He considered what Yuri had done: enlisting Andrew, Desmond, and Conner to complete the Looking Glass. They were all broken in a way, all completely dedicated to the cause. They were all perfect examples of the type of person who could be radicalized, made to do terrible things in the name of a brighter future. In a way, they were mirrors of Yuri, William, and Lin. They had all grown up in a desperate and broken world, had come to the Citium seeking a balm for their pain, as well as for the pain of the world.

William wondered if the cycle would ever be broken.

Another question had always bothered him, and Yuri was the only person who could answer it.

“The night of the purge. Lin was tipped off. She left while I was in the air en route to London. She was on a flight to France when I landed. It was you, wasn’t it? You told her to get out.”

Yuri raised his eyebrows. He was impressed. “Yes.”

“You couldn’t kill her either.”

“I needed her to complete my work.”

“And she went along?”

“To a point. Taking Andrew as a hostage helped.”

“She didn’t know, did she? About the pandemic.”

Yuri’s reaction told him it was true.

William pressed on, hoping for more answers. “And Hughes didn’t either. That’s why he went off the reservation when he found out. Why he contacted me.”

“A minor setback.”

“You underestimated his morality. That’s how he’s different from you.”

“We’re a team for a reason. He lacks the fortitude to do what must be done. I do not. I did those things in Stalingrad. And during the purge. And now.”

“What’s happening now isn’t courage, Yuri. It’s mass murder. You made the world sick.”

“The world was already sick. It just didn’t know it. I’ve seen that sickness in a way few have. During the war, you were spared the horror; they evacuated you to the English countryside for tea and playtime. Death and misery were on every doorstep where I grew up. I’m saving future generations from that. Soon, our solution will be distributed.”

The words struck fear into William: Our solution will be distributed. “The pandemic…”

“Was a means to an end.”

“The cure. It’s your true end game. That’s why you started the outbreak in Africa.”

Yuri smiled, impressed.

“Yes. To show the world what the pathogen was capable of—on a small scale, in a place where people would take notice but not alter their patterns. Not cancel flights. Or their shopping trips.” Yuri paused. “And when that horrific pathogen reached their shores, they would do anything for the cure.”

“Including giving up their freedom.”

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know the true nature of freedom.”

“Who knew? About the cure?”

“Only Andrew and myself.”

Yuri had turned his son into a monster.