Chapter 206
Chapter 206
Simon's POV
After that thing happened to me, I developed severe OCD. I felt dirty all the time—like something was crawling under my skin that I could never wash away.
Every therapist failed. Some even thought I was faking it.
After I nearly drowned myself in the bathtub, Mom brought me to Caitlin Weber.
"Caitlin, I'll pay you anything. Use whatever methods you need—just fix him."
Mom was falling apart.
Caitlin studied me like a specimen. She didn't try gentle therapy like the others. She just locked me in a filthy room.
"You hate dirt? But the whole world is dirty, Simon. You can't wash it all. You'll have to get used to it."
I wanted to die. I figured I could just end it all—escape this contaminated world.
That's when I met Emily.
She was like an angel in that hellhole. She'd give me her clean food and water, taking the dirty portions for herself.
When my compulsions got bad, she'd talk to me in her strange language. I couldn't understand the words, but I knew she was telling me to keep fighting.
Once, I tried smashing my head against the wall. Emily stopped me.
She pointed to the spider weaving its web in the corner and began to speak. This time, I understood her meaning:
“Simon, the spider’s web is often destroyed, yet it keeps weaving again and again. You must not give up either.”
Did my dirty, broken life have any value?
Emily's life was worse than mine, but she kept going.
Maybe I could too.
I gave up on suicide. I was afraid that if I died, no one would ever listen to Emily again. She'd be completely alone.
I didn't know then that Emily only gave me her clean food because she was curious about variety. She talked to me constantly because she was warning me not to hurt her spider friends when I hit the walls.
I created my own reason to live, and Emily became that reason.
Later, Megan helped us escape. We got caught. I went home.
My OCD seemed cured.
But it wasn't, really. I'd just washed away my ability to care about anything. My only purpose was making sure Emily wouldn't be lonely.
When I saw her again, she'd become this new person—surrounded by friends, laughing constantly.
That brilliant smile made everything feel fake.
We became friends again. Emily said I was her best friend.
But everything had changed. She wasn't her anymore. It was like someone else was wearing her body.
Every time I saw that smile, I felt sick. I had to stay away from her.
Megan explained it was dissociative identity disorder. The real Emily was trapped inside, suppressed by this new personality. To find her, we had to destroy the fake one.
I agreed to help with Megan's plan.
Megan needed money, so I manipulated inheritance schemes. I even pushed Juliet into committing murder.
I used Sophia's greed to drag her into our conspiracy.
I should have seen the signs. Megan was lying about everything.
She'd changed too.
But I was desperate, clinging to the impossible hope that my childhood Emily still existed somewhere.
"Simon, I'm sorry I lied to you. Emily grew up. She doesn't exist anymore. But we're both still trapped in the past."
I remembered meeting Megan that first time—those eyes that saw through everything, just like Caitlin's.
She told me it wasn't my fault.
Young Megan used to dream about becoming a therapist, helping everyone overcome their psychological problems.
Maybe she hadn't changed after all.
She genuinely wanted to help people with mental illness.
She'd just chosen the wrong path.
When everything fell apart, Megan told me to run. I thought about staying to die with her.
But I wasn't ready to give up. Emily had escaped her childhood attic. Maybe I could escape mine too.
I ran like I was fleeing that old nightmare.
Then everything went black.
---
Third Person POV
When Simon regained consciousness, two strangers stood over him. The young man was studying him intently while his female assistant waited nearby.
"Mr. Wallace, you're finally awake."
Simon regarded them warily. "Who the hell are you?"
"I saved you. Don't I deserve some gratitude?"
"What happened to Megan? Did you save her too?"
"She's dead. I didn't bother trying to save her."
"Why help me?"
"Because you have value."
Simon didn't understand what value he could possibly have. But his life had never been his to control anyway. He'd given up fighting long ago.
"Remember my name," the young man said. "I'm Logan Kane. I can guarantee your safety, but from now on, you belong to me."
"What if I refuse?"
"That's not an option. The moment I saved you, you lost the right to choose."
---
After leaving Simon's holding room, the assistant looked puzzled. "Logan, why save him? We don't need his assets or his skills. He's useless to us."
"His personality reminds me of someone."
The assistant fell silent. Simon was similar to Logan's deceased cousin, Julian.
Logan had always been obsessed with the impossible dream of bringing Julian back.
"Have you heard of psychological cloning theory?" Logan picked up a stack of experimental files—Caitlin Weber's research notes.
"If you can give someone another person's memories, they can become that person. I find the theory... fascinating."
Caitlin had used this method to implant serial killers' traumatic experiences into her victims, creating the monsters she wanted.
Simon's mental state was fragile now. Breaking him completely would be simple.
Then, on those ruins, Logan could build a new consciousness.
If he slowly fed Simon all of Julian's memories...
"But memories aren't personality. You can't copy human consciousness. This won't work."
Logan smiled. "How do we know unless we try?"
...