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I do so. “What’s going on?”

She places her mascara back into a small bag. “I trust you remember the woman you made disappear that night a few weeks ago?”

I furrow my brow. “Of course.”

She frowns. “It would appear your skills are greater than I anticipated. She truly vanished into thin air. I had people in place to collect her backstage, but they couldn’t find her.”

“She probably just walked out onto the street.”

“If you’d looked into any security footage, then you’d know this to be untrue as well.” She crosses her arms. “Of course, I still made sure to follow through on my promise. It’s clear from the increase in production quality that you’ve put the money I gave you to good use.”

“Yes, but what does this have to do⁠—”

She holds a hand up. “Which makes it all the more of a shame that I’m going to have to ask you to shut down your show effective immediately.”

I drop my jaw. “What?”

She leans toward me, cups my cheeks with her cold hands. “Aus Waverly, you were the last person to see this woman alive. I’ve done everything in my power to keep the investigators at bay, but they’re now extremely concerned with her disappearance. I’ve caught wind they are closing in on you, wondering if you used your act to divert attention from her disappearance, make it seem as though it was just a trick rather than something more”—she digs her nails into my flesh—“gruesome.”

“I didn’t do anything like that. All I did was select her because you told me to. What happened after the fact isn’t important.”

“Do you not claim responsibility for your own trick?”

“Of course I do, but⁠—”

“But nothing, Aus. You and I both know you didn’t harm a hair on her gorgeous head, but the optics aren’t good. And that’s all it takes. A beautiful woman has disappeared, and you’re the primary suspect. The only reason you haven’t been arrested yet is because the detectives have been building their case. I’ve been slowing them down as best I can, but they’ll be descending soon.”

I run my hands through my hair. “But it was only because of you that I chose that woman in the first place. I usually select volunteers from the audience at random, but I did what you asked. I didn’t think it would lead to something like this.”

Rouge purses her lips. “Nevertheless, it has. And I’m afraid you’ll have to leave town.”

I stand, pace the room. “You don’t understand. This is my livelihood. My entire career. I was going to expand into a larger theater, build a greater network. I’ve been chatting with Bimboni. I could be the next David Copperfield. How am I supposed to pay the bills?”

Rouge cracks a wry smile. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

“I don’t?”

“Of course not.” Rouge stands, closes the distance between us until her breasts are grazing my body. “A second-in-command spot has opened up at one of the clubs I run in Chicago. I know now I can trust you.” She traces a finger around my jaw. “Do you have any non-illusory skills?”

I blink. “I mean, I work events on the side. Mostly DJ gigs.”

“Perfect. You’ll be working in an administrative capacity, but your music skills will also be useful.” She extends a hand. “Let me tell you about the Jade Sanctum.”

29

THEA

I snap my fingers in Aus’s face. “Hey. You there?”

He blinks a few times. “Sorry. I was thinking about…something else.”

“What could be more important than what’s going on right now?”

He shakes his head. “Sorry. I’m just… It’s all been a lot to digest. Our next move is to figure out how to prove your innocence. The fact that you were drugged carries some weight. It establishes your actions that evening weren’t your own, and that someone may have been conspiring against you.”

“It’s my alibi that’s the problem,” I say. “I have no way of proving I was at Wick’s house that night. I slept in the other room, and I could have easily sneaked out in the middle of the night.”

He widens his eyes. “That’s it. We figure out a way to prove your alibi.”