Chapters (52)
- Copyright
- Dedication
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Acknowledgments
- Read More from the Market of Monsters Series
- More Books from HMH Teen
- About the Author
- Connect with HMH on Social Media
He frowned. “What are you saying?”
“We’re going to release them first.”
Kovit stared at her, face blank. “What?”
“Everyone is questioning INHUP right now. It’s the perfect time to show them how broken the Dangerous Unnaturals List is.”
“By showing them videos of me as a child torturing people?” He laughed, high and light. “Somehow I don’t think that will make them sympathetic.”
Nita smiled softly. “It won’t. Not if INHUP decides on the videos to release. But if you and I pick just the right video, we can change the narrative.”
“How?”
“There are hundreds of videos here. You worked for the Family for years.” She licked her lips and then gently asked, “Was there any time you refused to hurt someone? Any time you resisted?”
He gave her a skeptical look. “I rather enjoyed those torture sessions. They were the best part of my life.”
“I’m sure,” Nita said, sliding past that and trying not to think too hard about it. “But you have rules. Henry must have broken them once or twice before Matt. Didn’t you tell me once about a Family member who wanted you to torture some girl who didn’t want to have sex with him?”
Kovit blinked slowly, thoughtfully. “There were a few incidents.”
Nita handed him the phone. “This is all Henry’s videos on the cloud. Find one. Find one we can use to paint you as sympathetic. The younger you are in it, the better. I want it to look like you were beaten into this path, not like you were willing. Coercion of a minor is a crime—if they can prove force, you’re not culpable.”
He gave her a look. “I’m very culpable.”
She rolled her eyes. “I know that.” She leaned closer. “But the truth doesn’t matter. We’re crafting a story. They’re going to try and prove you’re a monster, so we want to try and make people believe you’re a tragic victim instead.”
He frowned down at the phone. “Do you really think people will believe that?”
“People will believe what you tell them to believe. You’re young, attractive, and have a tragic past. We can spin this. People love a tragic past and a reformed monster.” She shrugged. “I know it’s not true, but it’s as true as the monster mask you wore in the Family.”
The more Nita thought about it, the more she wondered if life was just a series of masks you wore. Kovit was a different person with her than with Fabricio than with Henry than with his victims than with his sister. All the masks were him, just not all of him, only a piece.