“Hello and thank you for joining us this morning on Talk Nova!” the presenter said, looking directly at the camera with a fake grin. “I’m your host, Alexia, and do I have a great day lined up for you!”

The camera zoomed out, showing the three other people who sat opposite her in brightly coloured, comfy-looking armchairs.

Beside me, I heard Cas inhale sharply and his hand twitched under mine.

“Now, some of you might recognise the guests sitting before me. After all, they have been on the show before. Please, put your hands together for Haley, Katie and Jack,” Alexia called, gesturing towards them.

Enthusiastic applause blared over the speakers but I was silent as I stared up at Cas’ family.

They looked like him. I hadn’t seen any pictures of them apart from the clip from the show when they were kids but I could see the resemblance now. His brother, Jack, had his intense expression, even when he smiled, and Katie had the same eyes as him. His mom looked like him too. There was just something about her that I saw in Cas.

But I remembered the stories about her. She was almost as much of a monster as Harvey was, maybe more.

“Welcome to the show,” Alexia declared, once the applause had died down. “Now, the last time you were on the show, there were a couple more people here, isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” Haley, Cas’ mom said with a mournful glance towards the carpet between them. “Last time my husband sat next to me and my son played on the floor right there.”

My mouth fell open. She was playing it perfectly. She sounded just so sad, her expression full of regret. Immediately, I knew this was going to be horrible.

“And, just for those who don’t know, can you tell us who your husband is?” Alexia asked.

Haley hesitated, her expression skilfully reluctant.

“Yes. I was, am, married to a man named Harvey but most of you might know him as Councillor Harvey.”

Gasps echoed from the speakers and I belatedly realised there was no one in the studio with them. Someone was pushing buttons, playing recordings of shock and awe when appropriate. If there were really people there, they would have revolted.

“Councillor Harvey,” Alexia said slowly, mulling the words over. “And how long were you married?”

“We were married for almost twenty years,” Haley said, taking another deep breath.

“Great, and how did you meet? I feel like you’ve kept all of the details of your relationship so private. I know that the people in the audience and at home would love to know more!”

Haley nodded, a slight smile coming over her face.

“Of course, of course. I wanted to be more open about our relationship from the beginning but… it was difficult. For many reasons.” She broke off and fell silent for a moment, staring at her clutched hands.

She still wore her wedding ring.

I don’t know why that’s something I noticed but it was.

“We met through my father, Councillor Gibbs. He… he was a great man. He, like Harvey and my son, served in the Space Corps before becoming a Councillor. He met Harvey at an alumni event for the base they’d both trained at and took a shine to him. I think… I think he saw his dedication.”

She fell silent again and Alexia nodded encouragingly.

“What happened next?” Alexia prompted softly.

“He invited him over to the house for dinner one day. My dad didn’t tell me he was coming so I looked a mess when he arrived but… he always said he fell in love with me right there and then, even though I hadn’t even brushed my hair!” Haley said before tittering softly.

Alexia joined in.

“Oh, how romantic!” she cried.

“Yes, he could be. Sometimes it was more difficult than others but he wooed me quickly. I was… reluctant to settle down, I mean, I was so young still, but I fell for him just as hard as he had fallen for me.”

This is all lies, Cas ground out. They didn’t fall in love, they realised they both wanted the same thing and they could use each other. It was never love.

I squeezed his hand, unable to think of a reply.

I was transfixed, staring at the woman in front of me. She was incredible. It was like watching an incredibly skilled actor but I knew she was sprouting bullshit and I didn’t trust her at all.

“And then what happened?” Alexia asked, seemingly completely drawn in by her.

“We got married. Maybe a little too soon but we both knew that we were in love and wanted to be together. We had Jack just one year later,” Haley said, laying a hand on his shoulder.

He smiled at her supportively but it felt simpering.

Every time I looked at him, I couldn’t stop myself from remembering what Cas had said about him. When Cas’ parents had suggested giving him up to an orphanage, he’d agreed. He’d supported it even.

I didn’t trust him. Just looking at him made anger rise within me. How could he have supported it?

“And you had Cas just one year after that? Sorry, he used to go by Adam, didn’t he?” Alexia asked gently.

Haley nodded, tears welling in her eyes.

“Yes, he used to be called Adam. I… I knew him as Adam,” she said so softly the microphone barely picked it up.

I don’t think that everyone in the war room knew that he was Adam though because a gasp tore through the room. A real one, not a fake one like on the talk show.

My hand tightened on Cas’, gripping him so tightly that it hurt me a little bit, but I needed too. I watched him carefully out of the corner of my eye, trying to ignore the many people who stared at him in the room. The colour had drained from his face leaving him ashen. His eyes were wide and his shoulder rose and fell quickly. Too quickly.

Cas, I said softly. Do you need to leave?

No, he thought back too quickly. I want to hear what she has to say.

I nodded, wishing I could insist he leaves or do something to protect him from what we were watching but knowing that I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be fair. He deserved to watch, if he wanted to.

“When did he change his name?” Alexia asked softly.

“When… when he got to the base. He… he volunteered. Harvey tried to bring him back as soon as he heard that he was leaving the orphanage but…” Haley paused to grab a tissue, blotting her dry eyes. “He ran. He went out a window and onto the roof. Harvey was… Harvey was scared of what Adam might do if he stayed so, he left. I just… I just wish Harvey had let me go. I could have brought him home.”

A single tear trickled from her eye and she dabbed it, her expression perfectly heartbroken.

I did feel sorry for her, despite everything that Cas had told me. She looked so sad, so filled with regret, and I wanted to believe that she had simply gotten swept up by Harvey. Manipulated and controlled. I didn’t though. There was something about her, some coldness in her eyes that made me uneasy.

Well, that and everything that Cas had told me about her.

I’m glad I didn’t believe her like so many on Nova did. She showed her true colours in the end. This was all a bid to get Cas back for Harvey and for control. With him gone, there was a power vacuum and she wanted to fill it. She wanted to show the world she was better than him because he left her on Nova.

Maybe he thought she’d be safe but I think he just truly didn’t care about anyone other than himself.

“And you couldn’t see him once he’d gotten to the base?” Alexia asked, her expression mirroring Haley’s. “You couldn’t go and visit?”

“No,” Haley said with a sniffle. “It was against the rules. Once he got to the base, he emancipated himself from Harvey and me. Neither of us could see him without his consent. I tried a few times but… he would never see me.”

“Lies,” Cas growled.

“I… I just wish I could see him again. I’m so scared for him,” Haley said, another tear falling down her cheeks. “He’s caught up in something so much bigger than himself and I’m just so scared that it’s going to end badly for him. I… I just want him to come home.”

She broke off, covering her mouth as she pretended to sob. No more tears fell though.

Alexia pressed a hand against her heart.

“I bet you do. I’m sure he wants to come home too! What about you two? Do you both miss your brother?” she asked, looking between Katie and Jack.