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“This is Con,” Vaughn said as he reith hi and Lex”

Con sent hn was the best equipped of all of us to look for Gio fronizable”

I didn’t knohat that hn I said, “What does he mean ‘you looked from the inside’?”

“I started pawning hn said

I felt like I was going to throw up “You… you helped men like Father keep their secrets?” I whispered

“Yes,” Vaughn said

“No,” Luca cut in at the sahn’s brother said “He never directly hurt any kids and he’d pass the inforet thehn had moved onto the next client”

It took me a moment to process what Luca had said When I spoke, it was to Vaughn and only Vaughn “But you had to wait to get theone to work for someone else?”

“Yes,” Vaughn whispered, and I could tell he knehere

I pulled away fro me “So, when you worked for Father all thosefor him But you didn’t try to help me…”

My voice dropped off as everything clicked into place

“I’hn said softly “I didn’t have a choice”

I let out a harsh laugh “Yes, you did I was the one who couldn’t choose, Vaughn” I shook my head in disbelief “All those weeks you knehat he was doing and you had the power to stop it but you didn’t You… you…”

I couldn’t even put words to what he’d done “I want to go,” I said as I reached behind me to try and find the knob for the door But todirection and was closer to the stairs than the door

And Vaughn was between me and the only way out

“Aleks,” he began

“No,” I said, shaking o hoo home To Dante”

I was on the verge of having a cohn wouldn’t hurt me or turn me over to his brother, but I didn’t knohat to think anyhn had told me it was red, I would have believed him

He’d done that to me… played me so well I didn’t even knohich direction was up and which was down