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“Where?” he asked.

I felt my jaw tighten. “Somewhere in the mountains.”

I handed them each a small duffel and told them to pack only necessities. Once they were packed, I loaded the duffels into the Mercedes. Luke climbed into the back seat, and Seth sat beside him, still holding the toy. Headlights appeared at the far end of the private drive.

“Wait here and stay quiet,” I told them.

Colin’s car pulled up near the house, and the engine shut off. We worked quickly. I helped him move the homeless man’s body into position in the living room. We placed the two dead boys nearby, arranging the scene to support the story. The official story would be that I had killed my sons before turning the gun on myself after starting the fire.

The fire would damage the bodies and the surrounding evidence. Colin’s people would control the investigation, and the medical examiner would confirm whatever conclusion they gave him. No one would question why the remains in the living room were identified as mine.

We turned our attention to the house. I carried the cans of accelerant inside, the chemical odor burning my nostrils. We soaked the rooms, lit the fire, and stepped onto the front lawn.

The estate stood behind iron gates at the end of a long private drive. The nearest neighboring property was miles away, and thick trees concealed the house from the road. No one would see us standing there.

Through the windows, I watched the family pictures lining the walls curl and blacken. Their smiling faces disappeared into the flames. Samantha’s favorite belongings burned beside the toys the boys had left scattered around the living room. Everything that had anchored my false life disappeared inside the growing inferno.

Watching the house burn brought relief instead of sadness. The years I had spent pretending to be Samantha’s husband ended with it. As the flames climbed toward the second floor and smoke poured into the sky, the burden of that life began to lift.

When the fire had spread far enough that it couldn’t be contained, I turned to Colin. He stood a few feet away with his arms crossed, watching the house burn.

“I’m going to lay low for a while,” I said.

Colin nodded. “I understand. I’ve got your back.”

We shook hands briefly. Colin returned to his car, and I climbed into the Mercedes. We drove away separately before the first emergency vehicles came.

In the rearview mirror, flames consumed the second floor as I turned from the private drive. The house would be gone soon, along with every trace of the life I had lived there.

The boys were quiet for the first few minutes. Then Seth asked, “Why is the house burning?”

I kept my hands firm on the wheel, the cocaine and the relief of leaving the house keeping me level. “Because our old life is over.”

Seth stared out the window as his lip started to quiver. “I want Mom.”

“Never build your life around a woman,” I said as the highway opened ahead of us. “They’re useless. Stop depending on them. You’ll always end up disappointed.”

Tears welled in Seth’s eyes, and the pain remained on his face.

As the miles passed and the boys quieted, my thoughts turned to the Collective.

Colin was reliable. I knew I could reach him whenever Collective matters required my attention, but isolation would serve me better. They couldn’t control someone they couldn’t easily find. I would perform my duties when necessary, but I’d do it on my terms. If I ever crossed a line they didn’t permit, locating me would take time and effort. The distance would protect me and give me room to breathe.

I no longer had to perform for Samantha or Maggie. The Collective would no longer dictate every part of my life. I could unleash my monster whenever I saw fit.

The highway stretched long and empty. The boys asked where we were going and what names they would use. Each question grated, but I answered enough to keep them quiet.

I had two safe houses prepared. The first sat deep in the mountains of Colorado, nearly impossible to find. I needed to stay out of state for a few years until the attention faded, and Colorado would serve as our temporary refuge.

After that, we would move to the second location, a secluded property in Hollow Pines. Miles of dense forest surrounded the house I had built there years ago. No one knew it existed. It stood far from any public roads, and a quiet lake sat at the center of the property. The isolation made it ideal for disposing of bodies no one would ever discover.

Hours passed. Luke eventually dozed against the window. Seth stayed awake longer, turning the Impala in his hands while he thought about his mother. I watched him in the rearview mirror.

His love for her was one final weakness I intended to carve out of him.

Chapter 43

Samantha