“Cromwell is a liar! The accident was just thatan accident. A freak accident that I had thought would’ve worked in my benefit since your father was no longer a part of the picture. I hung around after the accident, waiting to see what the Facility wanted me to do. You see, they hadn’t told me what Olivia’s gifts were, and at the time, I didn’t care. And then I saw Jonathan Cromwell snooping around.”

“Sucks for you, huh? He ruined the Facility’s plans.” I gasped out, hating this man with every fiber in my being.

He smirked. “You have no idea, do you? I could care less about Olivia and her gift. And I care even less about the Facility. I don’t work for them anymore.”

I stopped struggling. “What do you mean?”

Theo’s stare met mine, and I shuddered. I’d always heard about people looking crazy, but I’d never seen itnot until now. “After I saw Cromwell hanging around, I knew something was up. Then when his boy kept coming back, I grew even more curious. This was my chance. See? I didn’t really have any loyalty to the Facility. I only stayed with them so I could keep an eye on Jonathan. Once I saw his interest in you, I left the Facility and got a job up here, where I could keep closer tabs on him. You’d be amazed at how far you can get with a little bit of mind control. Then you showed up. Perfect.”

“Why?”

“My sister was older than me. So bright and beautiful, but she was gifted with a terrible curse.”

Ice slithered through my veins.

He leaned in so close we almost touched. “She could kill with a single touch of her hands. Julie never wanted to hurt a single person, but she couldn’t help it. She never could.”

“Oh, my God,” I murmured.

“Did you think your desire to see those files was all you?” he asked. “I put that need in you. I wanted you to seeto knowwhat they did to my sister.” He paused, and my temples started to pound. “Of course he scratched out everything about me. Couldn’t live with his greatest failure.”

“Get… out.” I struggled for air. My head felt like it would explode. His lips twitched, and the pressure eased off. “I can’t let him succeed. Not when he failed my sister. That’s the why of it, Ember.”

“Cromwell? But he didn’t have anything to do with the project!”

Theo barked a short laugh. “Cromwell lets you know what he wants you to know. It’s always a half-truth. That’s all he deals in. Cromwell was assigned to my sister at the Facility. He was responsible for her treatmenther Assimilation. He allowed my sister to die. Do you even know the kind of horrors they subjected her to?”