I thought of all the board games we had played.
Carl had always preferred chess.
He often sacrificed his strongest piece early, making the move appear foolish until the entire board changed around it.
“Lenora,” the recording continued, “you have almost certainly asked for the contents of the cabin chest. You may even have confessed more than you intended. That is fortunate, because every room in this house is now transmitting audio and video to three independent legal servers.”
Lenora’s composure vanished.
She turned toward the guards.
“Destroy the control room.”
No one moved.
The nurse slowly raised her phone.
“So is mine,” she said. “I started recording when Claire arrived.”
Lenora stared at her.
“You work for me.”
“I work for Evelyn.”
One guard stepped away from the doorway.
“So do I,” he said.
Then another lowered his arms.
And another.
Only the largest guard remained beside Lenora.
