Read Online Inheritance by Malinda Lo - Free Book Online

first.
    “Hi,” Reese said. When she shook Sophia’s hand, she had the briefest impression of clear, bright edges: like a cut-glass prism.
    “Hi,” David said, shaking her hand as well.
    “We’re ready to begin,” Sophia said. “Follow me.”

    Though Diana had warned them that Jeff Highsmith would be observing, Reese hadn’t realized that Agent Forrestal and another man in black would be there too. They stood right inside the door to Mr. Murray’s room like guards, and every time Reese glanced in their direction, they were watching her or David. Highsmith took a seat out of camera range and told Sophia Curtis to start whenever she was ready.
    She asked Reese and David to begin with what had happened after they left Phoenix during the June Disaster, but as they began to talk about Project Plato, Highsmith interrupted. “That’s classified. You signed a nondisclosure agreement about your treatment there.”
    Sophia smiled thinly. “Can they talk about how they felt after they returned?”
    Highsmith nodded. “Of course.”
    Reese began to tell Sophia about the rapidly healing cuts on her palms that had led her to believe something had been done to her at the military hospital, but Highsmith interrupted again. “Do you have proof?”
    Reese looked at him in surprise. “You’re asking
me
for proof? You have proof yourself—the Blue Base doctors tested us—”
    “That’s classified,” Highsmith said calmly. “I’m asking if you have independent proof.”
    “We’re working on that,” David said. “My father’s in touch with several UCSF professors about setting up an academic board to evaluate us.”
    “So you’re saying no, you don’t have proof,” Highsmith said.
    Sophia stood up. “Jeff, let me talk to you for a minute.”
    He followed her to one corner of the biology classroom, where they turned their backs to Reese and David and huddled in front of a poster depicting the evolution of humanity, from Lucy to
Homo sapiens
. She couldn’t make out what Sophia was telling him, but by the furious tones of her whispers, Reese didn’t think it was anything positive.
    David nudged her with his knee, leaving it in place against her thigh. A shiver traveled through her as she registered his presence in her mind.
What do you think they’re doing?
he thought.
    I hope she’s telling him off.
    They returned a few moments later, and Sophia said, “Let’s pick up again. How did you feel when you got back to San Francisco?”
    They told her about their abilities to communicate with each other mentally when they touched, and Sophia avoided the issue of proof, though she did ask David to elaborate on his father’s plans to form an academic review board. When Sophia skipped over their abduction by the men in black and their time at Blue Base on Area 51, Reese knew that Highsmith had prevailed.
    “One last thing,” Sophia said, flipping through her notes. “At the press conference in front of your house, you and the Imrian girl, Amber Gray, seemed to know each other. Did you know her?”
    A flash of interest crossed Highsmith’s face, which made Reese immediately wary.
    “I knew her,” Reese said. She didn’t want to go into the details, not only because she didn’t want to give Jeff any new information, but also because she wasn’t comfortable telling the publicthat she had been in a relationship with Amber. She could already imagine the comments online.
    “Did you know she’s an Imrian?” Sophia asked.
    “Not at first.”
    “So she lied to you?”
    Reese hesitated, and then wondered why she was hesitating. “Yes.”
    “Why?”
    “She was sent to keep tabs on me and David.” The government already knew this, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to Highsmith.
    “The Imria are in discussions to speak at the United Nations next month, and they say they’re here for peaceful purposes. But they lied to you and spied on you. Do you believe their motivations are peaceful?”
    Sophia’s