Chapter 2

Inside the silo, the air was thick with the dust of forgotten harvests. A single, powerful work light lit up the center of the circular room, casting long, dancing shadows.

In the middle of the space was a metal chair. Wires and cables snaked from it to a complex-looking machine with a large screen. It looked like something from a science fiction movie.

"Put her in the chair," Ethan commanded.

The ranch hands forced me down. They strapped my arms, legs, and head to the cold metal. A tight, strange-feeling headset was placed over my skull. It hummed with a low, electric power.

Ethan stood in front of me, his face illuminated by the harsh light.

"This is a neuro-imaging device," he explained, his voice devoid of any warmth. "It reads memories. It projects them onto that screen for everyone to see. It' s a lie detector that can' t be beaten."

He gestured to a laptop set up on a nearby barrel. "I' m starting a live stream. The whole world is watching, Jocelyn. They think you' re a monster. I need to know if they' re right. I need to know why."

My heart pounded against my ribs. This was her work. Maria.

"You can' t do this, Ethan," I whispered, my voice hoarse. The strain of the last 24 hours was catching up to me.

"I have to," he said, his voice breaking. "They were my parents. My sisters. You were my wife."

He turned to the laptop and clicked a button. A small red light appeared, indicating the stream was live.

"My name is Ethan Lester," he said to the camera. "The woman in this chair is Jocelyn Fuller, my wife. Yesterday, she murdered my family. She won' t talk. She won' t explain. So I' m going to get the truth myself. I' m going to show you all what she' s hiding."

He walked over to the machine and flipped a switch.

A sharp, piercing pain shot through my skull. It felt like a thousand needles digging into my brain. I screamed, a raw, ragged sound that echoed in the vast emptiness of the silo. The machine whirred to life, and the screen flickered on.