I frowned. “No.” All I remembered from the hospital was floating through the rafters. I must’ve been really high.

“I need to talk to you. Do you feel up to it?”

“Okay,” I said, but there was something about the hospital I thought I should remember. It was there, on the very edge of my memories, hazy and out of reach.

“Parker and Hayden filled me in on most of what happened. I can understand your distrust of me and my intentions, but I hope you have learned that’s not the case.”

I thought that was a very smooth way of asking if I’d learned my lesson. “Parker was in my head again?”

“We thought it would be easier than making you relive everything.”

I guess that made it okaysort of. “So, you worked with his sister.”

Cromwell let out a soft breath and nodded. “It was a very long time ago, before Hayden and the others. Theo was a child, and I had no idea his gift was like Olivia’s. His sister had a remarkable gift.”

“Remarkable?”

“She was the first, Ember. No one before her had ever showed that type of gift, and no one after heruntil you. With what happened to her, I didn’t want to attempt the same thing.” He paused, a small smile appeared. “I never intended to send you to the Facility. I didn’t want you to have the same fate she did. I don’t expect you to believe me, but you have no idea how her death ate away at me. She was why I started searching for others, hoping to get to them before the gifts became too much to control.”

“But… you worked with her? In the program?”

“I did,” he admitted. “It was a long time ago, Ember.” And that was all he would say about that. His next words distracted me, anyway. “From what I could gather, it appears that Theo did tell you the truth about your father. He was going to transfer guardianship of Olivia to one of the doctors at the Facility. I’m sorry. I know that isn’t what you wanted to hear.”

No. It wasn’t. I didn’t even know how to deal with thatwhat to think or where to begin. All I could acknowledge right now was the sick twisting of my heart.

“I’m really sorry.”

It could’ve been the drugs, but he actually looked sympathetic. “Isn’t someone going to do something to stop them? They can’t do this to people, let parents sell their children.”

“The Facility never used to be like this, and trust me, something is being done about them,” Cromwell said, anger sparking deep in his eyes. “But it’s not something you need to worry about right now. I know it’s hard for you not to focus on it, but you need to get better.”