CHAPTER FOURTEEN

WATSON

( — united states psychologist considered the founder of behavioristic psychology. )

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          CONNOR DUNCAN IS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. Better yet, he's standing on the front porch of the house that will be used for the lab rats, as Rhiannon has heard someone refer to them as (even though that's technically what they are), but his eyes find hers, in spite of the other people with frozen feet. The only person who doesn't seem a single bit bothered by the cold is Roman, holding his white cane in front of him with both hands in silence.

          Rhiannon refuses to give Connor the satisfaction of ever seeing her break again. She's certain he knows the effect he left on her the last time they spoke, even after she had spent so much time trying to avoid him, and that only leaves her a lot more adamant to prove to him she's strong enough for this damn experiment. Jude's hand squeezes hers, nearly cutting off her circulation, but she barely feels it.

          She raises her chin. On her left, Dimitri's shoulders look as stiff as iron boards, and she wonders if he'll ever relax, even if that's hard to do when your girlfriend has been missing for over a month and no one seems to give a damn anymore. Rhiannon wants to tell him she does, she cares, and there are several other people who feel the same way, but they had never said two words to each other (they still haven't), and God knows what he'd think if he knew she's been sticking her nose into the middle of the investigation.

          She can only hope Rowan will keep his word by not mentioning a word about it to anyone, not even to Isla. If there's anyone she can't keep a secret from, besides Rhiannon herself, it's her father and Rowan is already too involved thanks to the book. Anything more than that going public would be a true scandal, making him lose his job, making Rhiannon lose her spot in the experiment and at Crowcrest and making Gabriel lose his credibility.

          They've already lost too much. It wouldn't be fair to keep pouring salt on their wounds.

          "Good afternoon," Connor cheerfully greets, hands hidden inside the pockets of his tweed jacket, an outfit that certainly doesn't match the chilly twilight. Purple and red hues tint the skies like bruises as night quickly approaches. "As you might have guessed, this is the house the experiment will be using and where you will spend some days of your week. My family was kind to provide it, as we have made several generous donations to Crowcrest University throughout the years, and we're always happy to help all investigations. Connor Duncan, at your service. At least during an hour or an hour and a half today. I have better things to do than pretend to be a real estate agent."

          No one chuckles. No one even bothers throwing him a hesitant smile, as everyone is slowly freezing to death outside and the last thing they want to do is joke around when there's a perfectly good, warm two-story house standing in front of them. It's close to the campus, being only five minutes away by foot, and it easily goes by unnoticed in the middle of all the other houses in the neighborhood, similar to the Hamptons.

          It just looks so . . . generic, complete with the damn front porch and all, and it's considerably less extravagant than all the houses Rhiannon knows the Duncans own. That might explain why they chose to let Beatrice and Frances use it for the experiment, along with the proximity to the campus, as they wouldn't be caught dead showing this one off when in comparison to all the other ones.

          Rhiannon catches Hailey shooting her a concerned glance from the corner of her eye, quickly facing Connor once again when their eyes meet. When Rhiannon decided to break her silence about what had happened two years ago, she didn't do it so she could be pitied; she did it so these people knew she was trying to step out of her comfort zone and try to connect with them (and to clear up all those nasty rumors).

          There's one thing she didn't say, though. Christopher and Madeleine could have taken the Duncans to court when they released the medicine, as they had the original notes and not the copies, besides having plenty of other evidence, but they kept quiet and directed their anger exclusively to Rhiannon.

          They took the blame for her as one last favor, which they love reminding her of. It saved them from the humiliation of having to depend on someone else to save their skins, as they rebuilt their empire by themselves, but got rid of the collateral damage, commonly known as their youngest daughter.

          Rhiannon's stomach is turning like a washing machine as someone (probably Matteo) gives her a gentle push forward when Connor stops talking, meaning it must be time to go inside. She decides against using Jude as a human shield, walking past Connor without looking twice at him, but, as he steps out of the way to let them through, he does it on purpose to let his arm brush against hers.

          That's when she nearly throws up, but forces herself to keep her stomach's contents intact.

          The air inside the house is so warm it's almost nauseating and Rhiannon feels her hair beginning to stick to the back of her neck thanks to the sweat. Jude breaks free from her to take off his jacket and she's glad he can't feel her clammy hands anymore, but those feelings of relief vanish when she notices the surveillance cameras scattered around the room. They really won't have a moment alone while being inside these four walls, and, even though she already knew it would happen, the impending loss of privacy can't help but leave her wary.

          To make things even worse, as if that was remotely possible, Rhiannon's entire apartment could fit inside the living room, proving this house looks a lot smaller on the outside than it actually is. It's immaculately decorated, as if someone was living here prior to the experiment, with potted plants, paintings and various silver and gold clutter that could easily pay for what's left of Rhiannon's tuition.

          It's embarrassing how she has let things get this far. Even though Jude's parents have been tremendously generous by deciding to pay for it and she'll never be able to pay them back, none of this was supposed to happen. She wasn't even supposed to have signed up for that interview, but it's amazing what money can do to people, even before it actually falls into their pockets.

          "Feel free to roam around this place, as long as you don't break anything," Connor announces, and Rhiannon decides to avoid the paintings, as the people's eyes seem to follow every single one of her movements. "Cooke, your bedroom is downstairs. If you'd like me to show it to you—"

          "I'm afraid I won't be able to see much of it," Roman remarks, and Jude clears his throat to mask a chuckle, but still follows Connor's voice, his cane tapping softly against the wooden floors. They don't even creak with their footsteps, unlike the ones at Rhiannon's apartment, but it was expected.

          Matteo blabbers about the similarities between Project Oxygen and the Stanford Prison Experiment to whoever is listening to him (at the moment, it's just Sutton, but not even she seems too interested). Rhiannon has made sure to read about that thing, mostly to keep up with conversations and to be able to identify warning signs, but, truth be told, there aren't that many similarities, in her opinion.

          Yes, they'll be watched and paid, but no one is splitting them between prison guards and prisoners and she certainly doesn't hope Beatrice and Frances will force them to humiliate each other just to prove a point—good people, when shoved under tremendously stressful situations, will break and reveal the evil inside them. They're expected to behave as they normally do, to create ties between them and wait until something happens and makes them try to free themselves of any responsibility.

          Something sounds suspicious, but Rhiannon can't place her finger on what it is exactly. Maybe it has something to do with the size of the sample, as no valid conclusions can possibly be taken with only eleven people, or with how they want to see how no participant will be willing to help someone in need because there are other people around.

          They only know what they've been told. For all they know, those might not even be the true objectives of the experiment and they're doing this blind (pun unintended); Matteo spills out a bunch of psychological terms, some of which Rhiannon had never heard of, like groupthink, social loafing, groupshift and moral disengagement, whatever they mean.

          It's always someone else's problem, isn't it? No one ever wants to take the blame for their actions—not even supposedly noble people, like everyone and their mother says Beatrice and Frances are, especially the former. Rhiannon likes her, really, as the woman has been wonderful to her since the interview (and that reveal about her sister sure helped Rhiannon establish a connection with her, but she doesn't know which percentage of it was done on purpose to get her to open up), but you never know if the people around you can be trusted.

          Jude laughs at something Zelda says. Rhiannon decides to follow Gabriella, Hailey and Laura upstairs, crossing her arms in front of her chest to prevent her bones from shattering. Exhaling through her mouth, she can't help but wonder if Hailey really has kept her mouth shut; she wants to believe she has, but scandals are always so much fun to talk about, especially when they concern your competition or the people close to them so it gets to their head.

          "Someone could break their neck if they fell from this staircase," Gabriella mutters, with a hand set on the decorated rail, and Hailey merely shrugs, disappearing inside one of the bedrooms. "I sure hope that's not what they pretend to do." She turns to face Rhiannon, who takes the final step up the stairs. "Can you imagine?"

          "What?"

          "If the thing they want us to blame each other for is a murder." She leans over the railway, arms crossed, and stares down at the living room. A chandelier hangs from the ceiling on the top floor, swaying softly over the people downstairs, as there's no ceiling in front of the staircase. "If that's what they're doing, I sure as hell hope they use a super realistic dummy, or something. I pass out whenever I see blood."

          "Really?"

          Gabriella nods, with a pink flush tinting her cheeks. "I know it's embarrassing. Hailey makes fun of me all the time over it, but I also used to pass out at the sight of needles and I don't anymore, so I'd like to say I've improved throughout the years."

          Rhiannon sighs softly, stopping to stand next to her, and sets her hands on the rail as well. "For how long have you known each other?"

          "Seven years." Gabriella brushes her blonde hair away from her eyes, but rebel strands instead of falling back to where they used to be. The black eyeliner she's wearing gives her a feline, almost cat-like appearance. "That's almost an entire life, isn't it? But we only got together on freshman year of college. Mom says she's the type of girl you hold on to—the type of girl you marry. Hailey was mortified that day because she thinks she looks awful in white, but I just thought it was funny." Her lips twist into a seemingly involuntary smile as she speaks and Rhiannon can't help but smile as well, remembering there's still some beauty in the world. "She can wear whatever color she wants, if you ask me."

          "That's really nice." Gabriella's smile widens. "I'm happy for you."

          "Thanks. I like your ring." Gabriella gestures towards the silver ring on Rhiannon's right index finger with her chin and she stares down at the crescent moon decorating it. "Did Jude get it for you?"

          "My sister, actually," Rhiannon corrects, in a clogged voice. She wishes she hadn't found it in the middle of the rest of her jewelry and she sure as hell wishes she hadn't decided to put it on after so long, yet here she is. "It was one of the last gifts she ever got me."

          "Ah, damn. Sorry I asked."

          Beatrice and Frances stop by a little while later, while everyone is still checking out the house, as it's too big for it to be fully examined in a short period of time, and time seems to stand still. Hailey doesn't seem minimally fazed, sliding down the rail (and risking breaking her neck, echoing Gabriella's words from moments prior), while Dimitri is her polar opposite.

          Rhiannon feels like a massive hypocrite, glancing at him from the corner of her eye and wishing there was anything she could do to help him, even though being pitied is one of the last things he might want at the moment. He just wants to get through this damn experiment and solve the mystery surrounding Taylor's disappearance, but, unfortunately, you can't always get what you want.

          This is one of those times you should be able to get what you want.

          They announce they're here to explain how the following weeks or months, depending on how long it takes them to get to conclusive results, will work out. They're supposed to be here four days a week, not necessarily at the same time, day and night, with Sundays off; they're allowed to go to class, obviously, but any getaways aren't encouraged for the sake of the experiment and for the increased security measures implemented by the chancellor.

          There goes whatever was left of Rhiannon's social life.

          They'll be observed and filmed during their stay and examined on Sundays, just to ensure they're able to continue and if they wish to do it. They remind the participants of the forms they signed in the small office (Jude shifts his weight from one leg to the other, visibly uncomfortable), including the confidentiality and consent ones, and they can quit at any given moment, as long as they inform the experimenters of such so they can be replaced as quickly as possible.

          Everything can be replaced. Even people. That sends shivers across Rhiannon's spine.

          Gabriella decides to ask them how they're going to test the bystander effect, with Matteo adding he'd like to know if they're following all ethical guidelines, as APA said the Stanford Prison Experiment had done so, but that didn't make that experiment any more ethical.

          Frances huffs, Laura sways back and forth on her heels, Sutton rolls her eyes, and Beatrice sighs.

         "We're not allowed to answer the first question," she reveals, and both Gabriella and Dimitri narrow their eyes, "but we can answer the second one. Yes, we are."

          "For now," Dimitri mutters, through gritted teeth, and Rhiannon jumps in her place, as it's the first time she has ever heard him speak. There's a light French accent cladding his words, weighing down on his Rs. "We all know the kind of people the two of you are."