“Stop!” I plead.
Josh flashes me a sardonic grin. “If you want me to stop, then prove to me you’re on my side. Prove to me I can trust you, and you’ll get to walk out of here,alive.” He tosses Ashley to the floor. “Kill her.”
“Absolutely not,” I respond, rushing forward to help her. “You’re insane if you think I’d ever choose you again. You’re just as crazy as your twisted family is!”
I reach Ashley and grab her hands. “I’ll get us out of this, I promise.”
Josh’s laugh echoes throughout the room before he propels himself toward us. “Just remember, you caused this, Lex.” He grabs Ashley’s hair, then slices her throat open as her hands slip from mine.
I fall back, staring in shock as she bleeds out before me. She reaches out for me, and I grab her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” I cry, squeezing gently. Her eyes turn glassy before her chest ceases to move.
“You fucking monster!” Teagan shouts from behind me.
I turn toward her voice and sob in relief.
She’s okay.
Then, I watch in complete shock and awe as she pulls one of her stilettos off, wielding one as a weapon, and tackles Josh in a blaze of purple fury.
Chapter thirty-six
Lee and I are quickly pulled out of the room by Lochlan, leaving Quinn behind with Rebecca’s body.
I can’t believe she’s dead. I didn’t know her well, but she saved me in more ways than one. She kept Skye safe and loved when I couldn’t. I’ll never be able to repay her for that kindness.
We follow Lochlan out of the cold, white-washed maze of hallways and end up back in the dark, ornate hallways of Windermere. The drastic change in appearance and climate gives me whiplash.
“Where are you taking us?” Lee demands, his voice laced with anger as he tightens his grip in my hand.
Having him back in my arms is more than I deserve after lying to him for the entirety of our marriage. I have to tell him about Skye the moment we get a second alone.
Lochlan heads up a set of spiral stairs, refusing to answer Lee’s question. It still feels unreal that Lochlan has been in on this game the entire time. I know Lee must feel as betrayed as I do since they spent their whole trial together.
I’ll never get Lee’s expression out of my head after he realized he was alive and not dead at the bottom of a hillside.
Lochlan walked in right after Rebecca was murdered with the rifle still in his hand. At first, Lee was elated. He smiled at his friend and jumped up to hug him. Then, he saw the gun, and his expression fell apart into confusion and heartbreaking betrayal. I’ve never seen that type of devastation on my husband, and I never want to again.
But I might be the reason it happens again when I tell him about Skye.
I wish I had been brave enough to tell him about her before. I was a fool who thought keeping her a secret was somehow keeping her safe. Look where that got her! She’s been trapped in this castle with a man who plays murderous games for fun. At least she had Rebecca. How am I going to tell her the woman she grew up believing was her grandmother is now dead?
Lochlan looks around, his expression almost anxious, before pulling a gold key from his pocket. He opens the door in front of us and ushers us both in quickly. The room is pitch black, and I hold Lee’s hand harder. Lochlan flips a switch, and I take in our new surroundings with wide eyes.
Where on earth did this man bring us?
The room is filled with screens lining three walls from top to bottom. Lochlan sets the rifle on a desk in the middle of the room, then sits down in a large leather chair and presses a few buttons on a laptop. The whole room comes to life in motion pictures. Each screen shows a different room—a different part of Windermere. There are cameras in the gardens, the little cottage, the tents, and so many more places I don’t recognize.
We were being filmed this entire time.
This whole time, the gruesome deaths, our heartbreak, our panic and terror, it really was just a game to these people. They used us as entertainment just because they could.
Rebecca lost her life for nothing. All so her death could be filmed and used as a theatrical reel for their immensely twisted pleasure.
Lochlan spins in his chair to face us. He looks nervous, and he should be. Lee is vibrating with tension next to me. I know my face is as murderous as it’s ever looked while staring at another human being.
“I know I can’t fix what I’ve already put you both through,” Lochlan says. “But I had to show you this so you’d understand why I had to do it.” He gestures to the screens. “I know you want to murder me. Especially you.” His eyes flick to mine. “And honestly, you have every right to. But will you let me explain first?”
Lee looks to me before nodding his head. “I think that’s the least we deserve. We want the truth. All of it.”
