Chapter 9

Cassie goes to the library to read Interview Twenty-Eight from Daniel Redding’s case, hoping to understand Dean’s spiral. She recalls stopping previously when she realized the interviewee’s identity. She opens the binder and reads Agent Briggs questioning Redding about his victims and branding, while Redding deflects and provokes.

Lia finds Cassie and confronts her, accusing Cassie of repeating harmful patterns under the guise of helping. Cassie apologizes and insists she wants to understand Dean, but Lia argues that reading Redding only hurts Cassie and, more importantly, will hurt Dean.

Lia reveals Briggs made her listen to Redding’s interviews at fourteen despite Dean’s wishes, and that Redding is a masterful liar who warps truth and perception. She warns that Redding will get under Cassie’s skin and that Dean knowing Cassie read them will make things worse.

To drive the point home and test Cassie, Lia jokes about sleeping in Michael’s room, then admits it was a manipulation. She takes the binder, promising to intervene again if needed, and leaves Cassie to reconsider.

Alone, Cassie accepts that Dean wouldn’t want her reading the interviews but questions whether avoiding them is right. She fixates on Briggs’s question about what Redding taught his son and Redding’s taunting reply, underscoring Redding’s toxic reach into Dean’s life.