staff, and as such, knows exactly what Mr. Stonewood would do to him for trying to manipulate the game in any way. Allow me to assure you that Number 7 would never dare to do so. Any advantage you perceive is… imagined.”
He turned back to One and Twelve.
“You two, however, have just put your own places at risk,” he said.
Twelve let out a brittle laugh.
“You can’t be serious.”
“I am never anything else,” Henry said.
He nodded once toward the far end of the table. Two staff members stepped forward from the shadows, silent and efficient.
“Number Twelve,” Henry said. “Number One. You’re out.”
Chairs scraped.
Twelve pushed to her feet, eyes flashing.
“On what grounds? For asking a fucking question?”
“For attempting to weaponize innuendo against a fellow guest,” he replied. “See section seven, paragraph three of your contracts. I’d quote it, but I suspect you didn’t read that far.”
One stood too, color high under his mask.
“This is bullshit,” he snapped. “You can’t toss us just because we noticed your little pet project.”
The words slammed into me like a slap. Pet project. Jacob’s hand tightened imperceptibly around his knife, like maybe he was considering stabbing someone.
Henry’s jaw ticked once.
“I assure you,” he said, “I can. You are welcome to have your attorneys review the paperwork once you’re home. For now, you’ll gather your things and be escorted from the property. For the rest of you, understand this: I can remove any of you at my discretion. If you don’t play by Mr. Stonewood’s rules, you’re out. Simple as that.”
The staff members at Twelve and One’s shoulders didn’t touch them. They didn’t have to.
The authority in Henry’s voice did all the pushing.
Twelve looked down the table, her dark brown eyes lingering on me.
“If you think this doesn’t put an even bigger target on your back,” she said, “you’re even dumber than you look.”
My spine snapped straight.
“If you’d spent half as much time reading what you signed as you did staring at my partner,” I said, “you might still be in the Game.”
