Uncovering You 10: The Finale Read Free

capacity.”
    I breathe a sigh of relief. “You’re not shitting me? He’s actually safe?”
    “Well, safe from me, in any case,” Jeremy smiles. “That’s what you’re asking. Isn’t it? Knowing that I can’t shock him on a whim?”
    “No,” I say. “I mean, yes, that’s part of it, but…”
    “Lilly.” Jeremy leans over and takes my hand. “I have to tell you two things. Before I do, you have to know that I am telling you in full honesty. There are no deceptions. No lies. Only the absolute truth.”
    “Okay,” I say slowly. “What is it?”
    “The first is this. I only shocked your father once. The only time I did it was in the limousine with you. I am not sadistic without reason, nor do I take particular pleasure in causing people harm. I know, given everything you’ve seen, that might be a difficult pill to swallow. But everything I’ve done, I’ve done for my own reasons. It’s the lack of the common man’s morality that makes me capable of inflicting pain. It’s because I can remove myself from the equation. Disassociate myself from events.” He pauses. “You look skeptical.”
    I shake my head, not knowing whether to believe him or not—despite, deep down, having a strong feeling that he is telling the truth.
    “And the second thing?” I ask.
    “The second,” he sighs, standing and turning away, “might be more difficult for you to accept. It is this: Your father is, and forever will be, clinically insane.”
    Jeremy leans down and plucks a blade of grass. He examines it between his fingers. “What do you think I’m holding?” he asks.
    “Grass?” I frown.
    “Paul would see it as a caterpillar. Or a writhing snake. Or whatever his mind fancies at the moment.”
    Jeremy points at the house. “And that?” he asks.
    “Your retreat,” I say.
    “Paul would call it an igloo. Glistening in the sun. Standing tall. Not melting despite the ninety degree heat.” Jeremy turns to me, “I know,” he says, “because I brought him here.”

     

Chapter Four
     

     
    My jaw falls to the floor. “What?” I breathe.
    “I brought Paul here a few days ago,” Jeremy says. “He’s in a room, upstairs, at this very moment.”
    I bring a hand to my forehead. “Jesus Christ,” I mutter.
    “I don’t want to set you up for disappointment,” Jeremy says. “Paul’s mind is truly gone. I know you think you can get through to him. I can see the determination in your eyes. I just want to caution you, Lilly, not to try. Or try, if you must, but know that the outcome has already been determined. Nothing can counteract the cumulative effect that years and years of drug abuse have had on his mind.”
    I surge up, suddenly angry. “How can you be so sure? How can you be so arrogant? You don’t know what he sees! You don’t know what he experiences!”
    “Calm yourself,” Jeremy snaps. “I do know, Lilly. I made it my mission to know. Remember: We are speaking of the man responsible for my mother’s death. Don’t dare think I left any stone unturned. I had to make him see, make him understand, what he was guilty of. Only when I had exhausted every avenue, and saw that it was futile, did I turn my attention to you.”
    “So, that’s your assurance?” I ask caustically. “Reminding me of why you went for me in the first place?”
    “No deception. No lies. Remember?” Jeremy asks. “You said so yourself. Nothing is off limits. That’s how you wanted things.”
    “You’re right,” I admit, unhappily. I glance at the house. “But knowing that my father’s here, that he’s somewhere very close, when I thought he was in that little room in Portland? It’s a lot to take in. Particularly when I thought we were coming here to free Rose, Charles, and Hugh. Before finding out that was yet another illusion.”
    “The final one. I swear.”
    “Well, that’s good to know,” I say weakly.
    “I brought all the characters to one place, Lilly. I did it for you. No, that’s a fucking