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.The Change wasn’t an accident, so finding him won’t change a thing, even if he’s alive, which I doubt.”“So why kill me?” Grace asked.“I don’t like to leave things to chance.I haven’t seen my father in a long time, and men can change.Besides, for all I know someone out there is already too close.”Grace concentrated on her food.“You should tell me what you know,” Ethan said.“You don’t owe anything to Matt.That man’s a son of a bitch, anyway.In case you haven’t figured it out, he has no intention of reversing the anti-aging process until he can figure out how to make an exception of himself.He’s got the money, the resources, and all the time in the world.He may even think he’s a humanitarian–helping the world in exchange for his own immortality.Who knows?”He may be right.It didn’t matter, though.At least with Matt, there would be change for the better, even if he didn’t join in.Ethan Lacklin, on the other hand, would have the entire world self-destruct.“Go to hell.”“Language!” Ethan said.“I’ve hit a nerve, haven’t I? I may be a bastard, but at least I’m an equal opportunity bastard.”“Yeah, and I’m sure your birth restrictions would limit the rich as well as the poor.”“I only had one child.Why shouldn’t everyone else?”“I don’t have any.Why shouldn’t everyone else? This world’s a hell hole, and it’s cruel to bring children into it.”Ethan cleared his throat.“I see.So, then, I don’t suppose you’ll tell me how you learned about my father or who else knows about it?”Grace shook her head.“Well, let’s explore the possibilities.” Ethan poured himself another glass of water and offered some to Grace.She refused, but listened out of curiosity.She wanted to know how Ethan knew about his father.“First, you obviously didn’t run into this information on your own.Mr.Stanton hired you, so he must have given it to you.He’s already on my list of targets.”“Good luck,” Grace said.She’d seen rich men go after one another before.It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it turned into a small war.She didn’t understand the politics involved, exactly, but she wondered what would happen if these two powerful men targeted one another.Would The Establishment line up and take sides? Would the entire structure crumple from above?Nah, there had to be some kind of check.It had never escalated that far before.“Well, thank you,” Ethan said, “but I think I’m okay.You see, as a whole The Establishment doesn’t want to see aging resume.They’ll back me when I take action against him.”Ethan stared at the empty plates in front of them.“Ready for dessert?”The chocolates weren’t quite enough to make Grace think she’d already died and gone to heaven, but they were close.This wasn’t the cheap excuse for imitation chocolate she normally had access to.Someone had used real cocoa beans or at least, that’s what she told herself.Something in this chocolate made it rich, creamy, and smooth.“The thing I’ve been wondering,” Ethan said, “and please let me know if it’s true, is whether Mr.Stanton somehow got hold of Dad’s diary.We never found it, you see.I’m sure he took it with him when he ran after the murders because he stayed in his cabin for a while, and we had that bugged, too.But he didn’t stay there long “Grace didn’t remember any entries made after the murder.She didn’t let her confusion show, though.“I know you have the diary, or have listened to it.You know where my father was when he left his last message.You know who he had met and who he might have told about his research.In four hundred years, he might have left quite a trail.I want that information.”“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Unfortunately, it was the truth.She wondered if Matt knew anything about it.Somehow, she thought the answer might be yes, in which case she might help Ethan kill the man–if she got out of this.The more Ethan talked, the more her mind began to wonder if escape was somehow possible.Why not? Nothing was certain until she was dead.All she had to do was to postpone that as long as possible.“Grace, it has been a pleasure talking to you, but I’m afraid this is the point where the niceties must come to an end unless you tell me everything you know.”“No.”Ethan stood.“I thought you might say that.Which is why I poisoned your chocolate.I’d better go before you start losing your supper, but I’ll be back in the morning.”“But.but you ate it.” Grace stopped.The chocolate had come in individual pieces, and her stomach was beginning to tell her that her piece may well have contained something bad.“Good night, Grace.”She tried to double over from a stab of pain, but being tied to a chair, she couldn’t manage it.Instead, she heaved the contents of her stomach onto herself, especially her lap and hands.It tasted awful coming back up, and the feel of it on her body made her gag.But it didn’t end there.Tears filled her eyes and the scent of vomit filled her nose as her insides writhed again and again, past the point where there was no more left.After that, she dry heaved until she thought she might black out to escape the pain.Chapter 20When it was over, Grace sat there dripping in vomit, unable to move any part of her body save her hands, which reached for and found the lock fastening the binding around her middle.She wasn’t sure why she reached for that lock when she knew she would never be able to open it.Bringing her hands back to her front, she tried to wipe the vomit off her shirt and lap, with limited success.She reached behind herself to find a bit of clean shirt to wipe her hands, but this, too, proved only somewhat successful.The stench of bile and orange duck filled the air and grew stronger as time went on.She tried not to look at the mess, but there was little to look at in the plain, brightly lit room, and she often found her gaze lingering over bits of the meal she had stupidly enjoyed.Oh, she had been careful at first, watching to make sure she ate out of the same batches Ethan did, but by the end his ploy had worked–and he had lulled her into a false sense of security.It must have been his honesty that had tripped her up.She wasn’t used to that in anyone, and especially not in someone who was admittedly bent on killing her.Looking back over the conversation, she did not think he had told her a single lie, which had been, perhaps, the biggest lie of all
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