Masquerade ✔

Chapter 38

Clara hadn't cried like this in a long time. Probably not since her mother died.

No matter how much she wanted to stop, she couldn't. The sobs came through her as waves of anger and despair flooded her senses.

It was too much.

To his credit, Harrison knelt by her side and stayed there, but didn't say anything to try to make her feel better. Clara probably would have hit him if he did.

As the sun made its way over the horizon, Clara was finally able to slow her breathing down. She briefly took off her oxygen filter to clean it out, and after putting it back on, did the same with her fogged up goggles.

"That was Ezra in there, wasn't it?" Harrison asked quietly.

At the mention of Ezra's name, Clara felt tears prick at the side of her eyes again. "Yes," she whispered hoarsely. "I've never seen him like that." She took a shuddering, deep breath. "We have to do something. I don't know what, but we have to."

"And we will." Clara appreciated the confidence in Harrison's voice. For the moment, he would need enough for the both of them. "Clara, listen to me. I'm certain my father doesn't know anything about what Thaddeus London is doing here," he said.

Clara could hear in his voice that he believed what he said, but she was more skeptical. "How can you be?" she asked.

"Because I know my father," Harrison said. "I'm not going to pretend all of his business deals are squeaky clean, but there's a difference between letting some things slide under the table and outright kidnapping and slavery."

"So you're going to tell him about all of this?"

Harrison nodded. "I have to," he said. "Clara," his voice cracked, "I wish I could be enough to help fix this. But I don't have the sort of power that he does."

Clara nodded. "I understand."

"You're alright with me telling him?"

Clara let out a sigh. "I don't know if 'alright' is the word. But I recognize that it might be the only way to shut the operation down and get Ezra back. So, yes, you should talk to him."

"I'll try to keep your name out of it," Harrison promised. "And Ezra's, too."

"What will you tell him, then? It's not like you would have just found yourself at that factory on accident."

Harrison shrugged. "I'll figure it out," he said. "I promise you."

Clara nodded and then looked up at him. Without allowing a moment to second guess herself, she threw her arms around him.

She felt Harrison stiffen in surprise for a moment, but then he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Clara pressed her cheek against Harrison's chest, eyes closed.

"Thank you." Clara finally pulled away, trying not to feel too embarrassed that she had basically just thrown herself on him. "Thank you, Harrison. For everything."

He shook his head. "You really have nothing to thank me for. Really," he said. "But I should get back. I'll speak to my father today, and hopefully have news to give you before you leave work."

Clara nodded. "I should go and try to catch Amyeliana before she leaves," she said. "She needs to know about this. She and Archibald."

"What are you going to tell Emme?"

Clara felt her heart sink. "I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know how she could handle this."

Harrison took her hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "We'll fix this," he said. "I know we will."

Clara actively worked to keep herself calm as she returned to her dwelling. She had to keep herself together for the sake of the other three.

As she approached the dwelling's entrance, the door opened and Amyeliana came out.

"Clara!" she exclaimed. "How did it go, what happened?"

"Let my grab my things," Clara told her. "And I'll tell you everything on the way up."

Clara raced to her quarter, grabbed her work things as she gave a brief nod to a very anxious-looking Archibald, and went back out to meet Amyeliana.

"I have to ask you, Amyeliana, if you really want to hear what's going on," Clara said. The pair walked toward the transport station. "It's not good. Not good at all."

"Does it have to do with Ezra?"

"Yes."

"Then I want to hear."

"Alright, then." Clara figured it was best to get everything out, so she started with the conversation she and Harrison had at the greenhouse and resulting argument. Then she went over everything that had happened since, and while every instinct was screaming at her to tone down the vileness of the factory, she gave Amyeliana the facts in full detail. If she was going to know about what was going on, she needed to know exactly how bad things were.

"But is he going to be alright in there?" Amyeliana sounded close to tears. "In those conditions?"

"Amyeliana, listen to me," Clara said. "Ezra is strong. And not only that, he knows that there are people who love him who are waiting for him to come home. And he saw me there, and he knows that I'll be working on a way to get him out. He might be cursing me for it, wanting me to stay out of it, but he knows. And if he knows all of that, he can survive."

They were almost to the Llewelyn manor, and Clara knew they couldn't talk about this once they got there. "Amyeliana, this needs to stay between us." Amyeliana still looked like she was about to cry, but Clara spoke sternly. "Don't talk to anyone else about this."

"But why? If word got out—"

"If word got out, people who get angry and start doing stupid things," Clara said. "When I went to the factory after Ezra disappeared, there were protesters there. But there haven't been any since. Which means there were arrests that day, and we can't help anyone if we're all rotting in jail."

Clara put both of her hands on Amyeliana's shoulders and looked her square in the eye. "There might be a time where it will be the right move to tell everyone," she said. "But now is not that time. Do you understand that?"

Amyeliana nodded and wiped her eyes. "I won't tell anyone. But you'll let me know what Harrison tells you, right?"

"Of course." Clara turned to face the doors, taking a deep breath as the doors slid open.